This blog summarises the reports City-REDI have put out between July-August 2025.
Catch up on all the latest reports and projects in one place.
Black Sabbath Analysis in ‘Metal Injection’
Dr Matthew Lyons analysis on Ozzy Osbourne has been picked up in a music outlet called Metal Injection.
Matthew Lyon’s on ITV News
Dr Matthew Lyons has been interviewed by ITV news on his analysis of the economic impact of the Black Sabbath show at Villa Park.
Matthew Lyon’s mentioned in the BBC
Dr Matthew Lyons has been quoted in a BBC article about Ozzy Osborne’s gift to the West Midlands economy. Black Sabbath’s show at Villa Park made a total of £33.8m, with most remaining in the region.
City-REDI’s Digital Skills Research in The Guardian
City-REDI’s Research on Digital Skills has been mentioned in The Guardian for the second time this summer as they talk about how A-Level grades are the highest they have been since Covid.
Matthew Lyons on ITV News
Dr Matthew Lyons was interviewed on ITV news about the Jagar Landrover Job cuts.
Back in April, we highlighted the risk that tariffs could pose to the UK automotive sector, estimating that the West Midlands alone could lose over £6 billion in GDP and up to 66,000 jobs by 2030 if 25% tariffs were imposed. Since then, the UK–US trade deal has reduced those tariffs to 10%, cutting the potential regional impact by around 60%, to £2.5 billion. Despite this, the tariffs have still taken a toll. Jaguar Land Rover’s recent announcement of up to 500 redundancies is a stark reminder of the sector’s fragility. JLR may be in the spotlight today, but other firms are likely reviewing their finances and facing similarly tough decisions.
The risks of further job losses remain high, especially in the Midlands. A combination of falling global demand, rising competition from China, domestic cost-of-living pressures, and a challenging transition to electric vehicles has left the sector exposed. The government has taken some positive steps. These include relaxing fines to automakers for missed EV sales targets, securing tariff cuts in the US-UK trade deal, launching an industrial strategy, and introducing the new Electric Car Grant. However, long-term workforce planning and reskilling will be essential to protect jobs and support a successful transition for the sector.
Geographic Inequalities in an Era of Unequal Devolution
Thrilled to see Dr Charlotte Hoole’s insights featured in the RSA Regional Studies blog! Her work on geographic inequalities & devolved governance highlights how uneven devolution is shaping regional futures.
2025 Distinguished Service to Regional Studies Award
City-REDI’s Professor Anne Green has been honoured with the 2025 Regional Studies Association Distinguished Service to Regional Studies Award for her outstanding contributions to regional economic development and service to the field!
Birmingham Business School Awards
It was a busy day for City-REDI at the Birmingham Business School awards. Charlotte Hoole was awarded the Birmingham Business School Early and Mid Career Research Grant Award 2025 for her project ‘Improving Public Funding Allocation to Reduce Geographical Inequalities’. Abigail Taylor was awarded an External Engagement and Impact Award for her work on improving economic coordination between local authorities. Rebecca Riley was also involved in the event and presented the University of Birmingham’s regional engagement plan.
Urban mobility and carbon emissions: Decoding the influence of sociodemographic factors, trip-level built environment, and travel behaviour of workers in three UK cities
Darja Reuschke has co-authored a new report looking at the environmental impact of daily travel in cities. It highlights the importance of walkability and public transport connectivity across the city, not only in the city centre, for lower CO2 emissions.
How to Scale Engagement and Impact in Universities
Rebecca Riley, Anne Green, Abigail Taylor and Elizabeth Goodyear have had a chapter published in ‘How to Scale Engagement and Impact in Universities’, looking at ‘scaling from the local: methods and practices for achieving wider impact from civic partnership collaborations’