A series of reports outlined findings from the Foresight Future of Cities project, which looked at the opportunities and challenges facing cities over the next 50 years. The reports covered: what life in cities had been like in the past, and what it could be like in 2065; trends in the size of cities and their age structures at the national, regional and city level, and how useful past trends were for predicting the future of cities; existing urban form and infrastructure in the United Kingdom, and possible future options for the development of existing places and new developments; and the origins, definitions, and uses of the phrase 'future cities', and related terms, how different communities had interpreted 'future cities', and how the discourse around cities could affect how they were designed and built. Comments on the reports were invited, through the project's blog. The project was ongoing.
Source: John Urry, Thomas Birtchnell, Javier Caletrio, and Serena Pollastri, Living in the City, Government Office for Science
Source: Tony Champion, People in Cities: The numbers, Government Office for Science
Source: Katie Williams, Urban Form and Infrastructure: A morphological review, Government Office for Science
Source: Emily Moir, Tim Moonen, and Greg Clark, What Are Future Cities? Origins, meanings and uses, Government Office for Science
Date: 2014-Aug
A report provided findings from a series of commissioned reviews of existing policy and research on a wide range of social issues related to poverty and poverty reduction in the United Kingdom. The report was presented in five sections: the bigger picture (including sections on: demographic change; devolution; gender; international anti-poverty strategies; regeneration; religion; sexual orientation; and well-being); welfare and work; money and the cost of living; education, personal relationships, and community; and complex needs. Some sections included links to more extensive reports.
Source: Reducing Poverty in the UK: A collection of evidence reviews, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Aug
A briefing paper provided a profile of the residents of communal establishments (particularly medical and care establishments, detention establishments, establishments offering temporary accommodation, and religious establishments) in England and Wales, based on 2011 Census data. It discussed potential issues with the data arising from enumeration decisions, and relating to particular equality groups.
Source: Lotika Singha, 2011 Census Data Analysis: Residents of communal establishments, Research briefing paper 9, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Links: Paper
Date: 2014-Jun
A think-tank report examined the rise of self-employment in the United Kingdom, its characteristics and working patterns, and the financial security of the self-employed compared with that of employees. It said that the growth in self-employment had pre-dated the economic downturn, but an important part of the growth was due to cyclical factors. The report said that a greater share of people who had left unemployment had moved into self-employment since the recession than previously, with self-employment appearing to play differing roles across the country. The report said that self-employed people typically earned 40 per cent less than the typical employee, with self-employed weekly earnings 20 per cent lower than in 2006-07 (compared with a 6 per cent fall for employees), and only 30 per cent of self-employed people contributing to a pension (compared with 51 per cent of employees). It said that a minority of self-employed people reported having difficulties getting mortgages, tenancies, and personal credit, specifically due to being self-employed.
Source: Conor D'Arcy and Laura Gardiner, Just the Job – or a Working Compromise? The changing nature of self employment in the UK, Resolution Foundation
Links: Report | Resolution Foundation press release | LSE blog | Guardian report
Date: 2014-May
A report examined statistics from the 2011 Census relating to housing, the labour market, and voluntary work in Northern Ireland.
Source: Raymond Russell, Census 2011: Detailed characteristics of housing, the labour market, and voluntary work at the Northern Ireland level, NIAR 79-14, Northern Ireland Executive
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Apr
A paper examined survey data on the incomes and living costs of young people in the United Kingdom. It said that their average incomes had fallen while those of the 'baby-boomer' generation had risen strongly, with the gap between the wages of under 21 year olds and the over 50s having risen by over 50 per cent since 1997. The paper said that there had been a contemporaneous increase in living costs due to rising rents, energy prices, and transport costs. It noted the potential long-term implications and called for a policy response.
Source: David Kingman and Ashley Seager, Squeezed Youth: The intergenerational pay gap and the cost of living crisis, Intergenerational Foundation
Links: Paper | Intergenerational Foundation press release
Date: 2014-Feb