Want to compare how dense cities are in Britain, France and Japan? You're in luck! @centreforcities.bsky.social just released our data As you can see, British big cities are very flat compared to their international peers. ... 🧵

British cities are too flat — and it’s holding back housing supply. Our new blog shows a big density gap with France and Japan, driven by missing mid-rise homes. Read more 👉 buff.ly/mm3GBRX

Everybody loves brownfield-first. But where exactly should we densify our cities? And how? Our new report shows Britain's density gap is wider in the biggest cities outside London than in the capital - and the inner city 'urban cores' up to 5km out from the centre are to blame.

Big cities like Birmingham could get many more people well connected to its city centre by a 30 minute public transport journey. But this doesn't involve expanding the network - no new trams or new bus routes. This is simply from making the existing network function better: integration. Thread 🧵

With universities under strain and further education fragmented, how can the government reach the 66% target? This blog explores the current geography of participation and the past role of polytechnics to see whether a different kind of institution is needed to meet this ambition. Check here⬇️

📅 Centre for Cities on: The New Towns Taskforce report Our housing and planning experts @antbreach.bsky.social and @mauricelange.bsky.social will introduce key takeaways from the report and what they mean for the Government’s housing delivery plans. Register here👇 buff.ly/QM52C1a

Branch campuses are popping up in university 'coldspots'. Would attracting one in be a good way to achieve local growth? Possibly. Though often these outposts only pop up in places already with an offer - specific strengths in their local economy. Worth investing in these first. 👇

Oxford and Cambridge account for more than a third of spin-outs that move from cities to the countryside, yet most settle in business parks on their peripheries. This reflects both the success of their local economies and the constraints of their current urban form. Read the blog for more details⬇️

BLOG | Spinning out: Are university spin-outs leaving cities for the countryside? Cities are ‘nurseries’ for the creation of innovative firms that often end up elsewhere rather than ‘gardens’ where they take root🌱 Read our latest blog from @xuanrulin.bsky.social 👇 buff.ly/0RhafQR

There is plenty to like about this pledge to help universities diversify income. But it really doesn't tackle the wider issues they face, or recognise their primary local roles in their home cities. My blog on last week's announcement 👇

It's not just Oxbridge that are 'university towns' - they are a big presence in many other cities, often with struggling economies. So @xuanrulin.bsky.social and I wanted to investigate the economic roles these institutions play in their cities, and what this might mean for national HE policy. 👇

UK universities are feeling the financial squeeze, and their future is uncertain. So why does it matter? Our latest briefing breaks down the four big ways universities boost local economies - take a look⬇️

BLOG | A tale of four cities: what local economic role do their universities play? 🎓 🔍@__robjohnson__ takes a look at Plymouth, Exeter, Coventry and Cambridge as examples for what different university roles mean for pursuing local growth. Read now👇 buff.ly/qbbK0Ek

PODCAST | The role of universities in city economies 🎙️ @andrewcities.bsky.social chats with the authors of our latest briefing 'Town and Gown' @rjson.bsky.social and @xuanrulin.bsky.social about the key ways in which universities contribute to city economies 🎓 Listen now 🎧👇 buff.ly/mBozliW

France, Germany and Japan all build more homes than England - both nationally and in their major cities. What explains the gap? Check here to see what their planning systems have in common, and how England’s approach differs⬇️

NEW REPORT | Checking out: The varying performance of high streets across the country 🛍️ Our new report finds that that there is large variation between the performance of city centre high streets. 🧵👇 buff.ly/UfCfnlF

Exciting to see our work featured in MHCLG’s latest housing stats release!🙌

BtR is now an important part of housing growth in large cities, where private developers have struggled to keep up. Want to see where it’s happening across the UK and how it’s helping deliver new homes? Check out our latest briefing⬇️ or explore the highlights in the 🧵

What could the Planning & Infrastructure Bill mean for the new towns? 🏘️ The Bill lays the foundations it's up to Government to put them in the right places and ensure they are the best they can be. Read our latest blog from @mauricelange.bsky.social 👇

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👇

Historical data shows the Green Belt quickly achieved its goal of urban containment since its introduction in 1955. Today, it is a major obstacle to meeting the government’s housing targets, with green belt authorities around the capital facing the largest housebuilding shortfalls.

Delighted to be able to release the data from the @centreforcities.bsky.social Restarting Housebuilding series on GitHub today. We are making the most comprehensive dataset that exists on housebuilding at the local level in England since 1946 available for wider use. github.com/CentreforCit...

📢#CitiesOutlook2025, our annual health check of UK cities economic performance, is out now. 🏙️🔎2025 needs to be a year of growth delivery by the Government. What must policy do to boost wages across the country? Read the report 👇 https://buff.ly/3DPaUp0

Check out my blog on demolitions: what happened in the postwar period and the lessons for today🏙️ A return to 1960s demolition rates is unlikely, but efforts to improve housing quality should include higher demolition rates of privately owned stock, with a flexible zoning system and public fundings.

Where should the new towns go? And why is our thinking on new towns important for more than just new towns? Read my new report for @centreforcities.bsky.social – out today!

Deck the malls: which cities are Christmas visitor hotspots? 🎄 Christmas is a period when visitor spend in UK cities grows across the country, with an increase in 2023 of around 12 per cent on the prior two months🎁 Read our latest blog from @oscarselby.bsky.social👇 loom.ly/qb8fyD8

We don’t build very many public houses anymore. Want to find out what was going on when we did? Lessons from the last 80 years of public housebuilding – the highs and the lows – are out in my new report with @xuanrulin.bsky.social for @centreforcities.bsky.social