Publications

This report was produced in November 2022 as part of research undertaken by the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) as part of its ESRC Centre research programme. Fifteen remote interviews were conducted in English or Welsh (depending on the participant’s choice) by three researchers (Dr Beel, Prof IR Jones, Dr…

Emerging in the mid-2010s, the Foundational Economy has been heralded as ‘a compelling counter-project against neoliberalism’ and ‘an alternative pathway … [for] progressive political renewal’. Grounded in a review of cross-disciplinary debates, this paper introduces the concept of the Foundational Economy and places it in relation to heterodox geographic theories of socio-economic development such as…

This report, based on 42 interviews with workers, trade unionists and other stakeholders, examines the phenomena of low-paid and precarious work in Sheffield. It focuses on the factors driving the prevalence of such work (including the links with welfare reform), the experiences of workers in seven distinct employment sectors, as well as trade union responses…

In this paper, we consider the implications of applying the city region concept to a medium-sized city and whether such an application of a spatial and governmental policy is appropriate when the central city in question is also not necessarily economically dominant or connected to its wider city-region. This gives a deeper understanding to the…

In recent years, the ‘city region’ has seen a renaissance as the de-facto spatial centre of governance for economic and social development. Rich in case study insights, this book provides an overview of city region building and considers how governance restructuring shapes political, economic, social and cultural landscapes. Reviewing the Greater Manchester, Sheffield, Swansea Bay…

The Routledge Handbook of Place: Part 1 – Situating Place, Chapter 4 (ed) Tim Edensor, Ares Kalandides, Uma Kothari This chapter looks at the relationship between place and region through the lens of the place-making politics of devolution and localism in Britain; England and Wales specifically. We revisit Paasi’s treatise on regions in geography and suggest…

This paper discusses the creation of a growth deal for North Wales (The North Wales Growth Deal – NWGD). North Wales is primarily a rural region within the UK, withoutacore-city or large metropolitan centre.The paper examines how this urban dynamic, fostered around a pushing of the agglomerative growth model out of the city-region, is being…

The concept of localism and spatial delineation of the ‘city region’ have seen a renaissance as the de facto spatial political units of governance for economic development. One articulation of this has seen the creation of Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) to potentially enhance Wales’s poor economic performance and secure democratic forms of social cohesion. City…

The Sheffield Needs A Pay Rise (SNAP) is a campaign that has been initiated by Sheffield Trades Union Council (STUC). The impetus for the campaign was the earlier creation of the Britain Needs A Pay Rise organising theme by the national Trades Union Congress1 in the autumn of 2014. STUC has sought to develop this…

Within the UK and further afield, the spatial delineation of the ‘city-region’ has seen a renaissance as the de facto spatial political unit of governance driven by economic development. This spatial realignment has been central to the construction of Northern Powerhouse and has rested alongside other agendas such as devolution, localism and austerity. The chapter…