RIVALRIES between cities are nothing new — Liverpool versus Manchester, Leeds versus Sheffield, London versus . . . everywhere else. But now research suggests that rather than being due to enmity, geographic rivalries may be grounded in economic reality.
A study by the transport consultancy Steer Davis Gleave (SDG) has found that the strong economic growth of one city negatively affects its neighbours. The unpublished research shows that when the economic catchment areas of two cities overlap, building major infrastructure, such as a transport system in one city, can adversely affect its neighbour by sucking in skilled labour and attracting more business, reports Regeneration & Renewal (Sept 8).
The director of SGD, Jim Steer, says that the findings were uncovered using a system called the Dynamic Urban Model. “It is rather like Sim City without the great graphics,” he says. Good design aside, Regeneration & Renewal says the research is likely to direct the Government’s flagship economic development plans for the North. “If we look at Manchester and Liverpool, they both think that anything that happens in the region will be to the advantage of both of them. But (experts) in Whitehall will say (that) this doesn’t add up,” Steer says.
Tom Riordan, the chief executive of the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, calls the news “pretty ground-breaking”.
“The geography of the North is quite polycentric — we have to be sensitive to cities that are right next to each other, and that could help us avoid the mistakes that have been made in the past,” he says.
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But all is not lost — one solution could be to build up infrastructure in neighbouring cities in tandem, Steer says. So instead of double devolution, how about double evolution?