Daljit Kalirai, Sales & Partnerships Director at National Express, explains that by prioritizing mass transit, reducing congestion, and fostering partnerships with businesses to promote commuting by bus, the West Midlands can mitigate environmental damage and stimulate economic growth. This article was written for the Birmingham Economic Review 2023. The review is produced by City-REDI/ WMREDI, … Continue reading “Tackling Congestion and the Rise of Single Occupancy Cars”
Civic Universities for a Civil Society: (Un)Learning Habits of Impact, Engagement, and Action for Change
On 16 May, City-REDI held its fourth external seminar of 2024, featuring Helen Jarvis from Newcastle University with an online webinar about community organising as a place-based theory and method of civic university engagement. The seminar follows the publication of Professor Helen Jarvis’s paper ‘Community organising in higher education: activist community-engaged learning in geography’, highlighting … Continue reading “Civic Universities for a Civil Society: (Un)Learning Habits of Impact, Engagement, and Action for Change”
Cheapening Tomorrow? Revisiting HM Treasury’s Discount Rate
Calvin Jones, Professor of Economics at Cardiff Business School, critiques current discounting practices used to evaluate long-term investments, arguing that they systematically undervalue future benefits. By advocating for a revised approach that considers ecological and social factors, Calvin suggests using a lower discount rate to prioritise sustainability and equity. The future… is another country? Go find a … Continue reading “Cheapening Tomorrow? Revisiting HM Treasury’s Discount Rate”
Apathy, Allegiance, and Anger, the Mayoral Elections Against a Backdrop of Voter Turmoil
In our latest blog, Rebecca Riley observes that despite efforts to engage voters, turnout remains low due to factors like voter apathy and a lack of understanding about mayoral roles. For the political wonks, in England, the bank holiday weekend was a nail-biting and fascinating affair, especially when it comes to devolution. Combined Authority Mayors … Continue reading “Apathy, Allegiance, and Anger, the Mayoral Elections Against a Backdrop of Voter Turmoil”
“Breathing Life Into Britain’s High Streets”: What Hope Have We Got?
In our latest blog, Hannes Read looks at the Labour Party’s short-term intervention proposals like banking hubs and addressing shoplifting alongside their long-term changes such as reforming business rates to favour high street commerce. The Labour Party are firmly on the election hunt. Quickly off the back of the announcement of Labour’s “five missions” for … Continue reading ““Breathing Life Into Britain’s High Streets”: What Hope Have We Got?”
How Do We Know When a Place Has Levelled Up?
Maryna Ramcharan addresses the methodological challenges in determining when a place has levelled up. The Levelling Up White Paper brought together a wide range of policies and programmes happening across government, each with its own monitoring frameworks and outcome/output targets. In the Levelling Up analysis released recently, we use a set of metrics and Sustainable … Continue reading “How Do We Know When a Place Has Levelled Up?”
REDI for the Next Adventure: My Reflections… and a Big Thanks!
Simon Collinson reflects on his time at the University of Birmingham before he leaves to embark on his next big adventure. After nearly 12 years at the University of Birmingham (UoB), I am leaving to join Zhejiang University (ZJU) in Hangzhou, China, to continue my research on innovation and local economic growth. This will be … Continue reading “REDI for the Next Adventure: My Reflections… and a Big Thanks!”
Skills for Innovation Workshop – A Reflection
Fumi Kitagawa shares some of the findings from ‘Skills for Innovation’, a workshop which took place at The Exchange in Birmingham on 24 April 2024, organised by City-REDI with colleagues from the Centre for Innovation Management Research (CIMR), Birkbeck, University of London. The day started with a series of research presentations, followed by a panel discussion … Continue reading “Skills for Innovation Workshop – A Reflection”
City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – March and April 2024
Events – presenting work / speaking engagements 22 March, Alice Pugh and Hannes Read presented at a National Civic Impact Accelerator event – An Introduction to Developing Business Cases for Civic Engagement Projects. 9 April – Matt Lyons joined a workshop at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre on “Multi-regional input-output in research and development”. … Continue reading “City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – March and April 2024”
Addressing the Divide: The Impact of University-Related Migration on the UK’s Subregions and Policy Roadmap
Kostas Kollydas and Anne Green summarise the findings from a recent study with Tony Champion on the impact of university-related migration on the UK’s subregions. This blog was first published by the Higher Education Policy Institute. In their recent study, “The gainers and losers from the United Kingdom’s university-related migration: A subregional analysis of Graduate … Continue reading “Addressing the Divide: The Impact of University-Related Migration on the UK’s Subregions and Policy Roadmap”