City Regions and Devolution in the UK
The Politics of Representation
By David Beel, Martin Jones and Ian Rees Jones
ISBN
978-1447355021Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressISBN
978-1447355014Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressISBN
978-1447355038Imprint
Policy Press
City Regions and Devolution in the UK
ePDF and ePUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence.
In recent years, the ‘city region’ has seen a renaissance as the de facto spatial centre of governance for economic and social development.
Rich in case study insights, this book provides a critique of city-region building and considers how governance restructuring shapes the political, economic, social and cultural geographies of devolution. Reviewing the Greater Manchester, Sheffield, Swansea Bay City Regions, Cardiff Capital Region and the North Wales Growth Deal, the authors address the tensions and opportunities for local elites and civil society actors.
Based on original empirical material, situated within cutting edge academic and policy debates, this book is a timely and lively engagement with the shifting geographies of economic and social development in Britain.
“Conceptually and empirically rich, this book provides an essential contribution to understand the evolution of the city-regions and devolution agenda, exposing the governance, socio-economic and democratic challenges that underpin it.” Arianna Giovannini, De Montfort University
David Beel is Senior Lecturer in Political Economy at Manchester Metropolitan University where he is part of the Future Economies Research Cluster.
Martin Jones is Professor of Human Geography and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Staffordshire University and a founding Co-Director of the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD).
Ian Rees Jones is Professor of Sociological Research at Cardiff University and Director of the WISERD ESRC Civil Society Research Centre.
Introduction: Onward devolution and city regions
Northern powerhouses
Metro governance dynamics
Precarious city regions
Elite city deals
Beyond cities in regions
City- region limits
Conclusions: City- regional futures
