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Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Will Jennings, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy as well as Dean for the faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton to discuss his latest paper Perspectives on Place: what the English think about their local area. Coming shortly after the publication of Cities Outlook 2026, which examined variation in disposable incomes and levels of deprivation across the country, the discussion delves into peoples pride in their places and what this can mean for boosting growth.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Rob Johnson, Senior Analyst, to discuss the findings of Cities Outlook 2026, our annual health check of the economic performance of urban Britain. They discuss the cities that have managed to buck the national trend to improve the quality of life in their place and the three elements that are key to creating economic growth that is felt by everyone and has a real impact on living standards.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Analyst Maurice Lange to talk about the urban density gap following the publication of our recent report ‘Flat Britain: The urban density gap and how to close it'. They discuss the housing shortage in the UK, the importance of cities in tackling that shortage and they look to other cities in the world that are achieving the kind of density we need in their big cities.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by External Affairs and Policy Manager Caitlin Rollison to discuss Scottish devolution from a city region perspective following the publication of our recent briefing ‘Let devolution flourish: How Glasgow spreads prosperity and why the City Region needs devolution‘. They set out how the agenda has progressed recently and why Glasgow City Region needs a devolution deal as well as a directly elected mayor. 

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Researcher Oscar Selby to discuss the findings of our latest briefing 'Follow the money: Explaining the performance of London’s suburban high streets'. They explore why its useful to take a closer look at London's suburban high streets to better understand the wider conversation on the economic performance of the UK's high streets and city centres.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Analyst Rob Johnson and External Affairs and Policy Manager Caitlin Rollison to discuss the findings of our latest report 'Integrated transport: The size of the prize for mayors'. They dive into the economic benefits of better transport systems for big city regions and the size of the prize for the metro mayors. 

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Yunze Wang, Analyst, to discuss the findings of our latest briefing 'How productive are the UK’s big cities?'. They dive into what the latest data ONS tells us about big city performance and some of the potential inconsistencies that arise. 

This episode is a recording of our recent event on the New Towns taskforce report. Chief Executive Andrew Carter was joined by Maurice Lange, Analyst, and Ant Breach, Director of Policy and Research, to discuss the government's initial response to the report. The conversation focused on economic geography aspects of the report and as well as touching on the governance and delivery issues involved.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Maurice Lange, Analyst, and Ant Breach, Director of Policy and Research, to discuss planning reform. They explore how the government has been doing over the last year as they implement planning reforms to try and meet the housebuilding target as well as what might need to happen if we get a second planning bill.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Rob Johnson, Analyst, and Xuanru Lin, Researcher, to discuss the findings of our latest briefing 'Town and Gown: The role of universities in city economies '. They dive into the specific ways in which universities contribute to city economies and the potential impact of funding issues and proposed student levies.

In this very special episode of City Talks Andrew Carter is joined by the Centre for Cities' now former Director of Policy and Research, Paul Swinney, to reflect on his 16 years at the Centre for Cities as he moves on to his next adventure. They discuss what's changed, and what hasn't, in the last two decades in the world of economic policy, what brought Paul to the Centre 16 years ago as well as some of his favourite moments during his tenure. 

Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Rt Hon Greg Clark, member of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council and former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. With Government’s Industrial Strategy White Paper published, Greg explains what the Advisory Council will do next and how industrial policy relates to other area of the Government’s growth plan. This episode is part of Centre for Cities’ City Talks series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Matt Clancy, Senior Programme Officer at Open Philanthropy and the creator of New Things Under the Sun, a living literature review on social science research about innovation. Drawing on Matt's interest in science, innovation and technology they discuss hybrid working, productivity, cities and the future of work.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Paul Swinney, Director of Policy and Research, to discuss the findings of our latest report 'Checking out: The varying performance of high streets across the country'. They dive into why high streets perform differently from city to city and what can be done to further improve successful high streets and turn around the centres most struggling.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Tom Aubrey, Founder of Credit Capital Advisory and Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE, and Maurice Lange, Analyst at Centre for Cities. Drawing on Tom's knowledge of financing housing and infrastructure in the UK they discuss how to deliver projects at the scale of a new town, looking at the organisation and coordination of a project as well as the funding.