Manchester Urban Institute blog
Catch up on the most recent posts from our 'Urban' and 'Growth and Inclusion' blogs located on the Policy@Manchester website.
Global Development Institute blog posts in partnership with MUI
The Global Development Institute works closely with the Manchester Urban Institute, with many colleagues affiliates of both institutions. Read more about some of our joint events.
Dealing with COVID-19 in the towns and cities of the global South.
Global Development Institute - 25 March 2020
What creates a pro-poor politics and the possibility of participatory planning?
Global Development Institute - 14 May 2019
GDI Lecture: Ambitious and ambiguous public investments in African cities with Edgar Pieterse
Global Development Institute - 10 May 2019
External blog posts by colleagues
Next COVID casualty: Cities hit hard by the pandemic face bankruptcy
Mark Davidson, Kevin Ward - 30 July 2020
Beyond the rainbows: the missing voices of children and young people in this pandemic
Deborah Ralls - 10 July 2020
Temporary urban solutions help us deal with crisis – and can lead to radical shifts in city space
Michael Martin, Iain Deas, Stephen Hincks - 15 April 2020
Nature rebounding in the peri-urban landscapes that the industrial revolution left behind: North West England’s carbon landscape
Janice Astbury, Joanne Tippett - 3 January 2019
I Have Seen the Future
Diana Mitlin - 24 September 2018
Egypt is building a new capital city from scratch – here’s how to avoid inequality and segregation
Nuno Pinto, Aya Badawy - 24 September 2018
Transforming Beijing through eco-urbanisation: the development of Xiongan New Special Zone, China’s ‘second capital’
Zhan Wang, Xiangzheng Deng, Cecilia Wong, Jiancheng Chen - 14 July 2017
Beijing’s green infrastructure – addressing climate change in a rapidly urbanising megacity
Wei Zheng, Cecilia Wong - 6 July 2017
The challenges of sustainability and well being in the context of rapid urbanisation: the situation in Beijing
Miao Qiao - 3 July 2017 (First published at Blogged Environment, the blog of the Built Environment journal)
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Skills, Productivity and Regional Inequality: why a ‘one size fits all’ approach can’t work
7 December 2022
Skills are important contributors to the improvement of productivity. With new skills, there are associated higher wages and better living standards. However, implementing a better agenda for skill improvement in policy can prove extremely challenging. There are several layers of skills and their applications that need to be considered at different levels of distribution. Professor […]
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The UK productivity-governance puzzle
2 December 2022
The productivity issue in the UK is often framed as an issue driven by economic outcomes. This idea neglects some of the more complex structures that exist and contribute to the economic gaps in the UK. Professor Dave Richards, Professor Patrick Diamond and Dr Anna Sanders outline how government policy in the UK is too […]
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Health inequalities and regional productivity
18 November 2022
The health of those living in the north is worse than those living in the south, and this inequality is reflected in the comparative economic performance as well. The regional inequality in economic performance is prominent throughout the United Kingdom. In this blog, Dr Luke Munford and Professor Clare Bambra explore the links between health […]
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Local employment charters: re-defining productivity with employers?
11 November 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the harsh reality of insecure working conditions that many workers – particularly those in the front line – are subject to. Good employment charters are one way to ensure the security of good work. Implementing good employment charters in local policy agendas can increase productivity and develop more […]
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On productivity and Net Zero
21 October 2022
The UK government has assigned itself with the tasks of boosting productivity in left-behind areas and transitioning to a net-zero economy. In this blog, Professor Jonatan Pinkse explores how the UK can simultaneously improve its standards of productivity regionally while transitioning to a net-zero economy. His policy recommendations include securing green jobs and not using […]
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Uncertain Futures: Voicing the Contributions of Older Women
10 October 2022
One of the themes of this year’s International Day of Older Persons is the resilience and contributions of older women. The Uncertain Futures participatory research team interviewed 100 women over 50 about their experiences of paid and unpaid work. In this blog, Dr Elaine Dewhurst from the Law School and the Manchester Institute for Collaborative […]
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Race equality in Greater Manchester: opportunities and challenges of collaboration
31 August 2022
In 2021 the report of the Independent Inequalities Commission for Greater Manchester emphasised the need to put wellbeing and equality goals at the heart of the Greater Manchester Strategy. They recommended the development of a Race Equality Strategy. This led to a collaboration between the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the Centre for Dynamics […]
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Gender equality and the productivity agenda
24 August 2022
The implications for gender equality are rarely discussed in the new productivity and levelling up agenda. It is key for productivity and levelling up policy agendas to address the underutilisation of women’s potential and the undervaluation of women’s work. In this blog, Professor Jill Rubery from the Work Equalities Institute investigates the underutilisation of women […]
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How public procurement can influence innovation, productivity and societal challenges
9 August 2022
The public sector is an extremely influential buyer in the market. Through public procurement, the government can influence productivity in various ways. It can develop and scale up productivity-enhancing innovations, and it can reward more innovative suppliers by shaping markets and amplifying innovative practices and technologies. Her applicable policy recommendations focus on improving poignance of […]
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The case for a guaranteed basic income pilot in Greater Manchester
27 July 2022
While the COVID-19 pandemic and current cost of living crisis has exacerbated social inequalities and economic insecurity, it has also opened a window of opportunity to explore new forms of policy innovation to build back a fairer and more economically secure society. In this blog and in a new report for the Work and Equalities […]
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Making light work: Recommendations for healthy lighting
7 June 2022
Light exposure has important effects on human health and wellbeing, regulating our sleep/wake cycles, and influencing our mental and physical health. Advances in our understanding of the role of light in health, and emerging lighting technologies, now present opportunities to adjust lighting to promote optimal physical and mental health and performance. In this blog, Professor […]
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What we need to know next about loneliness
12 May 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the UK’s mental health, particularly loneliness. Data from spring 2021 found a million more adults were feeling lonely “often” or “always” compared to spring 2020. Now, a recent evidence review for DCMS, led by Professor Pamela Qualter, has set out what we know – and don’t […]
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Child of the North: Pregnancy and early years
9 May 2022
Evidence makes it clear that exposure to adversity and stress has vast potential to negatively influence the trajectory of a person’s health and wellbeing throughout their life. In this blog, Professor Pamela Qualter and Dr Anna Sanders present the key findings of a Child of the North report, co-authored with colleagues from Newcastle, Bradford, Sheffield, […]
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Why policy on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions needs to be joined-up
21 April 2022
Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving air quality are closely linked objectives but are not considered simultaneously under current policy frameworks. In this blog, Professor Grant Allen discusses the benefits of developing a common policy framework aligning GHGs reduction goals with improvements in air quality. Considering these two objectives simultaneously, rather than in isolation, […]
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Reimagining water consumption: challenges and opportunities to reduce domestic water demand in the UK
5 April 2022
Emissions related to domestic water use contribute 5-6% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing emissions from domestic water use is necessary for the UK to meet its ambitious target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. However, current policy instruments to reduce water-related emissions remain limited in scope. In this blog, Dr Claire Hoololan […]
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Levelling Up Education: what place-based education could look like
21 March 2022
Earlier this year, the government published its much anticipated white paper, Levelling Up the United Kingdom, which outlined 12 interventions deemed necessary to tackle the regional inequalities that have grown in recent decades. In this blog, Dr Eric Lybeck argues that, at root, the government and its economists see this imbalance, not as the result […]
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Decarbonising domestic heating
17 March 2022
Home is where the heart is, but with climate change the way our homes are built and required to function is shifting. Overheating is just one example that is being discussed at length within the academic and commercial sectors. Projections for UK homes in 2050 and 2080 show significant issues around overheating and sustained overheating […]
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Public transport and the pandemic: perceptions of risk and mitigation
14 March 2022
Throughout the pandemic, public transport has been identified as a significant potential hub of transmission for the disease, with messaging urging people to avoid it wherever possible. Despite this guidance, however, there was little evidence on how great this risk was, or the effectiveness of mitigation measures such as masks and ventilation. In this blog, […]
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Urban greening and meaningful places
10 March 2022
Green infrastructure provides multi-functional benefits to society in terms of health and wellbeing, biodiversity protection, climate change mitigation and economic growth. In this blog, Dr Ian Mell outlines policy recommendations to effectively integrate green infrastructure in urban areas to create greener, more resilient and meaningful places. Considerations of access to green or blue spaces […]
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Indoor and outdoor wood burning needs a new way of thinking
16 February 2022
Biomass combustion, a significant contributor to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), has increased in urban areas due to the growing popularity of wood-burning stoves and biomass boilers. In this blog, Dr. Amanda Lea-Langton, Senior Lecturer in Bioenergy Engineering at The University of Manchester and member of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, outlines policy recommendations […]
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