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Gap widening between ‘resurgent’ and ‘stuck cities’

 How Can Cities Thrive in the Changing Economy?

The Work Foundation today releases a league table of the productivity of different cities across the UK that reveals wide and growing disparities between ‘resurgent’ cities and those that appear to be ‘stuck’. Lack of vision and failure to collaborate with neighbours are considered significant waeknesses. Historic coastal towns fare particulary badly in this changing environment. Differences risk being exacerbated by the credit crunch as too many UK cities have built up a reliance on financial service jobs compared to their European counterparts, the How Can Cities Thrive in the Changing Economy? report warns.  

"Many refuse to recognise that their economic future relies on trade links with a neighbouring city that, despite being a historic rival, is now thriving. And they are often blighted by either chaotic or complacent leadership."

Community engagement and community cohesion

Community engagement and community cohesion are both current public policy priorities. But there have been gaps in our understanding about how to promote community representation in ways that take account of diversity and population change. Latest report from Josesph Rowntree Foundation

 

Resisting Catastrophic Urbanism in Saint Petersburg

Anti viruses and underground monuments

Saint Petersburg is besieged by elite-backed architectural mega-projects and micro-interventions. Dmitry Vorobyev and Thomas Campbell , describe the dominant strains of 'renovation' and the popular resistance to them arguing that, in St. Petersburg, class conflict takes the form of opposed visions of urban renewal and historic preservation.

 

Smarter, Stronger Cities: UK Urban Policy Innovations and Lessons for the US

A new report from the Centre for Cities and Washington's Brookings Institution has found that the USA has a lot to learn from Britain's urban renaissance. But while British politicians and officials have always been keen to go on the hunt for policy ideas from the States, US politicians don't always follow suit. US mayors - and the next US administration - should look more closely at British policy ideas, to help American cities compete in the future.

"As the United States chooses its next President, we should do more to export our successful urban policies to the US - especially on sustainable growth. US cities could learn useful lessons from our track record of avoiding excessive sprawl and supporting low-income families." Dermot Finch

See also: Americans migrate back to the cities

Moral, But No Compass

Government, Church and the Future of Welfare
This new major study  draws on hundreds of interviews and survey questionnaires, describes the modern setting in which the government's welfare and related voluntary sector policies often are experienced as “discriminatory”, inadequately rooted in evidence and at risk of failing the faith communities.

produced by the von Hugel Centre for the Study of Faith in Society

Francis Davis in The Tablet

Developers accused of pursuing gadgetry instead of saving planet

Architects and developers are ignoring the threat of climate change and failing to address concerns over sustainability, according to the government's watchdog on urban planning and design.

"There are some architects and developers who really get climate change, but most don't or choose not to. As a result we get a lot of greenwash, such as green gadgets and microtechnology stuck on to buildings, rather than a proper approach to sustainable design."

Policing the retail republic

Does regeneration around a giant private mall in central Liverpool mark a worrying attempt to keep out the less well-heeled?

"The rules for the newly privatised city centre fabricate an ideal citizen - aspirational in consumption and thinking big with urban pride. This is depicted as no ordinary regeneration because Liverpool people 'possess so much passion, so much pride and such a desire to shop'."

The renaissance is over

Dermot Finch of Centre for Cities speculates on a time of recession

"The slowdown will test Ministers' resolve on devolution. The Government will now need to deliver on its empowerment rhetoric, in a much tighter fiscal climate. Will Ministers agree to more financial powers for local government, or use the slowdown as an excuse not to devolve? "

See also 'The credit crunch and implications for the UK housing market'

Church for the city

Jonathan Glancey on the the regenerated St Martin in the Fields

"Contrasts, contradictions and even conundrums are, though, parts and parcels of this extraordinary London foundation. "

27th April -18th Festival in the Fields including Sacred spaces- an exploration with Eric Parry, Philip Sheldrake and Maragaret Barker.  "What constitutes a ‘sacred space’? And how do our buildings – ancient and contemporary – help us to express the concept? Reflecting on our renewed church building, and the new complex of underground spaces, three renowned speakers help us explore the fascinating subject of ‘sacred space’ from a variety of angles – theological, architectural, cultural and sociological."

Even an atheist can marvel at this exquisite refuge for the urban poor. "St Martin's is emphatically a church, and its revival is a salutary tale of our times. It has raised its own money to beautify the city as well as to assist the homeless. We may choose to leave the faith out of it, but we can yet marvel at the mission." Simon Jenkins 2nd May

Regeneration in European cities:

Making connections

Research sponsored by the Jospeh Rowntree Foundation has found that  European cities can provide valuable insights into how to tackle deep-seated urban problems, such as the regeneration of run-down industrial areas. This research by the URBED consultancy is based primarily on case studies of major urban regeneration schemes in Gothenburg,  Rotterdam, and Roubaix/Lille  and draws conclusions for UK policy and practice.