
213K
Downloads
263
Episodes
Centre for Cities is the leading think tank dedicated to improving the economies of the UK’s largest cities and towns. In these podcasts, Chief Executive Andrew Carter interviews leading thinkers in the urban policy field, as well as experts from Centre for Cities about their research and ideas on improving the economies of cities and large towns.
Episodes

Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
City Minutes: Density in our big cities
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Analyst Maurice Lange to talk about the urban density gap following the publication of our recent report ‘Flat Britain: The urban density gap and how to close it'. They discuss the housing shortage in the UK, the importance of cities in tackling that shortage and they look to other cities in the world that are achieving the kind of density we need in their big cities.

Monday Dec 08, 2025
City Minutes: Devolution for the Glasgow City Region?
Monday Dec 08, 2025
Monday Dec 08, 2025
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by External Affairs and Policy Manager Caitlin Rollison to discuss Scottish devolution from a city region perspective following the publication of our recent briefing ‘Let devolution flourish: How Glasgow spreads prosperity and why the City Region needs devolution‘. They set out how the agenda has progressed recently and why Glasgow City Region needs a devolution deal as well as a directly elected mayor.

Thursday Dec 04, 2025
City Minutes: The performance of London's high streets
Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Researcher Oscar Selby to discuss the findings of our latest briefing 'Follow the money: Explaining the performance of London’s suburban high streets'. They explore why its useful to take a closer look at London's suburban high streets to better understand the wider conversation on the economic performance of the UK's high streets and city centres.

Tuesday Nov 04, 2025
City Minutes: Better transport for big cities
Tuesday Nov 04, 2025
Tuesday Nov 04, 2025
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Analyst Rob Johnson and External Affairs and Policy Manager Caitlin Rollison to discuss the findings of our latest report 'Integrated transport: The size of the prize for mayors'. They dive into the economic benefits of better transport systems for big city regions and the size of the prize for the metro mayors.

Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
City Minutes: Big cities are catching up
Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Yunze Wang, Analyst, to discuss the findings of our latest briefing 'How productive are the UK’s big cities?'. They dive into what the latest data ONS tells us about big city performance and some of the potential inconsistencies that arise.

Tuesday Oct 14, 2025
City Minutes: the New Towns Taskforce report
Tuesday Oct 14, 2025
Tuesday Oct 14, 2025
This episode is a recording of our recent event on the New Towns taskforce report. Chief Executive Andrew Carter was joined by Maurice Lange, Analyst, and Ant Breach, Director of Policy and Research, to discuss the government's initial response to the report. The conversation focused on economic geography aspects of the report and as well as touching on the governance and delivery issues involved.

Thursday Sep 18, 2025
City Minutes: A year of planning reforms
Thursday Sep 18, 2025
Thursday Sep 18, 2025
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Maurice Lange, Analyst, and Ant Breach, Director of Policy and Research, to discuss planning reform. They explore how the government has been doing over the last year as they implement planning reforms to try and meet the housebuilding target as well as what might need to happen if we get a second planning bill.

Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
City Minutes: The role of universities in city economies
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Rob Johnson, Analyst, and Xuanru Lin, Researcher, to discuss the findings of our latest briefing 'Town and Gown: The role of universities in city economies '. They dive into the specific ways in which universities contribute to city economies and the potential impact of funding issues and proposed student levies.

Tuesday Aug 26, 2025
City Talks: My life at Centre for Cities
Tuesday Aug 26, 2025
Tuesday Aug 26, 2025
In this very special episode of City Talks Andrew Carter is joined by the Centre for Cities' now former Director of Policy and Research, Paul Swinney, to reflect on his 16 years at the Centre for Cities as he moves on to his next adventure. They discuss what's changed, and what hasn't, in the last two decades in the world of economic policy, what brought Paul to the Centre 16 years ago as well as some of his favourite moments during his tenure.

Tuesday Jul 22, 2025
City Talks: Rt Hon Greg Clark on the new Industrial Strategy
Tuesday Jul 22, 2025
Tuesday Jul 22, 2025
Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Rt Hon Greg Clark, member of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council and former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
With Government’s Industrial Strategy White Paper published, Greg explains what the Advisory Council will do next and how industrial policy relates to other area of the Government’s growth plan.
This episode is part of Centre for Cities’ City Talks series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it.
