The Birmingham Economic Review 2017 – The Visitor Economy

The Birmingham Economic Review was produced in October 2017 by City-REDI, the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and the West Midlands Growth Company. The review highlights the current strengths and weakness of the Birmingham economy, as well as looking at the opportunities and threats that might impact upon it in the future. This is a commentary on Chapter 10 of … Continue reading “The Birmingham Economic Review 2017 – The Visitor Economy”

Online behaviour in the UK: an individual and contextual analysis

How much do we know about the online behaviour of individuals in the UK? What are the intensity and the types of online activities that people in the UK undertake including online shopping and what are the underpinning mechanisms which shape this behaviour? And, importantly, does geography play a role in how people utilise the … Continue reading “Online behaviour in the UK: an individual and contextual analysis”

The Birmingham Economic Review 2017: Enterprise

The Birmingham Economic Review was produced in October 2017 by City-REDI, the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and the West Midlands Growth Company. The review highlights the current strengths and weakness of the Birmingham economy, as well as looking at the opportunities and threats that might impact upon it in the future. This is a commentary on Chapter 8 of … Continue reading “The Birmingham Economic Review 2017: Enterprise”

The Birmingham Economic Review 2017 – Transport

The Birmingham Economic Review was produced in October 2017 by City-REDI, the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and the West Midlands Growth Company. The review highlights the current strengths and weakness of the Birmingham economy, as well as looking at the opportunities and threats that might impact upon it in the future. This is a commentary on Chapter 3 of … Continue reading “The Birmingham Economic Review 2017 – Transport”

The Geovation Challenge: Greener, Smarter Communities

CC BY-SA 2.0, José Sáez This article was first published on the Urban Living Birmingham blog. Author: Gauri Kangai, Associate Innovation Executive, Geovation, Ordnance Survey The Greener, Smarter Communities and Cities Geovation Challenge is focussed on developing solutions to communities’ real needs for future-proofing the communities and cities in which we live. Geovation sees ‘smart communities’ as placing … Continue reading “The Geovation Challenge: Greener, Smarter Communities”

Birmingham: a city of visible negatives and hidden positives

This blog was first posted on the Urban Living Birmingham Blog. Below are contributions in response to a request for the best and worst of Birmingham. They formed part of an impromptu exhibition held at the March 2017 Urban Living Birmingham Touchstone Group Meeting. From the author, David Thew, Secretary to the Futures Network West … Continue reading “Birmingham: a city of visible negatives and hidden positives”

Birmingham 2040: The Ban on New Petrol and Diesel Engines, Electric Vehicles and Robotics

This blog was written by Professor John Bryson and first posted on the Urban Living Birmingham Blog. In 1971 Sir Peter Hall speculated about London and the year 2000. Forecasting futures will always result in failure, but perhaps there are some ‘knowns’ about what Birmingham will look like in 2040 and many unknowns. One ‘known’ is that … Continue reading “Birmingham 2040: The Ban on New Petrol and Diesel Engines, Electric Vehicles and Robotics”

The disintegration of planning policy

The following piece written by Professor Alister Scott was originally posted by Urban Living Birmingham: I recently wrote about the disintegration of the housing debate where I argued that there are no ‘magic bullet’ solutions as the housing question is complex, demanding much more cross-sector thinking. But this type of approach is something conspicuously absent in contemporary … Continue reading “The disintegration of planning policy”

Brief for Creative Engagement: Reimagining City Service Delivery

This blog was written by Joanne Leach and first posted on the Urban Living Birmingham Blog. The Urban Living Birmingham research project consortium is inviting Birmingham-based arts organisations to submit proposals that imaginatively use arts and creative approaches to engage Birmingham citizens in developing innovative ideas for the improved delivery of urban services using the findings … Continue reading “Brief for Creative Engagement: Reimagining City Service Delivery”

The City of Birmingham – Missed and Missing Opportunities

The following piece was originally posted by Urban Living Birmingham. Below are two poems in response to a request for the best and worst of Birmingham. The poems formed part of an impromptu exhibition held at one of Urban Living Birmingham’s Touchstone Meetings. From the author, Jonathan Ward: These poems were off the cuff reflections … Continue reading “The City of Birmingham – Missed and Missing Opportunities”