Covid-19 has ‘levelled down’ prosperous high streets, but poorer areas face bigger problems this year

Poor urban transport costs the UK more than £21 billion per year, with less than half of people in big cities outside London able to reach their city centre quickly using public transport networks

New Centre for Cities research shows that planning and transport changes in cities would bring the UK 26% closer to its net zero target.

New research from Centre for Cities in partnership with Clarion Housing Group challenges the idea that people’s finances have benefited from lockdown.

While many UK high streets have experienced a much-needed boost thanks to the lifting of restrictions in April, shops, restaurants and pubs in London and other big cities continue to struggle.

Nine out of 63 cities and large towns have recovered to their pre-pandemic level of job postings, with the North and Midlands outperforming the South and South East.

According to Centre for Cities’ polling by Savanta ComRes, more than eight in ten people in city-regions support some form of greater devolution.

Centre for Cities research reveals almost ten million new private sector jobs will need to be created to reverse the damage done by the pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic makes levelling up the North and Midlands four times harder and risks ‘levelling down’ the South.

Air pollution fell in the Spring but now exceeds pre-pandemic levels in 80% of places despite continued lockdown restrictions.