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”

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May I be so Bold? A Plan for the New West Midlands Combined Authority Mayor

This post was written by Chris Bouch for Urban Living Birmingham. When one looks at Andy Street’s potted history on Wikipedia, it is difficult not to be impressed: Oxford; past Managing Director at John Lewis Partnership; past chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership; Commander of the British Empire for services to … Continue reading “May I be so Bold? A Plan for the New West Midlands Combined Authority Mayor”

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From Guangzhou to Birmingham: The GZU-UoB Joint Research Centre for Service Industry and Urban Development (GB-JRCSIUD) visits City-REDI

Following last week’s post ‘City-REDI meets Guangzhou University’, Professor Di Cai shares her thoughts on Guangzhou University’s week with City-REDI. Five academics from Guangzhou University (GZU) China visited City-REDI, 19-21 June 2017. After meeting with Simon, John and other City-REDI members, new consensus has been reached that further research on the environment and smart urban development are important for … Continue reading “From Guangzhou to Birmingham: The GZU-UoB Joint Research Centre for Service Industry and Urban Development (GB-JRCSIUD) visits City-REDI”

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Increasing productivity in the agriculture sector via UK satellite applications

The government’s plan to secure growth in the UK’s £13.7bn space industry was outlined in the Queen’s Speech last Wednesday (21st June 2017). The plan involved “enabling [scientists] to launch from UK soil” and updating legislation to “offer the UK’s world-leading small satellite companies new options for low-cost, reliable access to space”. This pledge followed … Continue reading “Increasing productivity in the agriculture sector via UK satellite applications”

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City-REDI welcomes Guangzhou University

City-REDI held a workshop last week with its sister research centre based at Guangzhou University, Guangdong, China. This was an ideal opportunity for the two research centres to share research ideas and approaches and to explore opportunities for on-going collaboration. In May 2016, a linked research centre to City-REDI was established in Guangzhou, China. With … Continue reading “City-REDI welcomes Guangzhou University”

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Meet Professor Anne Green, Chair of Regional Economic Development at City-REDI

I’m a human geographer with particular interests in population geography, economic geography and the geography of labour markets. I am especially interested in spatial dimensions of employment change and issues of non-employment, local skills strategies, inclusive growth, migration, and urban and regional development. My interests stray into several other fields too but most of my … Continue reading “Meet Professor Anne Green, Chair of Regional Economic Development at City-REDI”

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Smart Specialization, Regional Growth and Applications to European Union Cohesion Policy, Best Paper 2016, Regional Studies

At the Regional Studies Association Annual Conference 2017 held in Dublin, my paper “Smart Specialization, Regional Growth and Applications to European Union Cohesion Policy” published by Regional Studies and co-authored with Professor Philip McCann from the University of Sheffield received the 2016 Award for the Best Paper in Regional Studies. It was voted the best … Continue reading “Smart Specialization, Regional Growth and Applications to European Union Cohesion Policy, Best Paper 2016, Regional Studies”

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AnalystFEST #2

12 July 2017 from 09:30 to 12:30 Room G11, Alan Walters Building, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT  After the successful first event earlier this year, City-REDI and the Black Country Consortium would like to explore the use of the AnalystFEST network to think about the future development of the WMCA Performance Management Framework. We are keen to … Continue reading “AnalystFEST #2”

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Strong and Stable Leadership – why city leadership becomes more important in times of national turbulence

To say we are in interesting times would be an understatement, the recent general election has plunged us further into uncertainty. Putting aside the rights and wrongs of holding the election and the unfolding political alliances it’s important to remember that on the ground people and businesses are struggling to keep up with the changes … Continue reading “Strong and Stable Leadership – why city leadership becomes more important in times of national turbulence”

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What are the economic impacts of Brexit on the UK’s sectors, regions and cities?

This piece was written by City-REDI’s Professor Raquel Ortega-Argilés. Recent research suggests that the UK’s cities and regions which voted for Brexit are also the most economically dependent on EU markets for their prosperity and viability (Los, McCann, Springford and Thissen, 2017). This is a result of their differing sectoral and trade composition. Different impacts are … Continue reading “What are the economic impacts of Brexit on the UK’s sectors, regions and cities?”

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