Centre for Cities

City Talks: Why we are seeing a boom in urban economics research

Andrew discusses how urban economics is advancing – from new topics and new sources of data to the theoretical developments of the moment – with three people immersed in the latest research.

 

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, is joined by Neil Lee, Professor of Economic Geography at LSE, Helen Simpson, Professor of Economics at the University of Bristol, and Max Nathan, Professor of Economic Geography at University College London. They discuss the state of research about urban economies in 2024.

 

We are constantly finding out more about where people live and work, how people move around, where businesses choose to locate, and where people spend their money – all of which adds more depth to our picture of cities. The three researchers describe how new topics are emerging, the enduring relevance of some core urban questions, and how new sources of data – and innovative tools for processing it – are moving research forward, at a time of increasing demand for evidence to shape policy. 

City Minutes: Accelerating net zero

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Caitlin Rollison, External Affairs Manager, and Audrey-Frédérique Lavoie, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, to discuss Centre for Cities' new report, Accelerating net zero delivery: What can UK cities learn from around the world?

The report explores the need to change how we build, how we move, and how we power our cities in order to meet the government's target of net zero by 2050.

Andrew, Caitlin and Audrey discuss the role cities play in helping the UK meet its net zero target and what they should focus on to bring greenhouse gas emissions down.

City Minutes: Return to the office

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Rob Johnson, Analyst, to discuss Centre for Cities' new report, Return to the office: How London compares to other global cities, and why this matters.

New data published by Centre for Cities reveals that central London's return to the office has continued in 2024 but it falls behind in comparison to its international competitors: Paris, New York, Singapore, Sydney, and Toronto.

Andrew and Rob discuss the reports findings on behaviours and attitudes towards hybrid working, and what the future holds for the office.

 

City Talks: "What Manchester thinks today, the world does tomorrow"

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, is joined by Brian Groom, author and journalist, whose latest book is Made in Manchester: A People’s History of the City That Shaped the Modern World. The Victorians had a phrase, ‘What Manchester thinks today, the world does tomorrow’. Brian discusses the city’s external global image and the web of contradictory political, economic and cultural associations it has had throughout its history.

This episode is part of Centre for Cities’ City Talks series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it.

Listen back to Centre for Cities’ previous conversation with Brian Groom on City Talks for a discussion of his previous work, Northerners: A History from the Ice Age to the Present Day.

City Minutes: Big cities in the UK and the G7

Director of Policy and Research Paul Swinney is joined by Ant Breach, Associate Director, to discuss Centre for Cities’ new report, Climbing the Summit: Big cities in the UK and the G7.

How does the geography of the G7’s economies alter our understanding of how well each nation performs? The report highlights the underperformance of the UK’s largest cities relative to their G7 peers, and how this creates a yawning prosperity gap between the UK and G7 leaders the USA, France and Germany. Why are large places like Manchester and Birmingham, that should have an inherent productivity advantage given their size, falling behind? Paul and Ant talk discuss what the next Government should do to try and address the shortfall.

This episode is part of Centre for Cities’ City Minutes series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it.

City Talks: Detroit’s ten-year recovery from bankruptcy

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by James L. Tatum III, Director of Detroit Bureau at the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, for a discussion about Detroit, a place which suffered the biggest municipal insolvency in history when it filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2013. They discuss the city’s route back to financial stability and the recovery of its reputation in municipal bond markets. James Tatum is the author of a recent report, An Assessment of Detroit’s Economic Condition and a Critique of its Economic Development Efforts, to be followed by a second paper on the Detroit’s bankruptcy later this month.

This episode is part of Centre for Cities’ City Talks series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it.

City Talks: Tim Leunig

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Tim Leunig, who has had a notable career being a policy adviser to several senior Cabinet figures including two Chancellors as well as being an award winning economic history academic at the London School of Economics. He talks here about his role in the Government’s Covid-19 furlough scheme, how think tanks can build trust and influence in Whitehall, and what economic historians can teach policymakers.

This episode is part of Centre for Cities’ City Talks series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it. To stay updated on Tim Leunig’s work, subscribe to his Substack.

City Talks: Can we address the housebuilding crisis by building on the ‘grey belt’?

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Tom Dobson, Managing Director of Quod, Heather Sargent, Barrister at Landmark Chambers, and Ant Breach, Associate Director at Centre for Cities, to discuss the Labour party’s proposals to release land for housing development on what it calls the ‘grey belt’ – poor-quality or unsightly greenbelt land.

If elected to government, Labour will come under immediate pressure to implement planning reforms and boost housebuilding. Labour has pledged that it would build 1.5 million homes and sees the ‘grey belt’ as an important route to doing so. Are its proposals enough to fill the housebuilding shortfall and relieve the pressure on cities? How would greybelt development work in practice? And what more needs to be introduced?

This episode is part of Centre for Cities’ City Talks series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it.

City Talks: Sharing the benefits of a high-tech economy

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Professor Neil Lee, Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics and author of Innovation for the Masses: How to Share the Benefits of the High-Tech Economy. Neil talks about the patterns that emerge when comparing the characteristics of innovative economies around the world, why policy makers are starting to think and talk differently about Silicon Valley and lessons the UK can learn from Switzerland about using labour policy and devolution to improve economic productivity.

This episode is part of Centre for Cities’ City Talks series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it.

City Talks: The UK’s towns tsar

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Adam Hawksbee, Deputy-Director of Onward and Chair of the Towns Unit at Number 10 Downing Street and the Department for Levelling Up – also known as the Government’s Towns Czar – and by Paul Swinney, Director of Policy and Research at Centre for Cities. The Government has a £1.5bn long-term plan for towns. So, how should we be thinking about towns and should this shape the work of Centre for Cities?

This episode is part of Centre for Cities’ City Talks series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it.