Information, intelligence and insights from the genecon team
Read more about what we’ve been up to and get the latest thinking about place-making and place economics from our team of technical experts and innovators.
Psychogeography, the missing link in ESG?
January 2023 | Dr Jason FrostEnvironmental, social and governance (ESG) represents a tripartite prism through which to take decisions, to capture value or to define a new corporate (or other) strategy. At its root it is about tackling the various externalities; structures or conditions, which serve to promote or reinforce an unequal or dominant form of control (however this […]
Why are there two Es in ESG?
December 2022 | Prof Douglas Crawford-BrownThe ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) movement began in the late 20th century as a rejoinder to a narrow focus of business on bottom-line profit (Economy). It is a movement that places equal value on the environmental impacts of a business, the effects it has on the social fabric of its employees and the communities […]
Manufacturing, A Potential use in Town and City Centres?
October 2022 | Rufus MitchellA recent policy focus from Central Government has been to reverse the persistent decline of the town and city centres. To achieve this, funding streams such as the Future High Streets Fund (FHSF), Towns Fund and Levelling-up Fund (LUF) allowed Local Authorities to bid for funding to deliver capital projects that increase footfall and dwell […]
How local government finance works
October 2022 | Dr John LiveseyHow local government finance works – what is the outlook and implications for future capital schemes? Since the austerity agenda that began with the Conservative – Lib Dem coalition government in 2010, local councils have become used to annual reductions in central government funding. Steadily reducing grants have placed increasing financial pressure on councils, along […]
What lessons can we learn from international development for levelling up in the UK?
October 2022 | Dr Jonathan MitchellWestern donors spent US$179bn on international aid in 2021 and have transferred between 0.25% and 0.5% of their Gross National Income (GNI) into aid for decades[1]. The UK Government cut its aid budget to £11.4bn in 2021 – over double the £4.8bn allocated to the second round of the Levelling Up Fund (LUF2). We highlight […]
Economic Clusters
October 2022 | Dr Jason FrostAre economic clusters the answer to good green growth? The benefits and drawbacks of economic clusters by Dr Jason Frost Internationally, clustering is a tried and tested method, with examples of success in countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, Israel, as well as regions such as Hamburg, or Silicon Valley and even Hollywood. A recent […]
Clearer roads ahead…
October 2022 | Amir ZaidiWhilst it is generally accepted that having significantly fewer and non-polluting electric cars on our heavily congested roads is desirable, the practicality of achieving this is also generally accepted as being an unlikely reality in the near future. Despite there being a substantial increase in the number of electric cars being sold in the […]