This is bad for the government's housebuilding targets, right? Not necessarily...

First up... The UK’s Industrial Strategy is back. But ambition needs evidence. Our new report, Open Sourcing the Industrial Strategy, delivers the clearest IS-8 mapping yet - real-time data, frontier sectors, future-ready. 👉 thedatacity.com/reports/open...

After 16 years @paulswinney.bsky.social reflects on his career at Centre for Cities including some of his favourite research, cities and lessons learnt along the way 🎙️ Listen now 🎧 👇 buff.ly/PZMXf1B

If you haven't already, check out our latest #LEDConfidential episode with @paulswinney.bsky.social from @centreforcities.bsky.social on the UK's industrial strategy and what it means for local economic development in the country open.spotify.com/episode/0w9K...

NEW @centreforcities.bsky.social REPORT OUT TODAY! In Planorama, Luka and I argue that if we want English planning to perform more like its international peers – Germany, France and Japan - it needs to BE more like them. 🧵 on what that means...

BLOG | Leaky buckets: how much spending do places lose to their neighbours? 🛍️ Big city centres pick the pockets of smaller neighbours for high street spend, while not doing enough to boost incomes in these neighbours. Read the blog from @paulswinney.bsky.social👇

Most discussion on 'how to save the high street' doesn't take a serious approach to what actually determines its performance in city centres. Our new report (I think) provides the most comprehensive account yet. And it starts with the fact that: the high street is not in decline everywhere. 🧵👇

I'm sure you've been told many times over that business rates are the cause of the woes of struggling high streets. Here's why reforming them won't solve these woes.

Yesterday we launched the most comprehensive data analysis on the performance of the Great British high street I've ever seen. Read the headlines here:

As much as £5bn needed to revive UK’s struggling high streets, study finds

PODCAST | The varying performance of high streets 🛍️ @andrewcities.bsky.social and @paulswinney.bsky.social dive into why high streets perform differently from city to city and what can be done to turn around the centres most struggling. Listen to the pod 🎧👇

✍️ Too much shop, not enough chop: Why high streets are struggling — and what policy can do about it 🛍️ "Not all high streets are struggling, but it is the economy that is the root cause for those that are." Read the blog from @paulswinney.bsky.social 👇

🗣️ We asked Paul Swinney, @paulswinney.bsky.social, @centreforcities.bsky.social on 8 May about the impact of home working on 🏙️ towns and cities. Watch the clip below 👇

What's the geography of the Government's chosen 8 sectors in the Industrial Strategy? Here they are mapped using @thedatacity.bsky.social data. They're currently very Greater South East focussed...

PODCAST | Reflections on the Industrial Strategy 🎙️ @andrewcities.bsky.social‬ is joined by @paulswinney.bsky.social‬ to discuss what the strategy means for the big city regions that sit at the heart of the plan and the elected mayors that represent them. Listen now 🎧👇

Big 'winners' are the 8 sectors and the big city regions and their MSAs. More thoughts from @centreforcities.bsky.social to follow 4/ends

Sensible @paulswinney.bsky.social on the lack of devolution within devolution. Its actually interesting how Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all replicate English problems. And saying Scotland is "moved from one ill-fitting geography to another" is 😬. www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

🎙️ NEW PODCAST | Reflections on the Spending Review @andrewcities.bsky.social and @paulswinney.bsky.social run through the key announcements on economic growth and what they mean for cities. Listen now 🎧 www.centreforcities.org/podcast/city...

Tell me you've been reading @centreforcities.bsky.social's work without telling me you've been reading @centreforcities.bsky.social's work (from today's spending review)

Thumbs up to the chancellor's recommitment to city regions in today's speech & the confirmed investment in transport within them. She will need to complement this with housing investment around new transport stops for it to have the largest possible impact: www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

Centre for Cities Chief Executive @andrewcities.bsky.social responds to Rachel Reeves plans to announce £15bn funding for tram, train and bus projects in mayoral authorities 👇

I was in Wells in the South West yesterday, when I came across these two banners side by side. I assume there was no irony in their placement. But it shows in a microcosm one of the challenges of building in this country.

Today @paulswinney.bsky.social‬ is at UKREiiF to launch our latest briefing on Build to Rent 🏗️🏘️ Read the briefing here👇 buff.ly/xYnZtwx

Swindon was one of very few of the cities and towns we look at that I'd never been to. On Monday that wrong was righted @jonnelledge.bsky.social

On our latest City Minutes podcast @paulswinney.bsky.social talks "left behind" places and what the local election results mean for the Government's plan for growth 🎙️ Listen in full 👇 buff.ly/4pL2k81

Politically, fixing big city economies would help nearby “left behind” places 📍 Watering down investments in big cities will do no favour to “left behind” places and will do nothing to tackle their political discontent. Read our latest blog from @yz18.bsky.social 👇 buff.ly/hvUiN31

PODCAST | What the local election results mean for the Government's plan for growth @andrewcities.bsky.social is joined by @paulswinney.bsky.social to discuss the myth of “left behind” places and how government policy should respond to political discontent. Listen here 🎧👇 buff.ly/4pL2k81

📅On Thursday 8 May at 10.15am, we will examine the impact of remote and hybrid working on transport and cities, with: ⭐️ @paulswinney.bsky.social, @centreforcities.bsky.social ⭐️Christina Calderato, TfL ⭐️Daniel Vaughan, Transport for Greater Manchester

Voters seem set to press the big button of political discontent again in Thursday’s local elections. Commentators will probably tell you that this is a cry of despair from ‘left behind’ places. That is a total misdiagnosis. Here’s why. 🧵👇

Great article - You help "left behind" areas by helping the nearest big city. Our problem is the relative economic weakness of our big cities outside London.

ℹ️City centres in Britain cover 0.1% of all land but account for a much larger share of the economy Industrial strategy that has place as a focus must prioritise tackling why city centres aren’t as attractive as they should be. @paulswinney.bsky.social explains👇 buff.ly/DKXJreo

📢No, Greater London shouldn’t become more like Greater Manchester "The goal should be to give the mayors the autonomy the Mayor of London has, rather than weakening the mayoral model in the Capital." Read our latest blog from @paulswinney.bsky.social 👇

Which British cities are most exposed to Trump's tariffs? @yz18.bsky.social has crunched some estimates 👇👇

Next St Catz Pol Econ Seminar @paulswinney.bsky.social (Director of Policy and Research, Centre for Cities), ‘Spreading prosperity across the country – what is the government doing, and will it work - Wed, 9 April, 6.00-7.30 pm. All welcome. www.politicaleconomy.group.cam.ac.uk/events/sprea...

9 April @stcatharines.bsky.social Political Economy Seminar, @paulswinney.bsky.social - ‘Spreading prosperity across the country – what is the government doing, and will it work': politicaleconomy.group.cam.ac.uk

Has the pandemic killed the Friday after work drink? We use credit and debit card data to find out...

📌 Why Industrial Strategy shouldn’t be aiming to make everywhere equally successful In this blog, @paulswinney.bsky.social, sets out why the Industrial Strategy should be focused on the productivity of our biggest cities. Read now 👇 loom.ly/o-GBm_s

Inspired by a radio interview I did earlier this week. Why building on the green belt is good for the environment:

“The UK economy needs a way out of the stagnation that has plagued it for nearly two decades, and more housebuilding is a key part of the solution”, writes Andrew Carter of @centreforcities.bsky.social 🏗️ Labour has a chance to be bold on planning www.politics.co.uk/comment/2025...

Still time to register for our @whatworksgrowth.bsky.social thinking through session on industrial strategy tomorrow (5th March) at 09.15. I'll be talking with @paulswinney.bsky.social about the role of place and the implications for local government whatworksgrowth.org/events/indus...

BLOG: 'One-horse towns' come up a lot at @centreforcities.bsky.social: cities reliant on one sector. These places should look to diversify their economies. But what if the dominant industry is IT (like Reading) or life sciences (Cambridge)? Aren't these 'key strengths'? Maybe not. Let me explain:🧵

England’s big city mayors are leaving Glasgow trailing in their wake 🏛️ 📍 It's time to give the city the powers and resources its English equivalents have. Read our latest blog from @paulswinney.bsky.social 👇

A question for you: If transport falls under the National Transport Strategy, skills is part of Skills England etc, then what policy areas fall explicitly in the remit of industrial strategy? Very interested in your thoughts!

Mayors have missions for their areas, whether tackling child poverty on the North East or youth unemployment in the West Mids. How could they best use the voluntary sector to achieve these? We've written these briefings, using survey data on local giving patterns, to explain how 👇

Where is population growing? 📈 #CitiesOutlook2025 showed Milton Keynes, Northampton and Peterborough as the fastest-growing cities in terms of population over the last decade. This blog from @xuanrulin.bsky.social looks at what’s behind this growth👇

Here are my dispatches from West Yorkshire

Our new briefing sets out how to make the Government's planning reforms big enough to get 1.5 million houses built. The three essential steps are below - together these could be used to replace our discretionary planning system with a brand new flexible zoning system:

BRIEFING | A zoning system for England How far should planning reform should go? This new paper from Ant Breach sets out how and why planning reform should introduce a flexible zoning system in England 👇 1/4

Quiz time: which city or large town am I visiting today? 🤔

ℹ️ Why Industrial Strategy shouldn’t be aiming to make everywhere equally successful "The role of policy is to make places the best versions of themselves, rather than making everywhere the same." Read our new blog from @paulswinney.bsky.social 👇