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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Razing the neighbourhood: consequences and alternatives to council estate demolition
17 April 2023
Post-war council estates suffer a barrage of stigmatising representations. Central and local governments, think tanks, and property companies call them ‘sink estates’ and ‘concrete monstrosities’. In television dramas and feature films, council estates are invariably grim and crime ridden. These representations have real-world effects. They establish social moods and opinions that encourage and justify the […]
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Graphene as a regional-global innovation model
17 March 2023
A new national policy report has identified the graphene innovation ecosystem at Manchester as a regional hub for international partnership and investment. In this article, James Baker explores how this success demonstrates that research and development (R&D) investment into specialist regional clusters like Graphene@Manchester provides national government with an excellent return on investment as they […]
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Communities, traffic and positive action to address air pollution
25 January 2023
Air pollution levels in Greater Manchester are some of the highest in the UK. As air pollution can potentially worsen pre-existing health conditions, Greater Manchester residents are increasingly concerned about the high rates of air pollution and are seeking to find practical, place-based solutions to tackle the issue. In this article, Professor Sheena Cruickshank addresses […]
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Sustainability transitions: catalysing innovation in the foundational economy for a green and just future
23 January 2023
The UK is making progress to achieve net zero, with the latest findings indicating that UK emissions in 2021 fell below 2019 levels. These efforts, however, are still identified as insufficient for fulfilling the Paris Agreement. To lead the way towards a green and just future, regional and urban areas are developing ambitious strategies to […]
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Sustainability transitions: catalysing innovation in the foundational economy for a green and just future
23 January 2023
The UK is making progress to achieve net zero, with the latest findings indicating that UK emissions in 2021 fell below 2019 levels. These efforts, however, are still identified as insufficient for fulfilling the Paris Agreement. To lead the way towards a green and just future, regional and urban areas are developing ambitious strategies to […]
Read more
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Turning gadgets into productivity
13 December 2022
The Industrial Revolution brought about great economic success in the north of the United Kingdom that translated into a social, cultural and urban transformation. However, the Digital Revolution of today has not had the same impact on the UK, and particularly, the north. In this blog, Professor Bart van Ark explores how and why productivity […]
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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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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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