Who are the players that influence economic change in places - Birmingham case study

The players involved in driving economic change

• individuals, groups of people or formal organisations who can influence, or can be influence by, the processes of change, some have more power than others

• public players - e.g. government, EU trans-national government influencing economic change, they try to stimulate growth, sustain existing employment and create new jobs

• local communities - concerned about their immediate area, interested in economic change e.g. employment + social and environmental matters

Birmingham’s development to the 1960s

• Birmingham is a product of the industrial revolution - the place at that time was a relatively poor agricultural manor

• the place began to grow as a result of trade

• medieval Birmingham - focused on parish church and the market, metal-working already established, The Black Country supplied the raw material for their metal-working trades

• power came from watermills, with the products increasingly being non-agricultural e.g. blades for swords

Birmingham - The industrial revolution

• by early 1700’s their po. had grown to 15,000

• towns inhabitants had migrated from rural areas in search of employment, middle classes were increasing in number as service sectors e.g. law and banking developed

• Matthew Boulton (key player) - established the first factory in the world in 1761, brought 700 employees under the one roof

• 19th century - extraordinary growth, the gun, jewellery, button and brass industries dominated + other manufacturing industries to supply a growing population

• Cadbury family set up Bournville factory and model village for workers on the southeast outskirts of the city

• Lloyds and Midland banks were founded in Birmingham in the mid-19th century

• transport infrastructure developed with industrial growth - London to Birmingham railway was opened in 1838

1900 to the 1950s

• new engineering industries developed (vehicle industry expanded) e.g. 1917 the Dunlop tyre company established a large factory, employing 10,000 people by 1950s

• Employment in Birmingham conurbation, early 1950s - 50% contributed by metals

• their sustained economic growth was accompanied by continuous pop. growth from both natural increase within the city as well as immigration from rural areas and other parts of the British Isles e.g. Ireland

• large areas of terraced housing built for workers, limited personal mobility

• the development of a middle class who could afford to commute helped drive urban expansion

• until 1950s pop. overwhelmingly white in ethnicity - 60% employed had skilled jobs e.g. engineers, mainly dominated by males

• inner-city areas mainly comprised poor-quality housing at high density e.g. Aston and Handsworth

• decades of industrial activity had left high levels of pollution

Industrial decline

• 1950s and 1960s → unemployment below 1% but between 1970 and 1983, earnings fell from highest in UK to almost lowest of any region

• 1982 unemployment reached 19.4%

• 1978 - 28.4% of employed people were in metal goods and vehicles, then in 2000 this dropped to 2.4%

• 1978 - 7.3% of employed people were in finance and business services, this increased to 21.4% in 2000

• during global recession of the 1970s, the oil crisis of 1973 was most significant because Arab states increased oil prices about tenfold - Birmingham’s industries suffered from overseas competition from TNCs in countries with lower production costs

• 1970s British vehicle industry was in decline despite car ownership levels rising - Foreign-based TNCs and Japanese manufacturers had vehicles that were seen as more reliable and better value

• strikes were frequent during 1970s = decline affecting the industry making Birmingham less attractive for potential investors

• due to comprehensive redevelopment, many small industrial premises in the small inner city were demolished

Housing

• in WW2, 5000 houses were destroyed in Birmingham

• in immediate post-war years it had 110,000 sub-standard houses

• between 1945 to 1970, 81,000 new dwellings were constructed

• the central zone was to a large extent cleared of residential land -use and people relocated to peripheral estates - as the economy became more service orientated, flows of commuters increased from outer areas into the centre where the majority of services were located → both national and local gov. were involved in the establishment of a green belt around the city to restrict outward expansion

  • this had the effect of increasing the value of land adjacent to the belt, especially in places close to principal road and rail, routes to the city centre e.g.

Demography

• form 1950s onwards there was significant international immigration in inner city areas - from Caribbean, South Asia and the Far East

• immigrants tended to cluster in areas of cheap housing that had good access to employment

• the growing service sector required a whole range of low-skilled jobs such as office cleaners hospital porters and taxi-drivers

• 13% of Birmingham is from Pakistan and 53.1% are white British, they have become more diverse, with inc. religious landscape mosques and temples being built + greater diversity of ethnic food shops and restaurants

• 38% are 24 years old or younger - 13% is elderly

The role of the government

• local gov. playing a vital role in promoting change → attracting inward investment, brining about the construction of the National Exhibition Centre and the expansion of the adjoining Birmingham International Airport - this attracts the international conference and exhibition market, bringing sig. money

• also, their improved international accessibility attracts investment

• Birmingham Heartlands Development Corporation established in 1992 to bring regeneration to old industrial areas e.g. Nechells

• 1999 - New Deal for Communities (NDCs) scheme provided broadband access in parts of inner city + work experience programmes to improve employment opportunities

• £235 million was secured from the EU social investment fund for the period 2014-20

• money from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has gone into projects e.g. improving insulation in run down social housing and building small premises for start up SMEs (Small and Medium-sized enterprises)

The role of planning and flagship developments

• more public spaces were developed in the centre e.g. Centenary Square, Victoria Square + the buildings surrounding it e.g. the Council House and the Town Hall have been refurbished

• a flagship development funded in part by the EU, was the International Convention Centre and Symphony Hall opened in 1991 - Symphony Hall was an e.g. of a cultural player helping to bring economic change

• The Convention Centre attracts conferences internationally and nationally - it is a good e.g. of the multiplier effect as hotels, restaurants and leisure facilities benefit from visitors and their spending

• City’s universities which have combined student pop. of some 50,000 → contributing to a relatively youthful profile and economically + employing large numbers of people

• the Bull Ring development in the 1960s was Europe’s first major indoor shopping centre and has been refurbished along with flagship buildings e.g. Selfridges

The role of transport

• New Street (main railway station) has been transformed by a £700 million investment - this involved Network Rail, private developers and retailers

• shops and service things have created 1000 jobs

• Midland Metro links central Birmingham with place to the west e.g. West Bromwich and Wolverhampton

• HS2 - transport development where the £20 billion phase 1 links London to Birmingham via a high-speed railway → this involves a whole host of players e.g. national and local gov., TNCs, local community groups and NGOs such as the National Trust → this is a project to stimulate employment growth in the city and make it a more attractive proposition for investment

• it is the hub of national network M6 linking to the M1 just to the east, and the M5 and M40 are major spokes → these have been developed by the national government