TOM CLARK, EDITOR, PROSPECT
A generation ago the term “inner cities” was code for life on the wrong side of the tracks. Since then, happily, the metropolis has fought back. It’s not just inner London, but also the hearts of Manchester, Bristol, Leeds and other great English cities that have enjoyed a renaissance. Inequality and hardship are stubborn, to be sure, but the expanding universities and canal-side developments cannot be missed, and bear testimony to an extraordinary energy.
But if the 21st century has been kind to many cities, it has been much less so to many towns. While infrastructure projects have been concentrated in the conurbations, there are aging and sometimes shrinking populations in many smaller communities. The high streets that gave many of them a vibrancy are hollowing out, and indicators of health and education point to overlapping problems. Prospect could not be prouder to partner with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for this special report to take stock of where our towns stand—and how to turn them round.