Most local authorities have recorded cases of Covid-19, but some have recorded more than others. Metro Dynamics has explored the relationship between the levels of deprivation and the rate of cases of Covid-19 across local authorities.

Today’s events, as we are repeatedly told, are unprecedented. No-one can say with confidence how this pandemic will pan out, in terms of duration, severity, and impacts on the wider economy.

One of the first commitments made by the new government since the December 2019 election, and previously in their manifesto, is to re-balance the UK economy and “level up” the regions. In short, this means to raise the level of economic performance across the country and reduce regional inequality.

Towns are now in the policy spotlight.The reasons for this are all too clear: Brexit; the productivity puzzle; economic inequality; the decline of traditional high streets; and, a concern about what this means for local and national culture and identity.

Last Thursday, as the starting gun was sounded on UK’s general election campaign, every front page of every local newspaper in the North of England carried the same message: whoever wins, this election must close the North-South divide. 

What do 21st century London and 2,000 BCE Babylon have in common? It turns out, the answer is “quite a lot” as Monica Smith, Professor of Anthropology at UCLA argues in her book Cities: the first 6,000 years.

Amidst all the discussion surrounding the newly released deprivation data for England, one finding stands out – wherever you are, there are clear correlations between the different “domains” of deprivation.

The release of the English Indices of Deprivation provides a base from which to track the country’s progress since 2015, both socially and economically. An EU referendum and three Prime Ministers later, the past four years have brought with them two simple, but interesting questions: What has changed, and where has it changed?

Think about a simple agrarian economy, with only very basic technology. Individuals grow crops and trade them, bartering for other things they need.

At a time when the economic map of Britain is being reshaped by devolution and strong regional powerhouses, the Great Western Cities (Bristol, Cardiff and Newport) commissioned Metro Dynamics…

The potential for a new economic powerhouse for the UK was unveiled today, with a new report setting out recommendations to supercharge the economy in the west of Britain.

Owe the bank £1 and it’s your problem. Owe them £1m and the problem is the bank’s, or so the saying goes….

The inadequacies of the UK housing market are well…

In my experience lots of periods of change have particular inflection points, or moments when the overall…

Metro Dynamics yesterday launched a new report, urging the Government to champion investment in regional…