00About the survey

Centre for Cities and Arup have worked in partnership to develop the first survey of UK city leaders, inspired by the Menino Survey of Mayors conducted by the Boston University Initiative on Cities in the USA.

The survey aims to provide some understanding of what the needs of UK urban leaders are, along with how national policymakers can address these priorities. It approached all city leaders from the Centre for Cities database of 63 Primary Urban Areas and received a response rate of around one quarter.

The questions cover a number of policy areas relevant to economic growth such as housing, labour markets, transport and inclusive growth. It also addresses topics that may be of current interest to city leadership such as Brexit and the upcoming Spending Review.

While the survey sample is not statistically representative of all urban leaders in the UK, it offers some guide to what the priorities are, where the pressures are and what changes these particular cities would like to see.

Centre for Cities and Arup intend to produce this survey annually to provide a benchmark of how the priorities of city leadership evolve over time. By doing this we hope to raise the voice of urban leaders in the UK.