With the Government putting devolution at the heart of its plan to ‘rewire the state’, there are lessons for every part of the country in what Yorkshire cities are doing on transport and still need to do 🚌👇 buff.ly/Ov0CRQJ
Fixing Yorkshire's transport connectivity gap - Centre for Cities
There are lessons for every part of the country in what Yorkshire cities are doing on transport and still need to do.
centreforcities.org
Much done, still more to do. Ahead of the first ever mayoral by-election, @xuanrulin.bsky.social summarises the tasks ahead for the next Manchester Mayor: 🎯Grow city centre strengths 🎯Bee Network rail 🎯More participation through devolved skills policy 🎯Densification in the urban core
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 2mo agoWhat should Greater Manchester's next mayor prioritise? Greater Manchester has grown faster than any other city region since 2017. But its next mayor will need to go further to keep that momentum going👇️ buff.ly/kn8ydSZ
The Government needs big cities to deliver its growth mission. Our latest report looks at the strengths and challenges facing each of the UK's big cities, and what they mean for policymakers. Read the full report below, or start with my blog on the key findings: lnkd.in/eVg_wepW
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 3mo ago🚀NEW REPORT | Big Cities Outlook The UK's largest cities should be at the heart of the Government's growth mission. They are home to 16% of the population, but account for 19% of knowledge-intensive business services jobs. Explore the report👇 buff.ly/mxLwAeJ
Both have seen big reductions in deprivation. Focus in Manchester is on transport, while Liverpool have made strides in skills. But the underlying ingredients are the same: inclusion (through access to opportunities) and, crucially, underpinned by growth. It's the emphasis that differs.
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 3mo agoDo cities have to choose between growth and inclusion? Manchester and Liverpool suggest the answer is no. Different local strategies have helped reduce deprivation while supporting economic growth. Read more 👇 buff.ly/S0M36Wb
To ease housing supply - a challenge we also face on this side of the Atlantic - @mayor.nyc.gov has announced the legalisation of, and support for, ADUs in NYC. A small change, but one that could unlock more homes in more places. What can British cities learn from NYC? The blog takes a closer look 👇
What British cities can learn from Zohran Mamdani’s new housing policy - Centre for Cities
What New York’s ADU reforms can teach British planners about unlocking more homes in existing neighbourhoods.
centreforcities.org
Cambridge and Oxford are often spoken about in the same breath. For years, their economic performance was closely matched - but over the past decade, they’ve begun to pull apart. What’s driving this divergence, and what does it mean for their future? This blog takes a closer look ⬇️
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 7mo agoTwo university cities. Two different trajectories. This blog examines why Cambridge has pulled ahead on key economic indicators👇 buff.ly/I5fsz6C
📅 In conversation with @mayorofgm.bsky.social Joins us to hear from the Mayor on Greater Manchester’s journey so far, lessons for other mayoral strategic authorities, his ambitions for Greater Manchester and the English devolution agenda more broadly👇 www.centreforcities.org/event/manche...
Another spin-out from Cities Outlook 2026! This time, we’re breaking down household income further - looking at how different income sources shape living standards across urban Britain🔍
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 7mo agoLabour market income accounts for the majority of household income in every city. This blog examines how income sources differ across places, and why productivity matters for living standards 👇 buff.ly/2UgrU8H
A sectoral-only approach risks leaving cutting-edge firms outside the IS-8 behind - and the places that depend more on those firms too. That’s why place-based support matters: getting the basics right to create dense, innovation-rich places that support a wide range of cutting-edge activities🌱
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 7mo agoThe cutting edge of the economy is bigger than the IS-8 sectors alone. This blog looks at the firms outside the IS-8, where they locate, and how they connect to priority sectors👇 buff.ly/pxACTgM
What does income deprivation look like within UK cities? This #DataViz shows the distribution of neighbourhoods by income deprivation percentile in 2025. While the average would paint a limited picture, the variation within cities reveals the true shape of inequality.
NEW REPORT out today. TLDR: Rules-based planning works and we can introduce it in British cities relatively easily. A small thread on Croydon’s 3-year planning ‘experiment’ and what it means for urban planning…
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 7mo ago🆕What happens when planning rules are clearer and more predictable? Our latest briefing examines Croydon’s Suburban Design Guide and its impact on small-site housing delivery. 👇 buff.ly/vLNo0r9
Why jobs (especially KIBS jobs) matter: they are the most direct way for residents to access their local economy and share in its growth🪴
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 7mo agoSome cities have added far more jobs than others over the past decade 📈 This blog explores where job growth has been strongest, and how it links to rising incomes👇 buff.ly/VCgXn9k
Want to understand the economic picture across urban Britain? Come see me and colleagues discuss how the government can raise living standards across the country at midday today, where I explain what's happening in this chart: www.centreforcities.org/event/cities...
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 8mo ago🚀Cities Outlook 2026 is out now! 🏙️ Our annual report looks at how the UK’s cities are performing — and what that means for economic growth and living standards. buff.ly/w5hQiNS 🧵👇
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.
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 10mo agoBritain is missing 2.3m urban homes. Our new report shows cities like Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds are far less dense than peers in France and Japan — holding back growth 👇 buff.ly/fkqDTjU
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 🧵
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 10mo agoNEW REPORT | Integrated transport: The size of the prize for mayors 🚌🚂🚃 Transport is the wiring that allows urban economies to function. But this wiring is faulty in big UK cities outside of London. Read the report 🔎👇 buff.ly/CRggzgl
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@centreforcities.bsky.social · 11mo agoThe Prime Minister has set out a new target for 66 per cent of young people to ‘participate in higher-level learning’ 👩🎓 How could Government achieve this? Should England bring back Polytechnics? 👇 buff.ly/9fvdLaE
📅 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
Centre for Cities on: The New Towns Taskforce report - Centre for Cities
Centre for Cities' housing and planning experts break down the New Towns Taskforce report and answer your questions on what it means for where and how we deliver housing.
buff.ly
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. 👇
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 12mo agoIf cities cannot get their own university, how much effort should they put into getting a local branch campus? 🎓 @rjson.bsky.social explores in his latest blog👇 buff.ly/EpK0IPM
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⬇️
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 12mo agoBLOG | 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
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
Spinning out: Are university spin-outs leaving cities for the countryside? - Centre for Cities
Many Oxford and Cambridge university spin-outs end up in business parks on the cities’ peripheries. This may reflect constraints on their urban form.
buff.ly
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 👇
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · last yr.🔬 Last week Government announced almost £10 million to help universities commercialise innovations. What impact could it have? In this blog post, @rjson.bsky.social draws on new data on the innovative start-ups that spin out of university research. buff.ly/WFyDXUa
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. 👇
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · last yr.NEW BRIEFING | Town and gown 🏙️🎓 How do local universities contribute to cities’ economic development as high-skilled employers, international exporters, catalysts for city-centre regeneration and innovators? Read the briefing 🔎👇 buff.ly/qhkNzSi
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⬇️
Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · last yr.NEW BRIEFING | Town and gown 🏙️🎓 How do local universities contribute to cities’ economic development as high-skilled employers, international exporters, catalysts for city-centre regeneration and innovators? Read the briefing 🔎👇 buff.ly/qhkNzSi
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⬇️
Maurice Lange@mauricelange.bsky.social · last yr.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...
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!🙌
Maurice Lange@mauricelange.bsky.social · last yr.I'm really pleased about this! Our big local housebuilding data digitisation project has been recognised in MHCLG's newest housing statistics release It was a massive effort from the team @antbreach.bsky.social @jrevans.bsky.social @xuanrulin.bsky.social