West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 9th June 2023

Despite some bright spots of recovery in the nation and West Midlands, the forecast remains turbulent for the UK economy. Perhaps the biggest news is inflation: despite falls in inflation over the period since the previous monitor, the base rate is now at 4.5% and the hopes of easing interest rates in the medium term … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 9th June 2023”

Carbon Emission Accounting of Cities

On 2nd March 2023, City-REDI held their second hybrid seminar with Zhifu Mi, Professor of Climate Change Economics, UCL. Watch the seminar below. Cities are at the forefront of the battle against climate change. However, intercity comparisons and responsibility allocations among cities are hindered because cost- and time-effective methods to calculate the carbon footprints of … Continue reading “Carbon Emission Accounting of Cities”

WMREDI City Index Tool: Core Cities Comparison

The City Index Tool is a data dashboard which allows users to compare and rank 61 English cities using a varierty of metrics and categories. Alice Pugh demonstrates its use by comparing the 8 English members of the Core City UK alliance. View the City Index, part of the WMREDI Data Lab. What is the … Continue reading “WMREDI City Index Tool: Core Cities Comparison”

Megatrends in the West Midlands – Future Business District Podcast

What are megatrends? Megatrends are major movements, patterns or trends that have a transformative impact on the economy, business, society, cultures and personal lives. In a series of podcasts, City-REDI / WMREDI, University of Birmingham examines the impacts of megatrends in the West Midlands, by speaking to a series of experts from the region. In … Continue reading “Megatrends in the West Midlands – Future Business District Podcast”

Megatrends in the West Midlands – Local Living

Gina Hunt examines the megatrend of local living, brought on by Covid-19, causing people to stay at home or in their own locality, increasing homeworking and spending money locally in their neighbourhoods. This article is part of larger project looking at Megatrends in the West Midlands. Megatrends are major movements or patterns or trends that … Continue reading “Megatrends in the West Midlands – Local Living”

Megatrends in the West Midlands: The ‘New Normal’ Must Embrace ‘Building Back Better’

Johannes Read delves into how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way people and businesses work in the city centre as the UK emerges from the crisis. This article is part of a larger project looking at Megatrends in the West Midlands. Megatrends are major movements or patterns or trends that are having a transformative … Continue reading “Megatrends in the West Midlands: The ‘New Normal’ Must Embrace ‘Building Back Better’”

Launch of the City Index

On 2nd September 2022, we launched the City Index, part of the new WMREDI Data Lab. The event featured a presentation by Josh Swan who led the development of the data dashboard, followed by a Q&A session. The City Index is an interactive dashboard tool developed by our team that assesses 61 English cities on … Continue reading “Launch of the City Index”

Megatrends in the West Midlands: Just City

Liam O’Farrell looks at some of the megatrends associated with the idea of the Just City – how we can harness the transformative power of development to help address social injustices that are starkly visible in cities. This article is part of larger project looking at Megatrends in the West Midlands. Megatrends are major movements … Continue reading “Megatrends in the West Midlands: Just City”

Regional Clusters: Place Branding for the Co-Location of Firms

Professor Simon Collison discusses how city-regions need to build a straightforward narrative that captures why people and businesses would want to visit, live, work, invest and commit to that particular place. Place branding and local leadership is often focused on promoting inward investment around clusters of economic activity, which can contribute to regional economic growth … Continue reading “Regional Clusters: Place Branding for the Co-Location of Firms”

Sustainability: A Green Clean and Just Transition for Birmingham

Barny Evans looks at the challenges that Birmingham faces when adapting to climate change and Covid-19. This blog post was produced for inclusion in the Birmingham Economic Review for 2021. The annual Birmingham Economic Review is produced by the University of Birmingham’s City-REDI and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. It is an in-depth exploration … Continue reading “Sustainability: A Green Clean and Just Transition for Birmingham”