Cities Outlook 2013

Posted on: 21 January 2013
By: mackene
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Now in its sixth year, Cities Outlook 2013 is the authoritative economic index of the 64 largest cities and towns in the UK. The findings this year reinforce the importance of skills, good transport and broadband connections and a good industry base to economically successful cities. The special focus this year has been on housing as a catalyst for economic growth. The report concludes that areas must be given the flexibility to use their funding for locally driven solutions to housing shortages which differ from place to place, rather than nationally prescribed policies. While some areas are ripe for investment to kick-start housebuilding, others would benefit more from money being spent improving existing homes.

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Vauxhall: The missing link competition

Posted on: 17 January 2013
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Design ideas are being sought from urban designers, landscape designers and architects to improve the public realm in Vauxhall, south London. The RIBA London Vauxhall – The Missing Link International Design Ideas Competition is being launched with Vauxhall One, the new Business Improvement District (BID) for the area, and is looking for a designers or multi-disciplinary teams to suggest ideas to improve and enhance the public realm in Vauxhall, providing the ‘Missing Link’ between the New US Embassy Quarter and London’s South Bank. The RIBA says the competition is also open to urban design and architecture students. The closing date for Stage 1 submissions is 12 March 2013.

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Competitiveness of Port-Cities: The Case of Marseille-Fos – France

Posted on: 17 January 2013
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This working paper offers an evaluation of the performance of the port of Marseille-Fos, an analysis of the impact of the port on its territory and an assessment of policies and governance in this field. It examines declining port performance over the last decades and identifies the principal factors that have contributed to it. The effect of the ports on economic and environmental questions is studied and quantified where possible. The value added of the port cluster of Marseille-Fos is calculated and its inter-linkages with other economic sectors and other regions in France delineated. The paper outlines the impact of the port’s operations, and shows how their activities spill over into other regions than the one in which the port of Marseille-Fos is located. The major policies governing the ports are assessed, along with policies governing transport and economic development, the environment and spatial planning. These include measures instituted by the port authorities, as well as by local, regional and national governments. Governance mechanisms at these different levels are described and analysed. Based on the report’s findings, recommendations are proposed with a view to improving port performance and increasing the positive effects of the port of Marseille-Fos on its territory.

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Green cities: using city deals to drive low carbon growth

Posted on: 10 January 2013
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The Green Alliance has published a report which examines the degree to which cities can drive low carbon growth and looks in detail at the city deals process as a means of achieving this. ‘City deals’ have been introduced to unlock the economic potential of cities, transferring power, tools and support from central government. So far, deals have been agreed with the eight core cities, known as ‘wave one’, and a further 20 cities, known as ‘wave two’, are in the running to agree deals by November 2013. The report looks at how wave one cities integrated low carbon ambitions into their deals and makes recommendations about how this can be achieved and embedded more consistently among wave two cities, as they agree their deals in the coming year.

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European Network for Housing Research Conference 2011. Toulouse, 5-8 July 2011

Posted on: 8 January 2013
By: mackene
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The main theme of this conference was Mixité” (“Mixité”:an urban and housing issue?).While many researchers have reservations about a certain ideal of diversity that is supposed to banish the evils afflicting contemporary societies (segregation, ghettoisation, the disintegration of social ties), they also question the normative or prescriptive dimensions of the injunction for social diversity that inspire a number of public policy acts. Mobilising debate and analysis of researchers from various countries is of quite some interest in that Europe, as a whole, encompasses different views of what it means to live together.  Papers are available online.

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Demographic change and local development: Shrinkage, regeneration and social dynamics

Posted on: 2 January 2013
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This report highlights the issues faced by local areas against the backdrop of policies or planning models that have directed local development in the past decades.

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It took another riot

Posted on: 12 December 2012
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Sir Stuart Lipton was appointed by the Mayor of London in December 2011 to act as a champion for Tottenham following the civil disturbances in August 2011. The report presents ten critical recommendations including the establishment of an independent body to oversee regeneration. As part of the inquiry CBRE produced a report on retail in the area, Tottenham: The retail revitalisation opportunity 

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21st Century High Streets: What next for Britain’s town centres

Posted on: 12 December 2012
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The latest update of British Retail Consortium’s 21st Century High Streets report has been published. The report is broken down into six key elements identified in the 2009 report as critical to high street success: a unique sense of place; an attractive public realm; planning for success; accessibility; safety and security; and supportive regulatory and fiscal regimes. Each section identifies examples of initiatives that are successfully addressing some of  the most pressing problems.

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Bigger than business: Community investment in an age of austerity

Posted on: 28 November 2012
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The London School of Economics and Orbit have published the findings of a study on how housing associations can empower tenants to help their communities and tackle society’s toughest challenges. The top five community investment priorities identified were: youth activities, support and job access; employment and job training for adult residents; tackling crime and anti-social behaviour; welfare and money advice; and support and provision for older people and families.

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Port cities as hotspots of creative and sustainable local development. Naples, 1-2 September 2012

Posted on: 22 November 2012
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This event was held to discuss to propose new ideas to strength the development strategies of port cities, combining new and old architecture; to identify the necessary conditions for the design of the creative sector and sustainable developments in port areas/cities; and to map out learning modes based on creative practices or experiences in various parts of the world. Papers are available online under the following themes: Urban design and creative architecture in port areas; urban planning and sustainable development; Sustainable technologies for urban architecture; Cultural heritage regeneration; Recovery, maintenance, management of coastal/urban areas: Innovative tools for decision making; Promoting dynamic local economic development. Ports covered include Naples, Hamburg, Lisbon, Venice, Genoa, Singapore, Bilbao, Shanghai, Baltimore, Amsterdam and Brindisi.

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