tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/bristol-14302/articlesBristol – The Conversation2022-05-18T14:17:55Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1831672022-05-18T14:17:55Z2022-05-18T14:17:55ZHow taking a closer look at your family tree can help you get to grips with climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463924/original/file-20220518-15-kz0ys8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4352%2C2877&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tracing our ancestors' connections to colonialism and industrialisation can help us personally connect with the climate crisis.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-hands-holding-old-photo-her-1787418920">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Engaging people when it comes to climate change can be challenging. Climate conversations are often technical and dry, making it hard to see how it connects to our own lives. As a <a href="https://wiserd.ac.uk/people/flossie-kingsbury/">historical researcher</a> I’ve been figuring out how we can make this connection clearer, and believe that taking a look at our family histories might hold the answer. </p>
<p>While climate change might seem abstract or distant, our own history is inherently personal. Tracing a family tree can show how historical events, including those that influenced <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-everyone-needs-to-know-about-climate-change-in-6-charts-170556">climate change</a>, altered life courses. Through pilot research with my own family tree, I’ve found that family history can be a useful tool for understanding how the root processes that kickstarted climate change created the world we now inhabit.</p>
<p>Put simply, climate change is the result of two processes: <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-industrial-revolution-really-tells-us-about-the-future-of-automation-and-work-82051">industrialisation</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/colonialism-why-leading-climate-scientists-have-finally-acknowledged-its-link-with-climate-change-181642">colonialism</a>. Industrialisation is when a society’s primary mode of production shifts from manual agricultural labour to machine-aided manufacturing. Colonialism is when one nation occupies and exerts control over another, usually involving violence and exploitation. </p>
<p>Both processes are underpinned and sustained by a <a href="https://extraction.sites.ucsc.edu/">culture of extraction</a>: the mindset, still present in western societies today, that all resources (natural, like trees, and cultural, like traditions) exist to be capitalised on in some way. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A series of textile machines with women working at them" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463931/original/file-20220518-13-oiplcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463931/original/file-20220518-13-oiplcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463931/original/file-20220518-13-oiplcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463931/original/file-20220518-13-oiplcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463931/original/file-20220518-13-oiplcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463931/original/file-20220518-13-oiplcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463931/original/file-20220518-13-oiplcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The industrial revolution was a major contributor to climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/women-working-textile-machines-beaming-inspecting-244389922">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In British history, this is reflected in the intertwined growth of the industrial revolution and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-imperial-policies-that-still-influence-life-in-britain-today-181629">British empire</a>. Both were fed by extracting coal to fuel factories, railways and steamships; extracting the raw materials required to produce goods; and exploiting land and labour from subjugated nations and the British working class.</p>
<h2>Family branches</h2>
<p>Let’s look at some examples from my own family. Samuel Polyblank (born around 1816), one of my great-great-great-grandfathers, was a shipwright from <a href="https://theconversation.com/barbara-windsor-youre-more-likely-to-hear-a-cockney-accent-in-essex-than-east-london-now-152033">London’s East End</a>. The ships he worked on helped to feed demand for international trade, taking goods to and from the colonies. They may even have been used by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/04/east-india-company-original-corporate-raiders">East India Company</a>, the world’s first global corporate superpower, and a key player in colonial rule and exploitation in Asia. </p>
<p>Through his work, Samuel Polyblank found himself caught up in, and working to support, a system <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/to-fix-climate-crisis-we-must-acknowledge-our-imperial-past/">whose impacts</a> – including widespread deforestation, pollution, soil sterilisation and <a href="https://theconversation.com/biodiversity-collapse-the-wild-relatives-of-livestock-and-crops-are-disappearing-116759">biodiversity collapse</a> – continue to be felt today.</p>
<p>Another example is Daniel Winchester (born around 1791). One of my great-great-great-great-grandfathers, he was an <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/iron-founder/m0114hcj_?hl=en">iron founder</a> from <a href="https://theconversation.com/edward-colston-statue-toppled-how-bristol-came-to-see-the-slave-trader-as-a-hero-and-philanthropist-140271">Bristol</a>. Bristol is famous for its numerous connections to the <a href="https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/stories/bristol-transatlantic-slave-trade/">slave trade</a> and to the British empire’s <a href="https://www.bl.uk/west-india-regiment/articles/an-introduction-to-the-caribbean-empire-and-slavery">Caribbean plantations</a>. And what those plantations relied upon very heavily were imported supplies for fossil fuel-driven processing plants and factories – which were frequently made of iron. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A statue of Edward Colston, a slave trader" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463925/original/file-20220518-16-krs6kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463925/original/file-20220518-16-krs6kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463925/original/file-20220518-16-krs6kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463925/original/file-20220518-16-krs6kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463925/original/file-20220518-16-krs6kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463925/original/file-20220518-16-krs6kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463925/original/file-20220518-16-krs6kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Edward Colston, a Bristolian who profited from the slave trade.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/21804434@N02/7698693922">Mira66/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I don’t know for certain if Daniel Winchester’s work ended up in British plantations: but since at the time there were iron foundries in Bristol that made things which did, it’s not unlikely. And I know that Daniel made enough money to buy his own home and leave it to his son, a rare occurrence at a time when only a tiny proportion of Britain’s homes were occupied by their actual owners.</p>
<p>Although the Winchesters were not truly wealthy, still working manual occupations and relying on child labour to supplement their income, they were able to start passing down <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/31/inheritance-britain-wealthy-study-surnames-social-mobility">intergenerational wealth</a>: a hallmark of privilege that was only available to a small minority. It seems reasonable that the reason they were able to do this is because they capitalised, knowingly or not, on industrial demand that came from slavery.</p>
<p>This is uncomfortable to acknowledge, but if we want to understand the roots of climate change, it’s exactly what we should consider. It’s improbable that either Daniel Winchester or Samuel Polyblank set out to promote slavery and colonial violence any more than they set out to promote climate change. The world they lived in meant it was possible to participate in this extractive, exploitative system without confronting it, in the same way we struggle to understand our individual influence on climate today. </p>
<h2>How to engage</h2>
<p>One challenge of personally engaging with the <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/sc14445.doc.htm">climate crisis</a> is learning that your ancestors were complicit in things that you would rather be distanced from. But this isn’t about blaming our ancestors, who may well have been exploited themselves. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People holding a sign reading 'Climate Justice'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463947/original/file-20220518-19-a9oezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463947/original/file-20220518-19-a9oezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463947/original/file-20220518-19-a9oezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463947/original/file-20220518-19-a9oezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463947/original/file-20220518-19-a9oezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463947/original/file-20220518-19-a9oezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463947/original/file-20220518-19-a9oezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protesting is one way to participate in the climate movement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/marrakesh-morocco-november-9-international-youth-512818693">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Instead, understanding these connections can help encourage us to prioritise <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-a-justice-issue-these-6-charts-show-why-170072">climate justice</a> and eco-friendly behaviours in our own lives, from cutting down on meat and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sun-is-setting-on-unsustainable-long-haul-short-stay-tourism-regional-travel-bubbles-are-the-future-140926">unsustainable travel</a> to writing to your <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/contact-your-mp/">elected officials</a> about environmental issues in your community. So how might you think about your own family tree’s links to climate change? Here are my top questions to consider:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Think about where the things your ancestors used or bought came from, and where things they may have been involved with making were sent. How do these connect them to the industries and trade networks born of colonialism?</p></li>
<li><p>If they were wealthy, what was the source of that wealth? If they weren’t, what benefactors funded any hospitals or workhouses they may have used: and would those have existed without industry and colonialism?</p></li>
<li><p>What did they pass down? Think about not just objects but also any wealth or property, as well as skills and cultural practices. How might these legacies be transformed into climate-friendly resources, for example through donating to environmental groups?</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183167/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Flossie Kingsbury does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Understanding how our ancestors may have benefited from industrialisation and colonialism could help us become more climate-friendly citizens.Flossie Kingsbury, Postdoctoral Research Associate in History, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1773822022-03-15T11:58:53Z2022-03-15T11:58:53ZLevelling up: why UK cities are less competitive than their European counterparts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452162/original/file-20220315-17-beq1jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As one of the UK's 11 core cities, Nottingham lags behind its European counterparts.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/hWMwHgkjcKU">Tom Podmore | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we emerge from the pandemic-induced economic slump into a world of higher inflation shaped by ongoing crises, like <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-brexit-should-not-stop-uk-cities-from-competing-for-european-capital-of-culture-88115">Brexit</a> and the war in <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-how-the-russian-invasion-could-derail-the-fragile-world-economy-177937">Ukraine</a>, quite how we make the UK more competitive is a burning question. There are many sources of competitiveness but a crucial one is how a nation’s cities perform. In simple terms, there are no successful national economies without successful cities. </p>
<p>In February 2022, the UK government published its <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1052708/Levelling_up_the_UK_white_paper.pdf">plans</a> to level up the country. This white paper highlighted how UK cities, outside of the capital, underperform in relation to their European counterparts.</p>
<p>The government’s findings are not new. And, <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/heseltine-institute/policybriefs/policybriefing208/">as I have shown</a>, its <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-extra-mayors-level-up-left-behind-regions-what-the-evidence-tells-us-176291">solutions</a> are limited. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.regionalstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Second_Tier_Cities_in_Age_of_Austerity_-_Michael_Parkinson.pdf">My research suggests</a> that the UK would be a more interesting, fairer and a more economically successful country if our cities – outside London – were more powerful. Those countries which are more decentralised and give their cities greater financial resources tend to <a href="https://www.corecities.com/sites/default/files/field/attachment/75699_Core_Cities_Devolution_Book_WEB.pdf">perform better</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A view of a dock in a city, with tall glass buildings reflected in the water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452163/original/file-20220315-23-8ay2lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452163/original/file-20220315-23-8ay2lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452163/original/file-20220315-23-8ay2lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452163/original/file-20220315-23-8ay2lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452163/original/file-20220315-23-8ay2lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452163/original/file-20220315-23-8ay2lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452163/original/file-20220315-23-8ay2lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Liverpool’s Albert Dock: the markers of a city’s success include its cultural offerings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/tHeSchqZ1Og">Mark Stuckey | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Core cities</h2>
<p>Second-tier cities are those outside a nation’s capital (the first tier) which, by virtue of their scale of population and economy, make a significant contribution to national economic productivity. The precise number will vary depending on a country’s size and urban structure. </p>
<p>For practical policy purposes, the UK’s second-tier cities are generally considered to be the 11 members of the <a href="https://www.corecities.com/">Core Cities lobbying group</a>: <a href="https://theconversation.com/brexit-trade-problems-whats-gone-wrong-and-can-it-be-fixed-153270">Belfast</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/birmingham-plans-to-become-a-supersized-low-traffic-neighbourhood-will-it-work-170131">Birmingham</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/stokes-croft-the-saga-of-one-british-neighbourhood-reveals-the-perverse-injustices-of-gentrification-82010">Bristol</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-dont-have-to-build-up-or-move-out-to-tackle-urban-density-56318">Cardiff</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/host-city-glasgow-how-it-set-the-standard-for-urban-rebirth-28822">Glasgow</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/channel-4-in-leeds-a-new-hub-to-unlock-creativity-in-the-uks-nations-and-regions-144636">Leeds</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ive-been-chronicling-liverpools-renaissance-for-40-years-heres-why-the-citys-unesco-status-should-not-have-been-removed-164719">Liverpool</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/inspiring-the-devolution-generation-in-greater-manchester-75790">Manchester</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/reality-of-poverty-in-newcastle-england-un-examines-effect-of-austerity-106098">Newcastle</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-are-charging-employers-for-parking-spaces-to-help-fund-local-infrastructure-104094">Nottingham</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/sheffield-what-happened-in-this-city-explains-why-britain-voted-for-brexit-61623">Sheffield</a>. </p>
<p>The key drivers of urban success, which includes economic productivity are as follows: innovation in processes, goods and services; economic and social diversity; the population’s skill levels (its human capital); physical, digital and relational connectivity (nationally and globally); place quality (which includes the public and private provision of culture, healthcare, education and housing); and strategic capacity (the ability of a city’s leadership to mobilise its resources to deliver long-term goals). </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224892409_Competitive_European_Cities_Where_do_the_Core_Cities_Stand">My research shows</a> that, judged on these metrics, British second-tier cities have long lagged behind their European peers – from Munich and Amsterdam to Lyon, Barcelona, Milan and Copenhagen. </p>
<p>The most comprehensive and up-to-date survey of the international evidence on city performance is <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/9ef55ff7-en/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/9ef55ff7-en">the 2020 study</a> by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This report found that gross value added (GVA) per worker in the UK’s core cities is just 86% of the national average in 2016: that’s a 14% gap, the biggest, in terms of domestic productivity, amid the larger OECD countries. </p>
<p>And the productivity gap between second-tier cities in the UK and elsewhere is even greater. Productivity per worker was 30% higher in Australia and Germany, 26% in the Netherlands, 22% in France and 17% in Italy than in Britain. </p>
<p>The OECD report showed that the extent to which a city is productive directly impacts the living standards and wellbeing of its inhabitants. Workers in these UK cities are less well educated and work in less productive sectors of the economy. Unemployment rates are higher. Their export of goods and services is lower than the UK average. They generate relatively few patents. </p>
<p>Deprivation is higher, meanwhile, with the number of deprived neighbourhoods over three times the national average. Income levels, and the educational performance of school students are lower. And housing costs are high, by international standards. </p>
<p>Further, these cities boast lower levels of public transport provision than in Europe, leading to more peak-time congestion. This in turn limits regional productivity. </p>
<p>Lastly, UK core cities are fiscally constrained and more dependent on national government funding. They receive up to 68% of their revenue from the state, compared with an average of 35% in the other 35 OECD countries. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An historic town hall building with manicured lawns and benches." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452166/original/file-20220315-17-ujj784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452166/original/file-20220315-17-ujj784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452166/original/file-20220315-17-ujj784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452166/original/file-20220315-17-ujj784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452166/original/file-20220315-17-ujj784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452166/original/file-20220315-17-ujj784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452166/original/file-20220315-17-ujj784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Belfast town hall: the degree to which local government is empowered to make decisions for its city impacts its productivity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/V7MzSinlW1I">K. Mitch Hodge | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Devolution matters</h2>
<p>For British cities to be more competitive, the OECD argued that they need greater investment to upskill their workforce and get more people into work. They need to invest in public transport, housing supply and local quality of life. They also need greater financial independence and better governance. The 2022 white paper does promise modest governance reforms but is virtually silent on the crucial issue of greater financial independence. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/journals/article/20737/">According to my research</a> our cities underperform, in part, due to a national decision-making system that has only partially been devolved. In Europe, there is variation to be sure, but the general trend is to place powers at the lowest government levels. </p>
<p>European cities have more responsibility than their UK counterparts for a wider range of functions which affect their economic competitiveness. They typically have more diverse forms of local revenue and more buoyant tax bases. This makes them less fiscally dependent upon the national state. And their combination of powers and resources arguably makes them more proactive, more entrepreneurial and more competitive. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A city skyline under a pale blue sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452174/original/file-20220315-21-18pa21t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452174/original/file-20220315-21-18pa21t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452174/original/file-20220315-21-18pa21t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452174/original/file-20220315-21-18pa21t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452174/original/file-20220315-21-18pa21t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452174/original/file-20220315-21-18pa21t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452174/original/file-20220315-21-18pa21t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Frankfurt am Main is illustrative of the success of Germany’s second-tier cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/germany-office?orientation=landscape">Dimitry Anikin | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The most successful cities in Europe are German which, because of the system created by the Allies after the second world war, have substantial powers and resources. They operate in <a href="https://theconversation.com/other-countries-have-made-progress-in-levelling-up-heres-how-the-uks-plan-compares-176405">the most decentralised national system</a> on the continent and have sophisticated, cooperative and productive relationships between its three levels of government – federal, state and local.</p>
<p>It is no accident that the German economy is the most successful in Europe. It is clear too that UK cities – and the economy at large – underperform in large part due to the more centralised governmental, institutional and financial systems in place. Letting go would make us more competitive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Parkinson receives funding from ESRC </span></em></p>If the UK government is serious about levelling up the country, granting its second-tier cities more political and financial independence would be a good place to start.Michael Parkinson, Professor and Ambassador for the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1738032021-12-16T11:37:09Z2021-12-16T11:37:09ZHow the arts can help us come back together again – podcast<p>In this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly podcast</a>, we bring you three stories exploring how the arts help people deal with the challenges life throws at them. We’ll hear about a photography project in Sydney bringing people back together as COVID restrictions lift, the importance of storytelling and humour in Indigenous art in Australia, and why the second world war led to the birth of public arts funding in Britain. </p>
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<p>First, we head to the City of Parramatta, a diverse suburb of Sydney, Australia, that’s changing fast as it undergoes a vast amount of construction and development. It was also an area hit hard by the COVID pandemic and subject to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/27/western-sydney-disproportionately-fined-for-covid-lockdown-breaches">a hard lockdown</a>. Reporter Olivia Rosenman went to Parramatta in mid-December to join a photoshoot organised by Cherine Fahd, associate professor at the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney, for a new project: <a href="https://www.mca.com.au/artists-works/c3west/cherine-fahd-parramatta-yearbook/">Being Together: Parramatta Yearbook</a>. </p>
<p>Fahd has been commissioned by C3West, an arts programme in western Sydney run by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, to take portraits of people in the style of a school yearbook, amid the changing landscape of Parramatta. Some of the photos will be put on display in public in 2022 and compiled together in a printed yearbook. Fahd tells us that the project helps mark a moment in time, “a way of us coming back together after a period of social distancing and being apart”.</p>
<p>Next, we travel from Sydney up the eastern coast of Australia to Brisbane, where reporter Rhianna Patrick went to meet Angelina Hurley, a PhD candidate at Griffith University. Hurley is the daughter of the trailblazing Aboriginal artist Ron Hurley, and she talks to us about his life and work. </p>
<p>She explains how art used to process the trauma of colonisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia, and also to give voice to other issues – sometimes with a big helping of humour. “You’re able to address hardship and help the community deal with it,” Hurley tells us. </p>
<p>In our final story, we head to Bristol in south-west England to meet Kirsty Sedgman, a lecturer in theatre at the University of Bristol. Sedgman takes us back to the second world war in Britain when, amid the death, destruction and deprivation of wartime, a new tradition was born: state money was spent to save an arts building for the first time. </p>
<p>The first recipient of this public arts funding was a theatre – the Bristol Old Vic. And instrumental <a href="https://theconversation.com/arts-rescue-package-by-all-means-protect-britains-jewels-but-dont-forget-the-rest-of-the-crown-142100">to its wartime story</a> is a famous economist, John Maynard Keynes. This was the first time public money was poured into a building that would house “grand cultural experiences”, Sedgman explains, “the kind that would rebuild Britain’s sense of itself from the ashes of the war”.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This episode of The Conversation Weekly is supported by the UK/Australia Season Patrons Board, the British Council and the Australian Government as part of the <a href="https://ukaustraliaseason.com/">UK/Australia Season</a>, which centres on the theme Who Are We Now? The season’s programme reflects on the two countries’ shared history, explores their current relationship, and imagines their future together.</em></p>
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<p>To end this week’s episode, we’ve got some recommended reading from Gregory Rayko, international editor for The Conversation based in Paris. </p>
<p>This episode of The Conversation Weekly was produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with reporting by Rhianna Patrick and Olivia Rosenman and sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/?hl=en">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also sign up to <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter?utm_campaign=PodcastTCWeekly&utm_content=newsletter&utm_source=podcast">The Conversation’s free daily email here</a>.</p>
<p><em>You can listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a>, or find out how else to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">listen here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173803/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsty Sedgman received funding from a British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cherine Fahd and Angelina Hurley do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointments.</span></em></p>Three stories from Australia and the UK exploring the role of art in helping people deal with the challenges life throws at them. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.Gemma Ware, Editor and Co-Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationDaniel Merino, Assistant Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1402712020-06-08T15:34:22Z2020-06-08T15:34:22ZEdward Colston statue toppled: how Bristol came to see the slave trader as a hero and philanthropist<p>Opponents to the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-52962356">felling of the statue of Edward Colston</a> argue that it was vandalism and represents an attempt to erase history. But the statue has its own peculiar story – and it is far removed from the Colston who lived from 1636-1721. </p>
<p>The statue was erected in 1895, more than 170 years after his death. Colston’s reputation was cemented and writ large over the 19th century of Bristol in south-west England because influential men in the city wanted to create a paternalist local idol.</p>
<p>Colston was a slave trader whose work as an official in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Royal-African-Company">Royal African Company</a> directly involved him in the enslavement of 84,000 Africans – 19,000 of whom died in the “middle passage” across the Atlantic. But the Victorian elite ignored this. For them, he was simply a philanthropist and a paternalist – a respectable figure.</p>
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<p>The late-Victorian period saw a mass of statues going up across Europe in part of what the historian Eric Hobsbawm has called an “<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/invention-of-tradition/introduction-inventing-traditions/05B9EDFC0304BE3F5D704BB66B286710">invention of tradition</a>”. Figures were sought who embodied certain virtues. In Bristol, the Colston statue was part of a late-Victorian attempt to re-imagine the civic space around “great men” and “benign paternalism”. </p>
<p>A column entitled the “Talk of Bristol” in the Bristol Mercury remarked in 1895 on the continual moving of the statues within the harbourside. The statue of Edmund Burke, erected the previous year, had already been moved as the central avenue was being redesigned. St Augustine’s Bridge had just been built, and its designers wanted to give more prominence to Colston. </p>
<p>This transformation was closely tied to regional pride. Colston – a true Bristol son, born and bred in the city, and who made it his base for philanthropic works – was seen as particularly worthy of more prominent recognition.</p>
<p>The erection of the statue, and the adulation of Colston in this era, was all part of an ongoing attempt to obscure the role of Bristol in the transatlantic slave trade. As <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/madge-dresser">Madge Dresser</a>, a Bristol University historian, has written, there is, or was, no trace of “<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Vx_mDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=madge+dresser+colston+his+trafficking+in+human+cargo&source=bl&ots=54c9rM6jUI&sig=ACfU3U0SaC-AImhQXd0zqXaKeGAZG75_xA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEm7z1nvLpAhUlUBUIHba4CsUQ6AEwAXoECDIQAQ#v=onepage&q=madge%20dresser%20colston%20his%20trafficking%20in%20human%20cargo&f=false">his trafficking in human cargo</a>” on the statue. </p>
<p>Colston appears as a merchant linked to the sea. The statue alludes to the dolphin who supposedly saved one of his ships by plugging a leak. The plaque on the statue insists that it was “erected by citizens of Bristol as a memorial of one of the most virtuous and wise sons of their city”.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340313/original/file-20200608-176580-19w0u1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340313/original/file-20200608-176580-19w0u1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340313/original/file-20200608-176580-19w0u1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340313/original/file-20200608-176580-19w0u1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340313/original/file-20200608-176580-19w0u1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340313/original/file-20200608-176580-19w0u1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340313/original/file-20200608-176580-19w0u1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The statue of Edward Colston was erected in Bristol’s Colston Avernue in 1895.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://archives.bristol.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=43207%2f26%2f1%2f12&pos=4">Bristol Archives</a></span>
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<p>The Western Daily Press used the occasion of the unveiling, November 13 1895, to exhort its readers to philanthropy. This was Colston’s birthday and became an annual “Colston Day”, which for the next six years was an official local holiday. For many, this was the greatest purpose of the statue, to encourage others to emulation. In the same article, the Press called for an art gallery to add to the dignity of Bristol.</p>
<h2>Dubious honour</h2>
<p>Colston’s claim to being worthy of a statue rests on his philanthropic actions in donating to schools and churches as well as <a href="https://www.dolphin-society.org.uk/history">founding a boys’ school and almshouse</a>. <a href="http://www.colstonsgirls.org/">Colston Girls’ School</a> was also founded in 1891 from the endowments of Colston. Nevertheless, as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13527259808722225?journalCode=rjhs20">British academic Sally Morgan</a> remarks, “his little kindnesses seem very little indeed”, especially when it is recognised that the boys school he founded was largely intended to <a href="http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/History/bristolrecordsociety/publications/bha096.pdf">supply sailors for his own ships</a>. Colston’s philanthropy was not inconsiderable, but it was not as vast as is sometimes claimed. </p>
<p>The Colston societies, the <a href="https://www.dolphin-society.org.uk/history">Dolphin, Anchor and Grateful</a>, which manage Colston’s legacies, were, in an investigation into the condition of the poor in Bristol in the 1880s, accused of <a href="https://www.brh.org.uk/site/articles/myths-within-myths/?fbclid=IwAR0MaOzzVqi4T9pP7NIAyCQOliE4cqmTWECy-nvSI_bRyU0xeYdHFMybx5I">using the money inefficiently</a> due to its disorganised and arbitrary distribution. </p>
<p>This form of paternalist philanthropy was also increasingly seen as unsuited to the growing issue of the urban poor. The <a href="https://www.brh.org.uk/site/articles/the-bristol-strike-wave-1889-90/">wave of strikes in Bristol in 1889-90</a> – and increasing socialist agitation for municipal intervention in living conditions – made aristocratic and independent philanthropy seem an inadequate solution. The investigation from the 1880s had already made clear that this philanthropy was insufficient to aid the expanding and restless population. The erection of the Colston statue can be seen as an attempt to reassert paternalism in the face of anxiety over working class unrest.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/public-sculpture-expert-why-i-welcome-the-decision-to-throw-bristols-edward-colston-statue-in-the-river-140285">Public sculpture expert: why I welcome the decision to throw Bristol's Edward Colston statue in the river</a>
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<p>The notion that the erection of the statue in 1895 was part of popular support for his philanthropy, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-42404825">statue’s defenders claim</a>, is hard to sustain. There were <a href="https://www.brh.org.uk/site/articles/myths-within-myths/?fbclid=IwAR0MaOzzVqi4T9pP7NIAyCQOliE4cqmTWECy-nvSI_bRyU0xeYdHFMybx5I">chronic struggles to find the £1,000</a> which was required for the statue. Some of this came from repeated appeals to the various Colston societies in Bristol, but the final amount was only reached after the statue had been unveiled. </p>
<p>It may be that the statue, coupled with the Burke statue of the previous year and the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/21/slave-trader-edward-colston-faces-defenestration-bristol-cathedral/">dedication of the cathedral window</a> in 1890 to Colston, had stretched the generosity of donors. The original proponent of the statue and member of the Anchor society, J Arrowsmith, eventually paid for the remainder.</p>
<p>For some in the 19th century, Colston represented the respectability of great wealth and inequality, paternalism as a bastion against socialism, and private charity. The slavery on which his fortune was built was obscured for the purposes of a certain narrative of Bristolian history. The toppling and drowning of the statue is the assertion of a new reading of history.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140271/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Watts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The statue was part of a push in the Victorian era to create mercantile heroes. Colston’s slaving activities were conveniently glossed over.James Watts, PhD researcher in history, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1402852020-06-08T13:15:14Z2020-06-08T13:15:14ZPublic sculpture expert: why I welcome the decision to throw Bristol’s Edward Colston statue in the river<p>For years now, Bristol Council in south-west England had been failing to find a resolution for the question of what to do with a prominent public statue of Edward Colston, a Bristolian who had given much to the city but whose <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-42404825">wealth was built upon the slave trade</a>. A resolution was, ultimately, forced on June 7 when a crowd of protesters tore down Colston’s statue and threw it into the harbour.</p>
<p>Priti Patel, the home secretary, has called for a police investigation in response to what she has termed the “utterly disgraceful” toppling of Colston’s statue, seeing it as an act of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/07/ministers-face-backlash-over-suggestions-that-britain-is-not-racist">“sheer vandalism and disorder”</a>. But Patel is no expert in the history of public sculpture. She doesn’t understand what has actually taken place.</p>
<p>As a scholar who has spent the last decade researching the public sculpture raised in Colston’s own lifetime, I welcome the act – and not just because the statue’s meaning needed to be re-inscribed. I also think that anyone who believes in the value of public sculpture should welcome acts that enliven these works – acts that point to their ongoing relevance. </p>
<p>Protesters tore down Colston’s figure, lay him prostrate on the ground and leaned on his neck. In the very act of mirroring George Floyd’s death, the statue was brought to life and is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/07/blm-protesters-topple-statue-of-bristol-slave-trader-edward-colston">now speaking, very loudly, to us</a>. At last, the significance of Colston’s statue has been publicly redirected, with the energies of protest ushering in the next phase in the life of this monument.</p>
<p>In the majority of cases, public sculpture is commissioned and made for political reasons. It is natural, then, that it should invite political response.</p>
<p>Rome – the great city of public sculpture – recognised this through the tradition of Pasquin. In the 16th century, the Romans gave this name to an eroded classical statue and started attaching notes to its base. These notes contained searing critiques of the governing institutions of the day, both church and state. The statue became a site of protest, with Pasquin able to speak for the ordinary people of Rome.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340311/original/file-20200608-176538-1d3kvz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340311/original/file-20200608-176538-1d3kvz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340311/original/file-20200608-176538-1d3kvz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340311/original/file-20200608-176538-1d3kvz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340311/original/file-20200608-176538-1d3kvz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340311/original/file-20200608-176538-1d3kvz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340311/original/file-20200608-176538-1d3kvz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The statue of Pasquin in Rome.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasquino#/media/File:Statue_of_Pasquin_in_the_House_of_Cardinal_Ursino_MET_DP870228.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span>
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<p>There were, of course, other ways in which the meaning of the Colston statue could have been reshaped. It could have been put in a museum where it would have spoken truth to power: publicly owning the fact that Bristol’s wealth was based upon the slave trade. Or a black British sculptor could have been invited to respond to the work, erecting a statue to face, or replace, Colston.</p>
<p>All would have involved a more timely intervention on the part of the local council. Across the country, councillors should be taking heed of events in Bristol and be more proactive in responding to similar calls for change.</p>
<h2>Facing up to history</h2>
<p>What has happened in Bristol will become a defining moment in the life of the Colston statue. I hope Bristol Council fishes it out the water and sticks it in a museum so we don’t forget what has happened. For Colston is not a figure who should be forgotten, and pretending he didn’t exist won’t help in the massive re-education project that this country so obviously needs.</p>
<p>Those who would defend these statues often point to the public philanthropic and charitable deeds undertaken by their subjects. They make the argument that, in some ways, the good might outweigh the bad. But slavery surely was the lowest ebb to which Britain sank in its search for global dominance. And we shouldn’t pretend that the people who profited from the trade were unaware of the sheer brutality involved.</p>
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<p>Colston himself would have been keenly aware of the politics of public sculpture. He lived through decades which saw the massive expansion of Britain’s cities, including a then-new vogue for stone sculpture in public spaces. From the outset, these statues invited political responses, be it criticism registered in print, or through physical acts.</p>
<p>For example, in 1686, the Corporation of Newcastle-upon-Tyne looked to show its allegiance to the recently crowned James II, commissioning the production of an enormous equestrian statue of the new king, in which <a href="https://www.rct.uk/collection/602890/an-equestrian-statue-of-james-ii">he sat confidently</a> on a rearing horse. It cost the equivalent of some £100,000 in today’s money. Just two years later, as James was forced into exile amid events that became known as the glorious revolution, the bronze was torn down by an angry mob and <a href="https://archive.pmsa.org.uk/pmsa-database/10052/">James (horse and all) was thrown in the river.</a> The statue was later retrieved, melted down and transformed into bells for the nearby All Saints Church.</p>
<p>The drowning of Colston’s statue is a single act, and it does not fix the bigger issue of what we do with the architectural layers that shape Britain’s skyline today. There are, after all, so many Colstons lining British streets. </p>
<p>It is more comfortable to pretend that it isn’t true, but Britain is a nation that has long valued some bodies over others: men over women, the rich over the poor, Christian over Jewish, white over black. On every front – social, scientific and cultural – the leading research continues to prove that we have not found equality on any of these fronts. How long, we should ask, should it reasonably take to find a way to make all bodies equal?</p>
<p>The change of circumstances to Colston’s statue should not trouble us: it is merely another, and perhaps the most significant, stage in the life of this work. The meaning it now holds – one of protest against a history of racism and white privilege, makes it more important than ever. We can only hope that in centuries to come, it might be studied for the political role it played in rewriting the nation’s relationship with racism and its past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140285/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudine van Hensbergen currently receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. She has received previous funding from this body, as well as from the following: Arts Council England; British Academy; Chawton House Library; School of Advanced Study, University of London; University of Oxford. She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the University and College Union.</span></em></p>After years of inaction by authorities, protesters have forced the point – opening a new chapter in this monument’s history.Claudine van Hensbergen, Associate Professor, Eighteenth-Century English Literature, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1051932018-10-25T15:21:12Z2018-10-25T15:21:12ZHow councils can protect community hubs – starting with Bristol’s Hamilton House<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242280/original/file-20181025-71011-w18qbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=149%2C47%2C1975%2C1121&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/samsaunders/36832827660/sizes/l">Sam Saunders/Flickr.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the coming weeks, Bristol City Council will play an instrumental role in determining the fate of Hamilton House – a vibrant community hub in Stokes Croft, the area where street artist Banksy <a href="https://www.bbc.com/timelines/zytpn39">began his career</a>. The decisions the council makes will be a test case for urban policy across the country, as to how far local authorities are willing to intervene to safeguard community assets against profit-seeking companies. </p>
<p>For almost a decade, Hamilton House has been home to local artists, community groups, social enterprises and charities, among them the popular <a href="https://thebristolbikeproject.org/">Bristol Bike Project</a>, which restores unwanted bicycles for disadvantaged residents, and the <a href="http://www.dmacuk.org/">Dance Music Arts Collective</a> (DMAC), which runs community dance classes. The low rents and supportive environment of the hub <a href="https://prsc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CCRB-June2013.pdf">have done a lot</a> to help get new projects and businesses off the ground, and support the local community through charitable work. </p>
<p>Key to its success has been a sophisticated financial model. The charitable management company, <a href="https://www.hamiltonhouse.org/about/">Coexist</a>, rents out <a href="https://www.hamiltonhouse.org/hotdesking-coworking">some space at market rent</a> to profitable businesses and uses the profits generated from that in order to be able to charge lower rents for artists and charities. </p>
<h2>A victim of success</h2>
<p>Hamilton House has been an important driver of social and cultural regeneration in Stokes Croft – and throughout Bristol more broadly. Coexist <a href="https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/business/deadline-looms-bids-hamilton-house-57782">estimates that</a> Hamilton House brings in an annual revenue of around £21m and is responsible for around 1,260 jobs in the local area. But it has now become a <a href="https://theconversation.com/stokes-croft-the-saga-of-one-british-neighbourhood-reveals-the-perverse-injustices-of-gentrification-82010">victim of its own success</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stokes-croft-the-saga-of-one-british-neighbourhood-reveals-the-perverse-injustices-of-gentrification-82010">Stokes Croft: the saga of one British neighbourhood reveals the perverse injustices of gentrification</a>
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<p>With the regeneration of a neighbourhood property values increase – and Connolly and Callaghan (C&C), the company which bought the building in 2006 and has leased it to Coexist since 2008, is seemingly tempted to cash in. C&C has rejected two bids by Coexist to purchase Hamilton House, the second of which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/27/bristol-development-will-destroy-cultural-and-community-hub">amounted to £6.5m</a> – an estimated 300% return on the company’s initial investment. </p>
<p>Further compromises involving a mix of private flats and space for Coexist <a href="https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/end-era-stokes-croft-hamilton-1964706">have failed</a> and, since the lease with Coexist expired and C&C <a href="https://thebristolcable.org/2018/10/hamilton-house-temporary-replacement-for-coexist-confirmed/">signed a contract with a new commercial management company</a>, Forward Space. Coexist is effectively locked out of further planning negotiations with the council.</p>
<h2>Growing opposition</h2>
<p>If Hamilton House is given over to private development the implications could be severe – not least for Bristol City Council. While Coexist’s old model leveraged commercial rate rents in the building to finance social initiatives, future revenue will benefit the property owners exclusively. Projects once subsidised by Coexist will need to find new sources of income, leaving the community and council to pick up the bill. More likely, they will close for a lack of funding. </p>
<p>In September 2018, more than 1,000 people <a href="https://thebristolcable.org/2018/09/hundreds-march-save-hamilton-house-stokes-croft-coexist/">marched in support of Hamilton House</a>. In this context, it is hardly surprising that the local community and Bristol City Council seem to have become increasingly hostile toward the actions of C&C. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242314/original/file-20181025-71026-13coy34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242314/original/file-20181025-71026-13coy34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242314/original/file-20181025-71026-13coy34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242314/original/file-20181025-71026-13coy34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242314/original/file-20181025-71026-13coy34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242314/original/file-20181025-71026-13coy34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242314/original/file-20181025-71026-13coy34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Protest march in support of Hamilton House.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.hamiltonhouse.org/our-future/">Claudio Ahlers/Hamilton House.</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>So far, the council has opposed a number of planning steps pursued by C&C. It has <a href="https://thebristolcable.org/2018/05/council-blocks-second-planning-application-to-redevelop-hamilton-house-stokes-croft/">twice rejected</a> an application for “permitted development”, which would allow for parts of the building to be transformed into flats without a full planning application, and without a requirement to provide affordable housing. </p>
<h2>For the common good</h2>
<p>In the meantime, with an appeal pending, C&C has begun preparing a full planning application to turn even larger sections of Hamilton House into flats. This more formal planning process gives the council greater powers to slow or stop the developer’s plans. </p>
<p>For one thing, when a building has been used for community purposes for more than ten years the council can lawfully certify it with the official status of “community centre”. This status prevents the use of planning short cuts such as the Permitted Development Application, which in turn limits development prospects, as well as the value of a building on the real estate market.</p>
<p>The council has two further levers to pull. One is the threat of compulsory purchase in which the council itself buys the property – a power which Bristol City Council has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-18171001">previously used</a> to push developers towards compromise. It also has indirect power over developers such as C&C, which has benefited from <a href="http://winklermedia.co.uk/press-statement-from-connolly-callaghan/">a number of council contracts</a> in the past.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/21/councils-pledge-to-exploit-end-to-borrowing-cap-to-build-homes">councils are granted new borrowing powers</a> to kick-start much-needed house building across the nation, they must also strive to protect the places and projects that foster strong communities. Hubs such as Hamilton House prioritise social, cultural and ecological achievements over economic profits. And while they may be unable to compete with market rents after regeneration happens, they are indispensable for the common good.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105193/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What happens in Bristol could set an important precedent for councils to step up and defend their local community’s interests.Fabian Frenzel, Associate Professor in Organisation Studies, University of LeicesterArmin Beverungen, Lecturer in Media Studies, University of SiegenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1021292018-09-19T11:33:16Z2018-09-19T11:33:16ZLondon is proposing 20mph speed limits – here’s the evidence on their effect on city life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236163/original/file-20180913-177944-1egev2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/drafts/102055/edit">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A new speed limit of 20mph has <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2018/july/mayor-tfl-and-the-met-launch-plan-to-eliminate-deaths-and-serious-injuries-on-london-s-roa">been proposed</a> for roads in central London. The plans, which would reduce the limit to 20mph within the Congestion Charging Zone, are part of the <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/safety-and-security/road-safety/vision-zero-for-london">“Vision Zero” strategy</a>, which aims to “eliminate deaths and serious injuries from London’s transport network by 2041”.</p>
<p>The main reason for reducing traffic speed is to lessen the likelihood of a collision – and to reduce the severity of road traffic casualties. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000145751200276X">Research indicates</a> that if a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle at 24mph, they have a 10% risk of dying. This goes up to 25% at 32mph, and 50% at 41mph. A reduction in speed of as little as 1mph is associated with a reduction in casualties of up to 6%.</p>
<p>Yet plans for the 20mph limit in London have <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/993780/london-news-sadiq-khan-20mph-speed-limit-london-roads-latest">been controversial</a>. Some question the impact it will have on increased traffic congestion and air pollution. Retailers are concerned it will discourage customers from visiting the city centre due to increased congestion. Others question the need for a 20mph limit in areas where congestion means it is rarely possible to go any faster than that. So what’s the evidence on 20mph limits so far? </p>
<p>Many look to the <a href="http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/34851/7/BRITE%20Bristol%2020mph%20limit%20evaluation%20report%20final.pdf">example of Bristol</a> to support the introduction of 20mph limits. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-43050841">Headline findings</a> have so far suggested that “four lives a year are saved” in the city, which reduced speeds in 2014 and 2015. It has also <a href="http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/34851/7/BRITE%20Bristol%2020mph%20limit%20evaluation%20report%20final.pdf">been estimated</a> that Bristol has saved over £15m per year due to lower casualty rates. </p>
<p>Elsewhere, results from pilot schemes in <a href="http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/7820/south_central_edinburgh_20mph_limit_pilot_evaluation_2013">Edinburgh</a> and <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme4/interimeval20mphspeedlimits.pdf">Portsmouth</a> indicated an overall reduction in speed of between 0.9mph and 1.9mph on roads where 20mph limits were implemented. In Portsmouth, an average reduction of 6.3mph was seen on roads that were characterised by speeds of over 24mph before the lower limits were introduced. The city also showed a 22% reduction in reported road casualties where 20mph maximums had been introduced.</p>
<p>The pilot research has also indicated that 20mph limits in Bristol and Edinburgh have led to increases in people choosing to walk (up to 10%) or cycle (up to 5%). <a href="http://www.dannydorling.org/?page_id=3924">Other studies</a> have shown increases in perceived road safety, and the pleasantness of residential environments. </p>
<p>But others are more swayed by what has happened in Manchester, where the supposed benefits of 20mph limits <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-39231956">have been questioned</a>. There, a drop in the number of accidents in 20mph zones was not as great as it was on some faster roads. In light of these findings, Manchester City Council reviewed their 20mph scheme and <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4294454/Council-scraps-20mph-limit-no-difference.html">withdrew funding</a>.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/37/3/515/2362676">overall review</a> of previous research concluded that 20mph schemes can reduce accidents, injuries and traffic volume, and improve perceptions of safety, while being cost effective. However, of the ten studies included in the review, only two focused specifically on speed limits (use of 20mph signage without physical interventions such as speed bumps). </p>
<p>The review also found a lack of evidence assessing the impact of such schemes on addressing social inequalities – road casualties are higher in the most deprived areas.</p>
<p>What is less clear are the potential risks of implementing such schemes, particularly for noise and air pollution. Some argue that lowering traffic speed will lead to increased congestion and consequently increased air pollution. On the other hand, if 20mph speed limits are successful in encouraging more sustainable travel modes then this will result in a reduction in air pollution.</p>
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<p>The evidence to date is somewhat limited because of a lack of robust, long-term evaluations. In particular, there has not been enough investigation into their economic impact and cost effectiveness. </p>
<h2>Looking at the signs</h2>
<p>So what can London learn from the evidence so far? The first lesson is that communication is key – it is vital the public is kept up to date with plans. It is also important to have an evaluation plan which includes interim analyses, so that any changes made are based on solid evidence.</p>
<p>And that evaluation should be a broad one. As well as measuring changes in traffic speed, and the number and severity of collisions, include other measures such as changes in behaviour when it comes to travel mode and liveability.</p>
<p>In our increasingly congested cities, more must be done to move towards sustainable modes of travel – and for society as a whole to become less reliant on cars. However, changing social norms will take time, and in order to be successful, local authorities must ensure they engage with the general public when implementing ambitious transport plans. </p>
<p>London is the latest city in an ever growing list to implement 20mph speed limits. At the “Is 20mph plenty for health?” <a href="https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/phr/158212/#/">research team</a>, we would encourage London to learn lessons from the other cities – and to share its knowledge as we continue to build the evidence base for 20mph speed limits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102129/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Hunter receives funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme as an investigator on the study "Is 20 plenty for health? Evaluation of the 20mph speed limit networks in Edinburgh and Belfast on a range of public health outcomes".
The article is written in collaboration with the NIHR "Is 20 plenty for health?" research team (<a href="https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/phr/158212/#/">https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/phr/158212/#/</a>) </span></em></p>As traffic slows down, research is gathering momentum.Ruth Hunter, Lecturer, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/865662017-11-01T13:36:30Z2017-11-01T13:36:30ZHow to turn a volcano into a power station – with a little help from satellites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192679/original/file-20171031-18735-1gapo0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Erta Ale in eastern Ethiopia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/erta-ale-shield-volcano-eastern-ethiopia-651968962?src=qtB_MW4J7_7YV2kH-EHpZw-1-65">mbrand85</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ethiopia tends to conjure images of sprawling dusty deserts, bustling streets in Addis Ababa or the precipitous cliffs of the <a href="https://www.simienmountainsnationalpark.org/">Simien Mountains</a> – possibly with a distance runner bounding along in the background. Yet the country is also one of the most volcanically active on Earth, thanks to Africa’s <a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/videos/geologic-journey/african-rift-the-great-rift-valley-1301.aspx">Great Rift Valley</a>, which runs right through its heart. </p>
<p>Rifting is the geological process that rips tectonic plates apart, roughly at the speed your fingernails grow. In Ethiopia this has enabled magma to force its way to the surface, and there are over 60 known volcanoes. Many have undergone colossal eruptions in the past, leaving behind immense craters that pepper the rift floor. Some volcanoes are still active today. Visit them and you find bubbling mud ponds, hot springs and scores of steaming vents. </p>
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<span class="caption">Steam rising at Aluto volcano, Ethiopia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">William Hutchison</span></span>
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<p>This steam has been used by locals for washing and bathing, but underlying this is a much bigger opportunity. The surface activity suggests extremely hot fluids deep below, perhaps up to 300°C–400°C. Drill down and it should be possible access this high temperature steam, which could drive large turbines and produce huge amounts of power. This matters greatly in a <a href="https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/WEO2014.pdf">country where</a> 77% of the population has no access to electricity, one of the lowest levels in Africa. </p>
<p>Geothermal power has recently become a serious proposition thanks to geophysical surveys <a href="http://www.rg.is/static/files/about-us/rg-corbettigeothermalpower.pdf">suggesting that</a> some volcanoes could yield a gigawatt of power. That’s the <a href="https://energy.gov/eere/articles/how-much-power-1-gigawatt">equivalent of</a> several million solar panels or 500 wind turbines from each. The total untapped resource is <a href="http://theargeo.org/fullpapers/COUNTRY%20UPDATE%20ON%20GEOTHERMAL%20EXPLORATION%20AND%20DEVELOPMENT%20IN%20ETHIOPIA.pdf">estimated to be</a> in the region of 10GW. </p>
<p>Converting this energy into power would build on the geothermal pilot project that began some 20 years ago at Aluto volcano in the lakes region 200km south of Addis Ababa. Its infrastructure is currently being upgraded to increase production tenfold, from 7MW to 70MW. In sum, geothermal looks like a fantastic low-carbon renewable solution for Ethiopia that could form the backbone of the power sector and help lift people out of poverty. </p>
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<h2>Scratching the surface</h2>
<p>The major problem is that, unlike more developed geothermal economies like Iceland, very little is known about Ethiopia’s volcanoes. In almost all cases, we don’t even know when the last eruption took place – a vital question since erupting volcanoes and large-scale power generation will not make happy bedfellows. </p>
<p>In recent years, the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has been funding <a href="https://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/riftvolc/ProjectRiftVolc.html">RiftVolc</a>, a consortium of British and Ethiopian universities and geological surveys, to address some of these issues. This has focused on understanding the hazards and developing methods for exploring and monitoring the volcanoes so that they can be exploited safely and sustainably. </p>
<p>Teams of scientists have been out in the field for the past three years deploying monitoring equipment and making observations. Yet some of the most important breakthroughs have come through an entirely different route – through researchers analysing satellite images at their desks. </p>
<p>This has produced exciting findings at Aluto. Using a satellite radar technique, we <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2016GC006395/full">discovered that</a> the volcano’s surface is <a href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Highlights/Africa_s_ups_and_downs#">inflating and deflating</a>. The best analogy is breathing – we found sharp “inhalations” inflating the surface over a few months, followed by gradual “exhalations” which cause slow subsidence over many years. We’re not exactly sure what is causing these ups and downs, but it is good evidence that magma, geothermal waters or gases are moving around in the depths some five km below the surface. </p>
<h2>Taking the temperature</h2>
<p>In our <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037702731730118X">most recent paper</a>, we used satellite thermal images to probe the emissions of Aluto’s steam vents in more detail. We found that the locations where gases were escaping often coincided with known fault lines and fractures on the volcano. </p>
<p>When we monitored the temperature of these vents over several years, we were surprised to find that most were quite stable. Only a few vents on the eastern margin showed measurable temperature changes. And crucially, this was not happening in synchronicity with Aluto’s ups and downs – we might have expected that surface temperatures would increase following a period of inflation, as hot fluids rise up from the belly of the volcano.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192440/original/file-20171030-18700-1tm2a02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192440/original/file-20171030-18700-1tm2a02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192440/original/file-20171030-18700-1tm2a02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192440/original/file-20171030-18700-1tm2a02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192440/original/file-20171030-18700-1tm2a02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192440/original/file-20171030-18700-1tm2a02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192440/original/file-20171030-18700-1tm2a02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192440/original/file-20171030-18700-1tm2a02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A productive geothermal well on Aluto.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">William Hutchison</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It was only when we delved into the rainfall records that we came up with an explanation: the vents that show variations appear to be changing as a delayed response to rainfall on the higher ground of the rift margin. Our conclusion was that the vents nearer the centre of the volcano were not perturbed by rainfall and thus represent a better sample of the hottest waters in the geothermal reservoir. This obviously makes a difference when it comes to planning where to drill wells and build power stations on the volcano, but there’s a much wider significance. </p>
<p>This is one of the first times anyone has monitored a geothermal resource from space, and it demonstrates what can be achieved. Since the satellite data is freely available, it represents an inexpensive and risk-free way of assessing geothermal potential. </p>
<p>With similar volcanoes scattered across countries like Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the technique could allow us to discover and monitor new untapped geothermal resources in the Rift Valley as well as around the world. When you zoom back and look at the big picture, it is amazing what starts to come into view.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86566/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Hutchison receives funding from the NERC and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Juliet Biggs receives funding from the NERC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tamsin Mather receives funding from the NERC. </span></em></p>Satellite research in Ethiopia is opening up a new frontier in the hunt for geothermal power.William Hutchison, Research Fellow, University of St AndrewsJuliet Biggs, Reader in Earth Sciences, University of BristolTamsin Mather, Professor of Earth Sciences, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/820102017-08-07T09:49:18Z2017-08-07T09:49:18ZStokes Croft: the saga of one British neighbourhood reveals the perverse injustices of gentrification<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181117/original/file-20170806-21730-ghtg9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.aggiephotoflow.com">Agnès Lapin</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nowhere is the sharp injustice of gentrification so grossly demonstrated as in Stokes Croft. With its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jan/22/bristol-street-artists-banksy-city-legal-graffiti-walls-public-art">world renowned street art</a> and buzzing local scene, this area is the main fount of culture and creativity, which has propelled the city of Bristol to international fame. For many years, Stokes Croft has been a seat of resilience and rebellion against the inevitable creep of corporate interests into <a href="https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/stokes-croft-named-as-one-of-10-hippest-areas-in-the-uk/">“up-and-coming”</a> areas. </p>
<p>This is a place where locals staged a peaceful sit-in against the opening of a chain supermarket – a protest which <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/laurie-penny/2011/04/stokes-croft-police-tesco">escalated into riots</a> when local squatters were evicted by police a few days later. One of Banksy’s first murals – <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-32132450">The Mild, Mild West</a> – still remains, a beloved memorial to the ravers who resisted police in the 1990s. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stokes Croft: creative frontier.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kylaborg/10910810143/sizes/l">KylaBorg/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But like so many creative hubs before it, Stokes Croft is becoming a victim of its own trendiness. Now, one of the area’s most central hot spots – Hamilton House – is at risk of being redeveloped. In our research on <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042098014536239">developments in Stokes Croft</a>, we traced the tragic arc of dereliction, rejuvenation and gentrification up to the current moment. </p>
<h2>The story so far</h2>
<p>It’s hard to imagine Stokes Croft without the hustle and bustle that surrounds Hamilton House. The building has thousands of visitors every day. It is home to <a href="https://www.canteenbristol.co.uk/">The Canteen</a>, a bar, restaurant and music venue which also trains disadvantaged people in the hospitality sector. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Canteen at Hamilton House.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/heatheronhertravels/32796106653/sizes/l">heatheronhertravels/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It also hosts the <a href="http://www.thebristolbikeproject.org/">Bristol Bike Project</a>, providing bikes and services to underprivileged groups; the <a href="https://misfitstheatre.com/">Misfits Theatre Company</a>, a theatre and social group led by people with learning disabilities; and <a href="https://www.hamiltonhouse.org/whos-here/">many other groups and projects</a> providing everything from co-working spaces to event management.</p>
<p>The success story started in 2008 when the owners of the building, Connolly & Callaghan (C&C), invited a group of local people to come up with a plan for the community to make use of a derelict building in the centre of the high street. At the time, Stokes Croft was notably downtrodden; a place replete with pawnshops and massage parlours. Many people avoided walking through it at night.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Less than salubrious.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinkwhite/10815768095/sizes/l">чãvìnkωhỉtз/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These people went on to form the community interest company Coexist. Their idea was simple: create the “operating system”, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/set-up-a-social-enterprise">a community interest company</a>, which rents out office spaces to artists, projects and various organisations under market rates. At the same time, necessary renovations and marketing were done by the free work of Coexist volunteers, keen to turn their neighbourhood into a more attractive place.</p>
<p>Since then, <a href="http://hamiltonhouse.org/">Hamilton House</a> has been central to the rejuvenation of Stokes Croft as a cultural and creative quarter, attracting many artists, creatives, charities and entrepreneurs to the building. Coexist has become a key actor in the quarter, alongside the <a href="http://www.prsc.org.uk/">People’s Republic of Stokes Croft</a> and other community groups. It even gained a moment of international fame when it introduced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/mar/02/uk-company-introduce-period-policy-female-staff">a period policy for female staff</a>.</p>
<h2>A valuable asset</h2>
<p>Coexist reckons that Hamilton House brings in an annual revenue of around <a href="http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/business/deadline-looms-bids-hamilton-house-57782">£21m, and is responsible for around 1,260 jobs in the local area</a>. It also provides free spaces, events and exhibitions worth around £100,000 annually to the community.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coexist’s Community Kitchen at Hamilton House.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/biglunchextras/13242462134/sizes/l">Ruth Davey/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By raising the profile of Stokes Croft, Hamilton House has also contributed to rising real estate values in the surrounding area. And now, the owners of Hamilton House are seemingly tempted to cash in. In November 2016, C&C notified the council of their intent to dispose of the building, so that the community asset lock on the property would be removed. </p>
<p>While Coexist has, up until now, always said that C&C have been “sponsors, instigators and landlords” providing essential support for the Hamilton House project, C&C have also benefited greatly from the hard work of the local community. The <a href="https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09985446/filing-history/MzE3OTI4NzA5OWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0">financial statements for C&C</a> reveal that when Hamilton House was valuated in September 2016, the value of the property had increased by a whopping £3.44m, from £2.1m in 2008 to £5.5m today. </p>
<p>Existing legislation gave Coexist the right to a first bid, but the community interest company has been unable to compete with market rates. Their <a href="https://www.hamiltonhouse.org/coexist-bid/">pretty impressive</a> £5.5m, face-value bid was <a href="https://thebristolcable.org/2017/07/update-news-future-hamilton-house/">rejected by C&C</a> in July 2017. Bids ranging from <a href="https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/future-hamilton-house-looks-increasingly-uncertain/">£5.2m to £7.5m</a> have reportedly been made by other parties. </p>
<h2>A clouded future</h2>
<p>Although conversations continue, fears about Hamilton House’s future run high. C&C have served Coexist with a notice to vacate the building by August 11. An offer of a six-month recurring lease (with some caveats regarding the middle and back part of the building, which C&C want to develop) is on the table, but it means that Coexist and most of the tenants now lack the security to plan ahead. </p>
<p>A spokesperson for C&C <a href="http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/business/deadline-looms-bids-hamilton-house-57782">said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Connolly & Callaghan has supported and assisted Coexist for nearly a decade in its work in creating community. Coexist was brought into being in 2008 because Connolly & Callaghan wanted to create an experimental centre of excellence in sustainable community at Hamilton House, which we have owned since 2004 … Going forward, our intention is to maintain a flexible approach towards the future of Hamilton House. We hope to see Coexist continue its work in community building, and to also see Coexist build its own long-term social, environmental and financial stability.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Paradise lost?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jontangerine/6162330224/sizes/l">jontangerine/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Coexist and their tenants have made Stokes Croft into a more attractive area with their cultural labour. Here, local values, practices and people have worked to achieve social goods for the whole community, as well as those who visit. Now, the people who lifted up their local communities could be deprived of the fruits of their labour. </p>
<p>Of course, this resilient community is already exploring possible solutions. Coexist and the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft are proposing to use Bristol’s <a href="https://medium.com/@CoexistCIC/building-a-new-economy-for-stokes-croft-8b57ab476f7f">community land trust</a>, to take over the building. This would allow the property to be owned communally, protecting this important infrastructure from market interventions.</p>
<p>But for these solutions to work, regulation must be put in place, to limit the power of real estate owners and to acknowledge those who regenerated the area. Gentrification is often understood as inevitable, but it can also be deeply unjust. It’s time for councils and governments of all colours to recognise the twisted logic of gentrification – which leaves strong and resilient communities at the mercy of private developers – and put an end to it. It’s only fair.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82010/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s time for governments to put a stop to the twisted logic of gentrification.Fabian Frenzel, Associate Professor in Organisation Studies, University of LeicesterArmin Beverungen, Junior Director at the Digital Cultures Research Lab, Leuphana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/583192016-04-26T14:33:17Z2016-04-26T14:33:17ZEverything you need to know about the mayoral elections<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120042/original/image-20160425-22383-1eunzc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Foot voting</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ververidis Vasilis/shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On May 5 when the UK next heads to the polls for local and regional elections, voters in London, Salford, Liverpool and Bristol will have an extra choice to make – who they want to become their next <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayors_in_England">directly elected mayor</a>.</p>
<p>Directly elected mayors have a great deal of power – unlike their purely ceremonial counterparts who tend to be senior councillors wearing the robes of office and tasked with carrying out a range of civic duties. Directly elected mayors are there to exercise political leadership and to “get things done”.</p>
<p>London was the first to have this post, but by the middle of next year there will be more than <a href="http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/regional-affairs/birmingham-agrees-elected-mayor-2017-10453952">20 elected mayors</a> across England. And in the recent budget, the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, spoke about <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/budget-2016-three-more-regions-of-england-are-to-get-elected-mayors-and-access-to-billions-in-a6935476.html">increasing the numbers again</a> which could mean more to come.</p>
<p>The modern London mayoralty began back in 2000 following a referendum in London which supported the creation of a mayor and a Greater London Authority and provided legislation to introduce the <a href="https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/the-lord-mayor/Pages/history-of-the-mayoralty.aspx">structures</a>. </p>
<p>More positions were created shortly afterwards, in places as different as Bedford, Doncaster, Lewisham and Middlesbrough. Tony Blair <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1482482/Blairs-pet-idea-for-elected-mayors-revived.html">was an enthusiast</a> as is <a href="http://www.lgiu.org.uk/2009/02/17/conservative-green-paper-on-localism-today-mayors-and-capping-headline/">David Cameron</a> – and the push to create more elected mayors has continued ever since. Mayoral elections are for a fixed term, which means those mayors last elected in 2012 will face a contest this year. Terms of office – assuming no death, resignation or disqualification – are four years long. </p>
<h2>For or against?</h2>
<p>Those in favour argue that mayors can provide strong local leadership. Research looking at the impact of the <a href="http://www.centreforcities.org/blog/impact-mayor-george-ferguson-bristol/">mayor in Bristol</a> has shown that the introduction of an elected mayor directly resulted in an increase in the visibility of city leadership. But those against say that the creation of elected mayors actually reduces local democracy with most elected representatives having little or no power. </p>
<p>This is because the more power belongs to the one figure, the less power each individual councillor has. An example is that whereas an adminstration’s budget could be defeated by a majority, the mayoral budget requires a two-thirds majority. Mayors also may not feel answerable to elected councillors because rather than being elected by the council (as council leaders are) the mayor has a direct mandate. </p>
<p>The decision to have a mayor is often taken by a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-35775613">referendum</a>, although there are examples – <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16938425">such as in Liverpool</a> – where local people were not consulted and the mayor was elected by the council. Decisions have also been revoked – both Stoke and Hartlepool decided to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34841438">abandon the role</a> after controversies. Hartlepool’s elected mayor, Stuart Drummond, was an independent candidate best known for his role as the local football team’s <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1965569.stm">monkey mascot</a>. And a lot of other local electorates in England and Wales have actually rejected the idea altogether.</p>
<p>Despite the significance of these positions, turnout in mayoral elections has been low – participation in the last London contest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_mayoral_election,_2012">did not reach 40%</a>. And in Liverpool, back in 2012, <a href="http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=224&RPID=2828867">just over 31%</a> cast a vote. Politicians know that turnout is partly driven by a sense of a close contest, but in London there was a perception of a contest and yet still the turnout was low.</p>
<h2>What does the role mean?</h2>
<p>Being an elected mayor is a big job. The largest constituency in Liverpool has an electorate of around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_district_of_Liverpool">70,000</a>, while the figure for the mayoral contest is closer to <a href="http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=224&RPID=2828867">320,000</a>. </p>
<p>The powers of elected mayors vary – but they have great symbolic importance and individuals can develop a strong personal presence, becoming “Mr Salford” or “Mrs Watford” for example. The focus on the individual also encourages image building. The first directly elected mayor of Middlesbrough, former senior Cleveland police officer Ray Mallon became <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/jul/17/police.localgovernment1">known as Robocop </a> by many, </p>
<p>Many MPs or former MPs also seem to view becoming an elected mayor as a good career move – and in London both <a href="https://theconversation.com/echoes-of-the-distant-past-in-englands-modern-battles-to-be-mayor-57767">main players</a> are current MPs. Leicester’s elected mayor is former MP <a href="http://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council/city-mayor-peter-soulsby/">Peter Soulsby</a>, while <a href="http://www.salford.gov.uk/your-council/city-mayor/contact-the-city-mayor/">Ian Stewart</a> in Salford was MP for Eccles at one time, and former MP <a href="http://www.sion-simon.com/">Sion Simon</a> reportedly plans to contest the West Midlands post next year.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120045/original/image-20160425-22378-t44uav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120045/original/image-20160425-22378-t44uav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120045/original/image-20160425-22378-t44uav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120045/original/image-20160425-22378-t44uav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120045/original/image-20160425-22378-t44uav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120045/original/image-20160425-22378-t44uav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120045/original/image-20160425-22378-t44uav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Who wins? You decide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BasPhoto/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How does the voting work?</h2>
<p>Voting in the mayoral elections is a little different to voting in local or parliamentary contests – the system used is the <a href="http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/supplementary-vote">supplementary vote</a>. This basically means that electors get a first choice and a second. </p>
<p>If no candidate reaches the 50% threshold, only the top two remain in the fight and all the other ballot papers have their second choices transferred. This clearly affects campaign strategies and messaging – annoy the supporters of every other candidate and you are unlikely to get second preferences. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_mayoral_election,_2012">Boris Johnson</a> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17946742">needed second choice</a> votes to get across the line in 2012.</p>
<p>There is also the consideration of how the other polls happening on the same day will influence the way people vote. While we might want to believe that voters carefully consider each role separately before making their choice, we know that the presence of one very popular or very unpopular individual on one ballot paper is likely to affect thinking about others.</p>
<p>I voted by post today and had three ballot papers: mayor, police and crime commissioner, local councillor – which is a lot of decisions to make about our future leaders in one go. If elected mayors are to have the legitimacy the government desires then electoral engagement needs to increase. But it’s not the voters fault if they don’t see the point. It is down to mayors themselves to become better at making us see them as relevant enough to care about.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paula Keaveney is a member of the Liberal Democrats and has been an elected City Councillor and Leader of the Opposition in Liverpool.</span></em></p>May 2016 sees contests for the position of elected mayor in four major cities across England.Paula Keaveney, Senior Lecturer in Public Relations and Politics, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/577672016-04-20T16:24:00Z2016-04-20T16:24:00ZEchoes of the distant past in England’s modern battles to be mayor<p>The <a href="http://www.theweek.co.uk/london-mayor-election-2016/62681/london-mayor-election-2016-polls-sadiq-khan-holds-onto-solid-lead">fight between Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan</a> to be mayor of London following Boris Johnson’s eight-year reign has become increasingly ill-tempered. Johnson himself <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/may/02/london08.london">took over from Ken Livingston</a>, who became the city’s first modern elected mayor in 2000. But the history of the role in British cities stretches much further back than that.</p>
<p>By the year 1200, larger towns throughout England were forming themselves into corporations run by a number of leading citizens, who then chose a representative leader. Most of the towns in the early 13th century who appointed their own mayor did so without royal intervention, making an important step towards representative local government. For these mayors were not merely ceremonial appointments. They had real power and stood up for the town – often against local magnates, the church, and the monarchy. </p>
<p>Many historians have recognised 29th September 1216 as the date on which Bristol, in south-west England got its first mayor, Adam le Page. But he was not the first person to be labelled as the town’s mayor by King John. Earlier in that same year John addressed <a href="http://www.bgas.org.uk/tbgas_bg/v133/141-150_Godwin.pdf">a number of mandates to “the mayor of Bristol”</a>, and named a certain Roger Cordwainer. Yet at this stage Bristol had not even been granted the legal right to have a mayor at all. In 1236, the people of Bristol petitioned the new king, Henry III, for permission to have a mayor elected and removable by the town, but were refused. So what was going on? How could the king in 1236 reject a plea for Bristol to have its own mayor, when his predecessor John had apparently addressed a mandate to Bristol’s mayor two decades previously?</p>
<p>It may have been connected to a lack of authority on the part of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/john.shtml">King John</a>, who according to historian Professor Brendan Smith, deserved his “Robin Hood reputation” as a “bad king” who was weak, wicked, cowardly and grasping. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119485/original/image-20160420-25641-1xzbrcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119485/original/image-20160420-25641-1xzbrcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=707&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119485/original/image-20160420-25641-1xzbrcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=707&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119485/original/image-20160420-25641-1xzbrcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=707&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119485/original/image-20160420-25641-1xzbrcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=888&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119485/original/image-20160420-25641-1xzbrcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=888&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119485/original/image-20160420-25641-1xzbrcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=888&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">King John ‘the weak’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>[Professor Smith](http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk/en/persons/brendan-g-c-smith(55495504-3e2f-4ad3-9ba4-9b998746b477.html) expains: “Having signed the Magna Carta in 1215, King John reneged on the deal, prompting the country to revolt.
"Losing ground to the rebels, the King spent part of his last year in Bristol, before dying of dysentery in Lincolnshire in October 1216. It was only when the Crown passed to his infant son, Henry III, that peace was restored.”</p>
<p>Historic records also show that in fact Roger Cordwainer was a valued confidant of King John, who looked after the king’s money depository in Bristol and organised shipments of the king’s wine. For most of his reign John was at odds with his barons and needed friends wherever he could find them, and Roger Cordwainer was one he seemed to rely on. So in that sense, he was probably not the first mayor to be independent of the king.</p>
<p>In the midst of all this conflict, double dealing and bloodshed, Bristol swiftly replaced Cordwainer with Adam le Page, a man chosen by the townsfolk themselves.
But 1216 wasn’t the end of the story for Bristol. In the early years, its mayors, along with those of England’s other towns were not formally recognised by the Crown. The kings were wary of devolving power to people who might challenge their authority (although in practice, they were actually willing to deal with them). </p>
<h2>Edward the devolver</h2>
<p>Then in 1300, <a href="http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon30.html">Edward I</a> formalised the situation. The man who sought to unite Britain by conquering Wales and Scotland, was an unlikely devolver of power, but he decided to grant new charters to England’s towns, apparently in the hope that they would then be loyal to him. It was an astute move on his part, because if someone else became king, they might not recognise the rights he had already granted.</p>
<p>According to historian Evan Jones: “England’s medieval mayors were born in bloodshed and their powers came from desperation. But the events of the thirteenth century helped establish towns as independent corporations, governed by their citizens. </p>
<p>"Last year the English-speaking world celebrated the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta because the ‘great charter’ established the notion that people have rights. But changes in town governance at that time were equally important. They created the notion that leaders should be chosen by the people for the people. That made towns the cradles of democracy.”</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119486/original/image-20160420-25615-ufc1cb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119486/original/image-20160420-25615-ufc1cb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119486/original/image-20160420-25615-ufc1cb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119486/original/image-20160420-25615-ufc1cb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119486/original/image-20160420-25615-ufc1cb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119486/original/image-20160420-25615-ufc1cb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119486/original/image-20160420-25615-ufc1cb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Historic Bristol.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_csb_from_bw_evening.jpg">JoeD/wikicommons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The appointment of mayors in towns and cities around the beginning of the 13th century was a major step in the development of representative local government which has repercussions today, and what happened in Bristol in 1216 is a significant example of this. <a href="http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Mayoral-rivals-Marvin-Rees-George-Ferguson-spat/story-29063652-detail/story.html">George Ferguson</a> will be trying to win a second term as mayor in Bristol in May, 800 years after his original predecessor got the job. He will no doubt be hoping for a smoother process.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Godwin is a member of the Conservative Party. </span></em></p>British mayors first appeared eight centuries before the current election campaigns.John Godwin, PhD candidate, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/359862015-01-08T06:11:08Z2015-01-08T06:11:08ZPoverty is moving to the suburbs – the question is what to do about it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68400/original/image-20150107-2005-1ljxcy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's much more of this than there used to be</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=hv1Pr4KK7iajZ9Z1L-NUvg&searchterm=suburban%20poor&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=99793772">Maisna</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The conventional image of suburbia is one of bland affluence and social homogeneity. Suburbs are where the middle classes aspire to make their nests. They are the idealised safe havens for raising children and growing old. They are where white people migrate to flee ethnic diversity.</p>
<p>In the United States suburbia has sprawled into vast expansions of the city, the suburbs become synonymous with the American dream. Homo Americanus’s natural habitat is supposedly the leafy suburban neighbourhood with manicured lawns and white picket fences. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bjUEwXJcBjY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>So ingrained is the association between wealth and the outer circles of a city that the word “suburban” has long since become shorthand for bourgeois materialism – and an inviting target for social critics. Suburbia is where nothing happens. “Same old boring Sunday morning, old men out washing their cars,” as the song <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/song/the-sound-of-the-suburbs-mt0018897228/lyrics">Sound of the Suburbs</a> would have it. </p>
<p>For real life and social authenticity you must descend into the inner city, the locus of poverty, ethnic ghettos, human struggle and cultural vibrancy. To speak of suburban poverty is something of an oxymoron. Or is it? </p>
<h2>The 21st-century poor</h2>
<p>Not any longer. Emerging evidence of decentralised deprivation, particularly in the US, suggests that social commentators may need to start searching for a new metaphor. The rise of suburban poverty has been highlighted as one of the most significant trends that may come to characterise 21st-century cities. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7864/j.ctt4cg88q">Recent research by</a> the Brookings Institute of Washington DC, for example, finds in American cities as varied as San Francisco, Cleveland, Chicago and Seattle “a series of communities in transition … from outposts of the middle class to symbols of modern American poverty”. Suburbia is now “home to the largest and fastest-growing poor population in the country and more than half of the metropolitan poor”. </p>
<h2>This side of the pond</h2>
<p>The same thing appears to have been happening in the UK. <a href="https://smithinstitutethinktank.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/poverty-in-suburbia.pdf">Research by</a> the London-based Smith Institute found the same trend in England and Wales. It found 6.8m people living in poverty in the suburbs, comprising 57% of all those in poverty. It also found that this was rising. </p>
<p>Between 2001 and 2011, the institute reports that the number of people living in the suburbs experiencing above-average levels of poverty rose by 34%. It found a 25% rise in the number of unemployed households, compared to 9% elsewhere. And in the eight biggest English cities – London, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Bristol – the suburbs had become poorer relative to inner-city areas over the same time period. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68402/original/image-20150107-1974-5ys0ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68402/original/image-20150107-1974-5ys0ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68402/original/image-20150107-1974-5ys0ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=223&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68402/original/image-20150107-1974-5ys0ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=223&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68402/original/image-20150107-1974-5ys0ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=223&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68402/original/image-20150107-1974-5ys0ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68402/original/image-20150107-1974-5ys0ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68402/original/image-20150107-1974-5ys0ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The evidence is mounting that this trend exists across the country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=I65z2yCWN4JAcYqjuIsSSQ&searchterm=glasgow&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=170251568">jktu_21</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>No equivalent study had looked north of the border. This is an intriguing omission, particularly given the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/results">closely drawn outcome</a> of the recent referendum for Scottish independence. A big question in that debate was whether and to what extent Scotland is different. </p>
<h2>Glasgow calling</h2>
<p>I have been part of a research team that has sought to remedy this, initially by looking at Glasgow. We have sought to improve on what has been done before by developing new methods to overcome the problem of gauging whether we are observing genuine change in the urban distribution of poverty rather than random churn in population movements. We are currently applying this to Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness and are likely to look to England and Wales in due course, so it will be interesting to see to what extent our findings match those of the Smith Institute. </p>
<p>In our study of Glasgow, it is worth pointing out that much of the poverty concentrates on housing estates on the edges of the city. There are one or two areas of inner-city poverty, but nothing equivalent to, say, London. Yet the wealthier suburbs are also concentrated in the outer areas. To avoid getting into what counts as suburban, which is actually much more complex than you might think, we focused on whether the indicators of poverty were moving outwards. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.aqmen.ac.uk/sites/default/files/RB5-poverty-suburbia.pdf">Sure enough</a>, poverty became noticeably less centralised in Glasgow between 2001 and 2011. The concentration of people on income support in outer areas rose 27%, while it rose 59% for those on incapacity benefit and 48% for those on Job Seekers’ Allowance. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68401/original/image-20150107-1982-q765h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68401/original/image-20150107-1982-q765h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68401/original/image-20150107-1982-q765h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68401/original/image-20150107-1982-q765h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68401/original/image-20150107-1982-q765h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68401/original/image-20150107-1982-q765h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68401/original/image-20150107-1982-q765h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68401/original/image-20150107-1982-q765h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">No one knows why inner cities are getting relatively less poor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=aTzA9J2pUoZWVFZCaWpBoA&searchterm=moving%20outwards&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=30481765">John T Takal</a></span>
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<p>This doesn’t mean that the suburbs of Glasgow are likely to become the new ghettos of deprivation any time soon. Poverty is still largely concentrated in the inner cities and former council estates. But the results do provide the first evidence that the same trend that has been witnessed in England, Wales and the US is also happening in Scotland. </p>
<p>Why does all this matter? Welfare policy and regeneration frameworks have historically been geared towards inner cities. Fragmentation and dispersal of poverty could raise new challenges for policy developers and additional problems of social isolation for those unlucky enough to find themselves poor in suburbia. Area-based policies, for example for support services, are most effective if those in greatest need are concentrated in particular sectors of the city. </p>
<p>This is therefore something that needs to be taken much more seriously by those who decide how poverty should be tackled. The more that poverty finds new places to live, the more that anti-poverty policies have to move to keep up with it. The battle against poverty in the 21st century may need to take on very different forms to what it was before.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35986/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gwilym receives funding from the ESRC and the Sheffield Methods Institute</span></em></p>The conventional image of suburbia is one of bland affluence and social homogeneity. Suburbs are where the middle classes aspire to make their nests. They are the idealised safe havens for raising children…Gwilym Pryce, Professor of Urban Economics and Social Statistics and Director of the Sheffield Methods Institute, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.