General Election 2024: Whatever Happened to Levelling Up?

Hannes Read and Abigail Taylor look at how in the 2024 election campaign, ‘levelling up’, the initiative to address regional inequalities, has been largely neglected by major parties, despite its ongoing importance. The phrase ‘levelling up’ – which refers to tackling inequality between places – has been cast aside in the 2024 election campaign. There has … Continue reading “General Election 2024: Whatever Happened to Levelling Up?”

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The Future of Devolution Under a New Government – A Manifesto Guide

Rebecca Riley looks at the Conservative Party and Labour Party proposals for devolution. Each party’s stance on place and devolution reflects their broader political philosophies, with Labour and the Conservatives focusing on managed devolution within a united framework, while the Liberal Democrats, Greens, SNP, and Plaid Cymru push for more substantial devolved autonomy and constitutional reform. … Continue reading “The Future of Devolution Under a New Government – A Manifesto Guide”

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Riding Into the Future: A Comparison of the Transport Policies in the 2024 UK Election

The United Kingdom general election will be held on July 4. By now all political parties have published their general election manifesto. In this blog, Magda Cepeda-Zorrilla compiles a summary of the transport-related proposals from the Labour, Conservatives, Reform UK, Liberal Democrats and the Green Party. Potholes With a focus on modernizing Transport Infrastructure, Labour … Continue reading “Riding Into the Future: A Comparison of the Transport Policies in the 2024 UK Election”

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City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – May and June 2024

Events – presenting work/ speaking engagements 7 May, members of City-REDI attended the Birmingham Anchor Network Co-ordination group. 15 May, members of City-REDI attended the Midlands Engine research, intelligence and policy partnership. 16 May, City-REDI held an academic seminar with Helen Jarvis from the University of Newcastle: Civic Universities for a Civil Society: (Un)Learning Habits … Continue reading “City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – May and June 2024”

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West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 27 June 2024

This month, the World Bank has recommended global cooperation to safeguard trade, support green and digital transitions, deliver debt relief, and improve food security. Economy and Business Despite an improvement in near-term prospects, the global outlook remains subdued by historical standards. In 2024-25, growth is set to underperform its 2010s average in nearly 60 percent … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 27 June 2024”

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CRRESY 7 (City-REDI REsearch SYmposium 7)

On 22nd May 2024, City-REDI hosted its seventh biannual research symposium. The in-person event featured various presentations from City-REDI researchers showcasing some of the institute’s research diversity. This blog from Hannes Read provides an overview of research from the event and his ten top takeaways. Readers are encouraged to contact the presenters for more information on … Continue reading “CRRESY 7 (City-REDI REsearch SYmposium 7)”

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Understanding Community Engagement: A Nine-Dimensional Framework

In this blog, Sara Hassan (City-REDI) reflects with Lucy Natarajan (Bartlett School of Planning) on their recently published article in Town Planning Review which proposes a nine-dimensional framework that evaluates community engagement in planning practice. This blog was first published on the Liverpool University Press blog. Community engagement lies at the heart of participatory planning … Continue reading “Understanding Community Engagement: A Nine-Dimensional Framework”

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The Post-pandemic Migration Shift? How Remote Work May Be Changing Where We Live

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote work, especially for high-skilled workers, leading to questions about its impact on internal migration patterns. In our latest blog, Darja Reuschke and Julie MacLeavy explore the link between remote working and migration. This blog is informed by the research presented in the book chapter ‘Reshaping the geography … Continue reading “The Post-pandemic Migration Shift? How Remote Work May Be Changing Where We Live”

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What Can We Learn From 20 Years of EU Funding for SME Finance? Lessons From Wales and Beyond

Drawing on findings from the Wales Business Fund evaluation, Tim Fanning and Neil Evans reflect on the lessons from attempts to address the SME finance gap in Wales and other UK regions. The SME finance gap: a key barrier to growth Gaps in access to finance for SMEs have been recognised as a market failure … Continue reading “What Can We Learn From 20 Years of EU Funding for SME Finance? Lessons From Wales and Beyond”

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Grasping the Nettle: The Urgent Reform of Business Rates

John Webber, Director & Head of Rating at Colliers, discusses how the current business rates system needs reform. With rate bills becoming increasingly unaffordable for many businesses and the appeal process overly complex and costly, urgent action is needed to address the unsustainable nature of the system. This article was written for the Birmingham Economic … Continue reading “Grasping the Nettle: The Urgent Reform of Business Rates”

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