Cities must adapt to challenges of globalisation
Author: Hannah BrownDate: 11/09/2008
Publication: Yorkshire Post
Globalisation has changed the face of many of Yorkshire's cities - leading to the decline of many traditional jobs in textiles and manufacturing, but at the same driving the growth of new industries, such as financial services in Leeds and biotechnology in York.
Too often, the rhetoric we hear about global change sits on the extremes of the debate - extolling the net benefits to UK plc, or focusing only on the downsides of change, on jobs displaced to China and India. But the truth is somewhere in between. Nationally the UK will benefit, but many individuals and cities which grew up around more traditional industries stand to lose out and bear the costs of global competition.
Take the decline of the textile industry in Bradford. In the 1960s, 50,000 people worked in textiles - a figure which is down to fewer than a thousand today. But it's not all doom and gloom. New jobs can be found in other industries where there's more potential for the UK to hold its own. Many of these are service-based, from call centres to financial services. We only have to look along the A64 to York to see a city that, faced with decline of traditional confectionary employment, found a new niche, by attracting jobs in growing industries such as financial services and hi-tech activity around the university.
The credit crunch, rising fuel and energy prices, and fears of a recession that might be just around the corner are at the forefront of people's concerns today. But more important are the global forces that are shaping long-term economic trends. Emerging markets will continue to grow in strength, trade and investment flows will intensify, and national and local leaders mustn't be distracted from making the right long-term decisions.
Globalisation makes the role of cities more important, as centres of economic activity and employment. But as globalisation continues, cities have to deal with new challenges. To meet these challenges, policymakers at national and city level need to better understand the impact of globalisation on city economies.
Our latest research shows how globalisation has and will continue to affect Britain's cities - and shows that there are losers as well as winners. So what can be done to help Yorkshire's cities to get the best out of globalisation?
First, UK cities in Yorkshire and elsewhere are small. But they are close together, with Sheffield, Liverpool, Bradford and Leeds all sitting within a 40 mile radius around Manchester - the equivalent of London's ‘travel-to-work' area. They need to collaborate, and smaller cities will gain from linking their economies to large regional economic hubs. Leeds and Sheffield are now major drivers of growth and jobs, not just within their boundaries, but for their wider city-regions. And the truth is that larger, better-linked cities will be more important than others in the global economy - Chesterfield and Rotherham will help their local businesses and populations more by collaborating with Sheffield, rather than going it alone.
Second, cities need to be realistic about their role and contribution to world economy. Leeds will never be as tightly integrated into global networks as London is, but nonetheless it has developed into England's second financial and business services centre. Other Yorkshire cities may not be able to match this in scale, but, based on a thorough understanding of their ownlocal strengths, they can develop their own niche. They need to back their successful sectors through improving transport, local infrastructure and the skills of the workforce, and make better links with key markets overseas.
Third, cities need to do what they can to maximise the benefits of international trade and investment for the local economy. City leaders could do more to encourage smaller businesses to take their first steps to export to growing markets, and economic development teams need to work with national Government to attract investment. More effective promotion could be complemented by city and regional efforts to build up strong and meaningful "brands".
And most important to cities' economic futures are the people and jobs within them. Cities need to work with employers to make sure local residents have the right skills to meet business demand, and they need to ensure they can attract skilled, mobile workers. This means having a good range of housing on offer, including good quality rented accommodation.
But cities also need to help those who stand to lose from globalisation in the immediate future - workers whose jobs are offshored, or whose traditional sources of employment decline. Without support for re-skilling and adjustment to more sustainable sources of employment, the downsides of globalisation can be long-lasting - Hull is still suffering the effects of fishing industry decline. Yorkshire's cities can't stop globalisation, but city leaders do need to actively engage with the people and neighbourhoods that will bear the burden of change, working with colleges and employers to help people develop the skills they need to adapt to the global labour market.
A version of this article first appeared in the Yorkshire Post
The report UK cities in the Global Economy is available at www.centreforcities.org/globalisation
