Routledge Revivals
Urban Decline
In the twentieth century, urban growth was one of the most powerful catalysts of geographical, social and demographic change in the Western world. When this book was first published in 1989, however, a massive process of counter-urbanization was underway, which saw the loss of population and jobs in cities and a pronounced urban to rural shift. This book analyses the causes and consequences of urban decline in Britain and the developed world during this period and beyond, and assesses the implications for urban planning and policy. David Clarks relevant and comprehensive title will be of value to students with a particular interest in urban geography and development.
First published in 1989
by Routledge
This edition first published in 2013 by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
1989 David Clark
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 88028713
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-84446-8 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-203-79654-2 (ebk)
Urban decline
British cities are in decline. Population levels are falling, the industrial base is shrinking, and the governmental and financial powers and autonomy of cities are being eroded. The symptoms and consequences of this decline are the focus of daily attention, analysis and prescription in national and local news media. Inner urban decay, mass unemployment and falling standards of service provision are some of the more obvious and disturbing indicators of a general and deep-seated deterioration in the social, economic, political, and financial fabric of the city.
Urban Decline: The British Experience explores the consequences of the losses of population, employment, and local government powers which are currently being experienced by the nations major cities. It argues that decline is a product of two largely separate trends: an urban to rural shift in the distribution of people and economic activity, and a centralisation of political power and responsibility for services. The former is a general and long-term trend which is affecting major cities in most of the countries of the developed world. The latter is more specific to Britain and is a product of Thatcherite policies which, in seeking to reduce the power and influence of left-wing urban authorities have undermined the basis of the local state. The deeply entrenched nature of contemporary urban decline, however, suggests that it will not be easy to reverse. Further losses of population and jobs can be expected and the implications both for the contracting cities, and for rural areas in which there are increasing pressures for development, are also considered by David Clark.
Urban Decline: The British Experience is written specifically for second and third year undergraduates taking courses in urban studies, planning, local government and policy studies. By combining an investigation into underlying social and economic trends with an analysis of the decline in their powers as units of government, it will be of value to students who are engaged in discipline-based studies as well as to those whose focus is upon the problems of the contemporary British city.
David Clark is Reader in Geography at Coventry Polytechnic.
URBAN DECLINE
David Clark
First published in 1989
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
David Clark 1989
Printed in Great Britain by Billing & Sons Ltd, Worcester
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Clark, David, 1946, Apr. 16
Urban Decline: The British experience.
1. Great Britain. Urban Regions. Economic development
I. Title
330.9410858
ISBN 0 415 03031 5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Clark, David, Ph.D.
Urban decline: the British experience/David Clark.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-415-03031-5
1. Cities and townsGreat Britain. 2. Urban policyGreat Britain. 3. Urban renewalGreat Britain. I. Title.
HT133.C53 1989
307.760941dcl9
8828713
CIP
Contents
Population change in selected cities
Stages of development of a daily urban system (DUS)
Urban population shifts in contemporary Britain
England and Wales: population change for different classes of administrative area, 197181
Urban administrative areas of England and Wales: largest proportionate changes of population, 197181
Urban administrative areas of Great Britain: population change, 197181
Population change by type of functional region and zone, 197181
Great Britain: population change by economic planning regions, 196181
Great Britain: components of population change, 196187
Coventry and Boston: components of population change, 19601and 19801.
Coventry: statistics for inner and outer wards, 1981
Great Britain: most and least successful local labour market areas, 197181
Great Britain: manufacturing employment by type of area, 196081
Greater London: employment change, 197383
Manufacturing employment change in Coventry by location of owner, 197482
Local government reform proposals in England, 196972
English local government: allocation of services, 197485
Metropolitan counties: allocation of services after 1985
England and Wales: sources of local authority revenue, 196585
Coventry City Council: general rate fund income, 19856
England: rate-capped authorities, 19856 and 19867
Geographical divisions of urban space
Population change in Britain by county, 19816
Functional urban regions
Coventry functional urban region
Migration and urban change
Coventry: employment in the fifteen largest enterprises, 1974 and 1982
The evolution of British Leyland
