Summary

This briefing is the second in a series looking at what a place-based industrial strategy should look like and how this can be delivered.

It shows that:

• Different parts of the economy – city centres, suburbs, hinterlands and rural areas – offer different things to business. And this influences the type of businesses they attract and grow.
• Cities inherently offer businesses a greater number of benefits because of a process known as agglomeration. But some cities do this much more successfully than others, meaning a very different approach is required in different places.
• This means that a successful industrial policy needs to do two things if it is to improve standards of living across the country – help improve the benefits that a city should offer in struggling cities, and deal with the costs of growth (e.g. congestion, expensive housing) in successful cities.

Be sure to read our 10-point guide to what the industrial strategy should focus on.