Cities Outlook 2013

How have the economic fortunes of the UK's 64 largest towns and cities changed through the downturn?

Report published on 21 January 2013 by Centre for Cities

Now in its sixth year, Cities Outlook 2013 is the authoritative economic index of the 64 largest cities and towns in the UK. The findings this year reinforce the importance of skills, good transport and broadband connections and a good industry base to economically successful cities.

Cities Outlook 2013 also has a few surprises; some cities, such as Sunderland and Hastings, have managed to improve their economic performance in the last three years, while cities such as Burnley have been left relatively unaffected by recession.

Our special focus this year has been on housing as a catalyst for economic growth: every 100,000 homes built can create jobs for 150,000 people. Our work shows that, although the UK as a whole needs at least 230,000 new houses a year, some cities are very short of housing while others are more likely to benefit from refurbishment and retrofitting, which also create jobs. A more place-based approach is needed: by adapting housing policy to the needs of individual cities, the UK economy as a whole can benefit.

Cities Outlook 2013 is supported by the Local Government Association.

Further city-by-city data for 2013 is available on the data app: www.citiesoutlook.org.

For further information or to request a hardcopy of the report, please contact Rita Beden. We’re also happy to supply high resolution images of any of the charts, maps or tables in this publication.