This interim report identifies some common issues that affect such cities. It looks specifically at Sunderland and relates these issues to other cities that face similar problems. It finds that despite strong city wide growth, some mid-sized cities suffer from weak urban cores. And this weakness of the urban core appears to be having a subsequent impact on the industrial and occupational composition of the economies of these cities.
This paper provides an analysis of these problems and draws out some preliminary findings. The full report, due to be published in early 2012, will make policy recommendations to fill the policy gap that currently exists for such cities.
Download a map of Sunderland city centre as defined in this report
This work is supported by Sunderland City Council and PwC.
