Politics, Philosophy & Economics

English cities in call for greater powers

The Growth Cities Network has been formed to promote the case for more powers for England’s mid-sized cities and is in discussions with ministers to establish how they can contribute better to...

Bartlett UCL research highlights challenge with community involvement and Localism

Communities report being overwhelmed by the amount of engagement with service providers that comes with their participation, yet they remain underwhelmed by the 'quality' of this engagement...

Economic growth in China has not led to greater life satisfaction for Chinese people: long-term study

The percentage of the poorest Chinese who say they are satisfied with their lives has fallen more than 23 percentage points. Only 42 percent of Chinese people in the lowest income bracket reported...

British Empty shops rate hits record

The proportion of shops in Britain lying empty has hit a new record of 14.6% according to the Local Data Company http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17478331

Reasons for moving home - EPSRC study

Forty-five percent of persons living in the most deprived areas want to move home, compared to 29% in the least deprived areas. Individuals living in urban areas have a higher preference for moving...

Does power cloud one's ability to make good decisions?

The overall sense of control that comes with power tends to make people feel overconfident in their ability to make good decisions. Studies suggest that that power leads to a feeling of over-...

Increase in retail spending via internet and mobile devices mapped

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8953597/Graphic-the-decline-of-the-British-high-street.html

14 High Street shops shutting each day (but what the headline doesn't say is that 13.5 shops are opening)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102531/At-14-shops-day-shutting-Britains-high-streets-shoppers-hunt-bargains-online-stores-retail-parks.html A totally misleading headline: no account...

Why we need to rethink our cities if they are to thrive - Will Hutton - Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/26/will-hutton-london-cities-economy

Urban Policy Forum established in Australia to move forward National Urban Design Protocol

The forum will focus on making the nation’s biggest cities and regional centres more productive, sustainable and liveable. Chaired by the Secretary of the Department of...

Vision for Edinburgh tourism places improved public realm at its heart

Article in the Scotsman demonstrates that there is a hard business case for investing in the public realm. http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/historic-sites/...

UN High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability report released

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16775264

Check how Google have assessed your age and interests in order to target advertising

https://www.google.com/settings/ads/onweb/?hl=en&sig=ACi0TCglCKn_o-NM6SnyPQWc1h0rjF7ioA_WmYFr2as_118RswmBo5XI4xTZU-...

Anywhere Working initiative launched to help firms adjust their working practices

http://www.dft.gov.uk/news/stories/dft-news-20120116/

Enter the Internet enabled TV - expect major consequences in lifestyles and economic patterns

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16490565 This may well be a so called "disruptive technology", which brings about substantial social change. By making internet use far easier and...

Britain consumers lead world in online shopping

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8955027/Britain-a-nation-of-online-shoppers.html Sixth annual International Communications Market report Smart phone ownership 46 percent in August 2011....

Cost of Solar Photovoltaic power low and getting lower.

The costs of solar photovoltaic energy are substantially lower than believed, according to researchers at MTU - price of solar cell panels has fallen by 70 percent since 2009 - the life expectancy...

Portas Review of the High Street - 28 Recommendations

Put in place a “Town Team”: a visionary, strategic and strong operational management team for high streets Empower successful Business Improvement Districts to take on more...

Report on High Street - Portas

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8948621/Ambitious-Mary-Portas-report-aims-to-bring-shoppers-back-to-high-streets.html recommendations are thought to include - tax on...

Laptop-toters changing shape of urban design as city workers turn cafes into work areas

http://m.theage.com.au/national/laptoptoters-changing-shape-of-urban-design-20111127-1o1gl.html

Honolulu Governor reads Lewis Mumford.

http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2011/11/29/14031-urban-planning-architecture-books-atop-hawaii-governors-desk/ An example of a civic leader with an appreciation of urban design and the long term...

Olympic Villages: Catalyst for urban renewal, or post-Games hangover

A story from the University of Alberta of grandiose development dreams falling prey to economic dynamics, and lack of democratic process http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/uoa--ovc112211....

Projected global food demand will double by 2050

http://www1.umn.edu/news/news-releases/2011/UR_CONTENT_363946.html

Treasury figures £3bn cost of planning to the economy unreliable

The Telegraph reports that the figures were based on CBI estimates that themselves are nearly 20 years old. The RTPI said “We don’t think there is any evidence, that planning...

World population nudges 7 billion, with UN forecasting rise to 15 billion by end of the century

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15459643

Bulk of global economy owned by 1318 companies with core of 147 super entitities - mostly banks

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed--the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html

Debate Rages in USA over the equivalent of a Housing Market Renewal Policy

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/10/26/destroying-houses-to-save-cities/a-vision-beyond-rebuilding

Poverty rises at fastest rate in USA's suburbs

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/us/suburban-poverty-surge-challenges-communities.html?_r=3&hp

The two basic ways to advertise

The research identifies: Logical persuasion, (LP) - where the appeal is by presenting facts Non-rational influence (NI) – where the play is to the emotions And the research found that it...

Britain's book-shops halve in numbers in just six years

There were 2,178 high street bookshops left in Britain in July, according to research carried out by Experian, the data company, compared with 4,000 in 2005. A total of 580 towns do not have a single...

Global Tesco tide recedes from Japan following mismatch in retail styles

The Tesco model it seems was mismatched to retail patterns in Japan: a culture of immediate gratification from street vending machines (possible only in a vandal-free environment), a dense pattern of...

Riots and Reactions

Reactions to the riots The search for simple solutions…Telegraph http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tomchiversscience/100100666/uk-riots-left-and-right-look-for-simple-answers-to-a-complex-...

Odds ratios - simply explained - you need to understand this!

if you want to make your own mind up about research and statistics then you need to read and understand this - and its not difficult! http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/05/bad-science-...

Scientists discover tipping point for the spread of ideas

Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society....

Tree - liability - National Trust Felbrigg Hall

Following a tragedy at Felbrigg Hall some four years ago where a falling two tonne beech tree branch killed one child instantly and seriously injured another, the National Trust have had...

Centre for Cities report identifies continuing loss of low skill jobs from city centes

The geography of jobs is changing. While higher skilled jobs are increasingly concentrating in cities along the main transport corridors and in city centres, low-skilled jobs are dispersing out of...

Home owners £2.5 million law suit against wind farm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/8615569/Noisy-wind-farm-drove-couple-out-of-their-home.html

If you don't read a newspaper you are uniformed....if you do read a newspaper you are misinformed

The quality of the evidence for dietary advice given in UK national newspapers is poor. Of 111 dietary health claims identified, 72% and 68% (assessed by WCRF and SIGN criteria respectively) had...

Why can’t everyone telework…. BBC review article

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13628374 There may be a worrying delusion that the knowledge economy is the most important and largest sector of the economy, and that somehow the...

IMF accused of role in impoverishing LDCs

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-the-imf-itself-should-be-on-trial-2292270.html

City Finance Commission sets out reforms to make cities centres for enterprise and growth

http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=analysis.item&id=99492 http://www.cityfinancecommission.co.uk/

Society wakes up to impact of internet retail on High Streets - but is it all too late?

As household-name stores fall prey to online shopping boom, we ask: Will the internet monster eat the High Street? - asks the Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1389343/As-household...

Tort Reform Reduces Lawsuit Risk

Capping of payments in medical negligence cases in Texas has led to insurance premiums dropping to around 2000 dollars per physician. http://www.facs.org/news/jacs/tortreform0511.html The...

Policy makers don't understand what contributes to people's wellbeing

A study of citizen's in Addis Abbaba found factors influencing well being are held in common with developed nations, including: married people are more satisfied with life than unmarried and...

No connection between business rates and local economic activity

"The romantic idea of a direct connection between local economic activity and business rates paid to local government has no foundation in reality” http://www.uk.sagepub.com/aboutus/press/...

UNEP calls for decoupling of economic growth and resource use

The world is running out of cheap and high quality sources of some essential materials such as oil, copper and gold, the supplies of which, in turn, require ever-rising volumes of fossil fuels and...

Innovation brings power of GPS and internet to place-based marketing

Service allows individuals to relay their location (GPS) to a website and receive details of nearby retaillers with special offers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13158901

Higher university tuition fees likely to damage economies of university towns

A report by the Centre for Cities says student spending accounts for 10% of the economic activity of some cities. Most dependent on student revenue are: Cambridge, Plymouth, Coventry, Oxford,...

Crown Estate plans £500m revamp of St James's

The Crown Estate plans to spend £500m on regenerating St James's in London following the success of its decade-long modernisation of Regent Street. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...

Waitrose opens new virtual store

Waitrose's new and largest store is a virtual one that sells only via the internet. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/waitrose-turns-screws-on-ocado-with-virtual-store-2270216.html...