Medium-sized cities like Exeter, Ipswich and Norwich are important “nodes” within the national economy. And they should work with each other and larger neighbours to drive economic recovery across the UK, claims a report published today (25 February) by The Work Foundation.
Commissioned jointly by the three cities themselves, Recession, Recovery and Medium-Sized Cities shows how the recession has played out differently in the 49 English medium-sized cities according to differing levels of workforce skills and industrial profiles. Focusing on the actions being undertaken in these cities to respond to the recession, the report shows how medium-sized cities are taking decisive action to support struggling businesses, the newly unemployed and young people trying to find work. It also reveals exactly how medium-sized cities can contribute to economic recovery.
Economic growth over the past decade has largely been concentrated in the UK’s largest cities and this looks set to continue. Amongst medium-sized cities the picture is more uneven: many medium-sized cities accounted for a smaller share of regional productivity (Gross Value Added) in 2006 than in 1995. Nonetheless over the same period of time, regional employment in the private sector knowledge-intensive services (such as business and high-tech services) that are set to expand and drive growth over the next decade have grown in the majority of medium-sized cities. This creates key opportunities for medium-sized cities in the upturn. <br /><br /> <br /><br />Naomi Clayton, report author and researcher from the Ideopolis Programme at The Work Foundation said, “Medium-sized cities are responding well to the challenges created by the recession and are undertaking important local initiatives to attract business, boost skills and promote regeneration and recovery. Over the next decade it will be private sector knowledge intensive services that create the majority of new jobs and generate the highest productivity gains. Medium-sized cities are therefore well positioned to play a key role, working with each other and with their larger neighbours, in driving regional and national recovery.”<br /><br /> <br /><br />The report’s four recommendations show how medium-sized cities can help drive the recovery: <br /><br />· through concerted investment in economic development and regeneration, working closely with neighbouring large cities (where possible), with other medium-sized cities and with their surrounding sub-regions to maximise competitiveness;<br /><br />· by developing strong civic leadership across private, public and third sectors, working towards a clear long-term vision of sustainable economic success that takes account of its distinctive assets such as universities, industrial composition and quality of place;<br /><br />· investing to increase workforce skills and to stimulate local employer demand for higher levels of skills; and<br /><br />· by creating an economic development strategy that responds to the changes in the economy and seeks to attract and grow private-sector knowledge-intensive services firms, jobs and individuals, as well as develop sectors such as retail, leisure and tourism to provide high quality employment for those at all skills levels.<br /><br /> </body>
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