Area that has undergone structural economic change

What is the population of birmingham

1.158 million in the main city

What area in the UK had the highest GDP in 1976

Birmingham

What percentage of car production in the was birmingham accountable for in the 70’s

60%

What percentage of the employment in the 70’s was the metal industry

50%

How many jobs did Birmingham loose between 1971 and 1981

200,000

What sector was impacted the most by the deindustrialisation of the UK

Manifacturing sector

In what year did the West Midlands have the lowest reigonal earnings of the UK

1983

What year did the west midlands have the highest relative earnings in the UK

1970

What was the unemployment rate of Birmingham in 1982

20% (double in inner city areas)

How did birmingham become the ‘city of a thousand trades’

Triggered by Boulton opening a factory in 1761 (the first in the world)

• Transport links developing in inner city (railway links, canal transport)

• Banks (lloyds and midlands bank founded in Birmingham)

What type of housing was built to support all the workers in Birmingham

Small, terraced housing in between factories - only middle class could commute in from the suburbs, and this drove urban expansions.

Example of a large factory founded in the 1900’s in Birmingham

Dunlop tyre company - founded in 1917. Employed 10,000

What was the trigger for mass unemployment:

• Deindustrialisation. Globalisation allowed for major companies to outsource their labour to cheaper and more efficient factories (EG china).

• Containerisation and container ships helped shipping of imported goods.

How did deindustrialisation impact the economy:

Mass unemployment led to less disposable income for people - less money spent on non-essentials, and lowering the money put back into Bham

What was the cultural diversity like up to the 50’s

mostly white British, with Irish being the largest minority group (5%)

By how much did the white british percentage fall from 1970 to 2008

60% to 40%

Why did the percentage of ethnic diversity increase

Inward international migration, increased foreign workers and emigration of british out of Birmingham (no industry left for them)

How did enviromental characteristics change post industry shift

• Victorian housing occupied by workers became abandoned & derelict.

• Fall in socioeconomic development, and so declining built environment

• Negative perception of place, disinsentivisng further investment.

Which country specifically drove a decline in the vehicle manufacturing industry

Japan - even with car ownership rising, Japanese owned car companies eg suzuki and hyundai viewed as more reliable and better value for money than british companies.

What impacted indsutry and future development in the 70’s

Due to unemployment and shutting of factories, there was strike action of workers - and so both the managment and unions helped to decline the industry. The strike action made the industry less appealing to potential investment - another key player.

What are SME’s

Small and Medium sized enterprises (not large scale global corporations)

How did comprehensive redevelopment plans impact industry?

part of a slum clearance program meant that many small, industrial buildings were demolished. This impacted SME’s, as they had trouble finding premises to operate out of and ‘solutions’ built by the authority charged very high rent (local authorities/council driving structural economic change)

What is rationalisation

Making a company proccess more efficient by closing less profitable sites.

Example of rationalisation in West Midlands

British Leyland (motor manufacturer) fired half of their staff

CHANGES THAT OCCURRED IMPACTING EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE:

• Deindustrialisation

• Industrial action (strikes)

• Rationalisation

• Relocation

Key players involved in driving change

• National government

• Local government

• Multinational companies

How significant was the national gov. in driving change

• Very significant (moved industry to other areas, deindustrialisation)

How significant was the local gov. in driving change

Did not drive change - but largely contributed, due to their inner city redevelopment and new enterprises opened weren’t accessible to the unemployed population (factory workers not trained in tertiary sectors)

Slum clearance and redeveloped dwellings not affordable for residents.

How significant were multinational companies in driving change

Contributed to change - exacerbated negative change due to relocation, and unemployment.

What was the ‘Distribution of industry act’

• Introduced in 1945

• Limited industrial growth in Bham (as it was described as a “congested area”

• Drove people away as it aimed to lower the population

What did labour do in 1965 that further drove change

Laws on development changed - banning any further office development for almost 20 years.

What did the secretary of state approve in 1975

West Midlands Green Belt. Restricted any expansion and further development of industry outside of the inner city