June’s edition of the West Midlands Economic Monitor is now available for you to keep up to date with recent developments in the region. This month’s monitor looks at hydrogen trains, the UK 2070 Commission, homelessness and fuel poverty, modular homes, and as always features analysis of the latest data about the region’s economic performance. … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Monitor: June 2019”
Category: Cities
Clean Air Day, City-Regions and Responsible Citizenship: The Invisible Killer and Zero Carbon Emissions
Thursday 20 June 2019 is designated as Clean Air Day. This is an important event. Air pollution is now increasingly recognised as the invisible killer. It is a primary constraint on the performance of city-region economies, on the life chances of those exposed to polluted air and on social welfare costs. On the 20th June, … Continue reading “Clean Air Day, City-Regions and Responsible Citizenship: The Invisible Killer and Zero Carbon Emissions”
Fake News, Flooding and the West Midlands: Dave Throup’s Reality versus The Daily Mail
One of the most interesting West Midlands twitter feeds is that of Dave Throup, the Environment Agency Manager for Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Dave provides a moment-by-moment account of the Environment Agency’s activities across these two counties. This covers many important aspects of this Agency’s work including soil erosion, environmental pollution and managing rivers including flooding … Continue reading “Fake News, Flooding and the West Midlands: Dave Throup’s Reality versus The Daily Mail”
Resilience, Politics and Awards: Reflections from Regional Studies Association’s Conference in Santiago de Compostela
Tasos Kitsos reflects on this year’s Regional Studies Association’s annual conference in Santiago de Compostela. Every RSA conference is a great opportunity to meet old friends, make new, discuss research and engage in new collaborations. This one was particularly excting since it was the first time I was involved in organising a special session. Together … Continue reading “Resilience, Politics and Awards: Reflections from Regional Studies Association’s Conference in Santiago de Compostela”
How to USE-IT!
USE-IT! is a three-year European Union funded programme which aims to pioneer innovative approaches to inclusive urban development in an area of persistent poverty and deprivation in inner city Birmingham. The programme is framed around urban poverty and urban transformations and is led by Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS) at the University of … Continue reading “How to USE-IT!”
New Policy Institute: The State of Economic Justice in Birmingham and the Black Country
NPI’s recent report on behalf of the Barrow Cadbury Trust depicts a shocking, if not surprising, picture of economic injustice in England’s second city and the surrounding Black Country. The report combines the traditional economic barometers like productivity with the ideas of social justice and how the economy spreads well-being. The first of its kind … Continue reading “New Policy Institute: The State of Economic Justice in Birmingham and the Black Country”
West Midlands Economic Monitor: May 2019
May’s edition of the West Midlands Economic Monitor is now available for download. This month’s installment looks at the debate around HS2, how much money you need to earn to be happy, inequality in the region, ongoing protests against LGBT-inclusive education, a range of regeneration projects planned for Birmingham, and the latest statistics around employment, … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Monitor: May 2019”
The Realities, Challenges and Strengths of the External Funding Environment at LEP Level
When I joined City-REDI in October, I was seconded 50% of my time to the Smart Specialisation Hub in Islington for six months. The Hub provided analysis to improve local and national understanding of innovation capabilities, benchmarking innovation activity across Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). Established in 2010 by the then Department for Business, Innovation and … Continue reading “The Realities, Challenges and Strengths of the External Funding Environment at LEP Level”
Brexit and the UK’s Regional and Urban Challenges
Brexit poses four direct challenges that relate to sub-national, regional and urban issues. First, it leads to an economic challenge in that the UK’s interregional inequalities are likely to become even greater than they currently are. Second, and consequent upon the first, is that Brexit also leads to a political challenge in that the expectations of voters … Continue reading “Brexit and the UK’s Regional and Urban Challenges”
Meet Professor Stephan Weiler, Fulbright Distinguished Research Chair at the University of Birmingham – Part Three
Professor Stephan Weiler is currently visiting City-REDI as a Fulbright Distinguished Research Chair. The Fulbright Distinguished Chair Awards are viewed as the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program, a global exchange program now in existence for over seventy years. In a series of blogs, Stephan will introduce himself and outline how this partnership … Continue reading “Meet Professor Stephan Weiler, Fulbright Distinguished Research Chair at the University of Birmingham – Part Three”