The scale of the century? – the new city regionalism in England and some experiences from Liverpool

Abstract

Attention to the city regional scale has fluctuated over time as governments in different countries have sought new 'territorial fixes' to respond to changing systems of production, flows of goods, capital and information, environmental challenges, and demands for renewed political legitimacy of collective action. In England, there have been successive cycles of rescaling, particularly since the 1970s when metropolitan governance structures were created only to be abolished the following decade. Larger regional territories were favoured in the 1990s and 2000s, however, from the mid-2000s onwards the cityregional scale again rose to prominence. The 2010s saw attention shift back to sub-regional territories with the creation of 'Combined Authorities' for 'larger than local' but 'smaller than regional' areas, including for many city-regions. This paper considers the new city regionalism in England and the experience of the Liverpool City Region (LCR). It concludes that whilst exogenous political economic factors and state strategies may stimulate rescaling of territorial governance, it is important to recognize that it is also shaped by distinctive local contexts and practices.

Governance and City Regions

“…The most recent change with regard to metropolitan policies in England was the introduction of the option of combined authorities in 2011 (Shaw and Tewdwr-Jones 2017;Sykes and Nurse 2021). Metropolitan councils existed in the larger agglomerations (Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Greater London, etc.…”

“…The growth strategy for the north (the Northern Way) included some prescriptions for city-regions but the resonance was rather weak (Sykes and Nurse 2021). This void has been partly filled by voluntary collaboration, and the Manchester city-region is a much discussed case in this regard (AGMA -Association of greater Manchester Authorities).…”

“…The establishment of a combined authority implies additional funding. At the same time local governments had to face large budget cuts in many other areas (Sykes and Nurse 2021). Hence, the combined authorities are seen by many observers as part of a national austerity agenda (Hambleton 2016; Shaw and Tewdwr-Jones 2017; Sykes and Nurse 2021).…”

“…In England, the evaluation of the combined authorities is rather difficult as the whole process is characterised as "disorganised" (Shaw and Tewdwr-Jones 2017) and driven by a mixed-motive of austerity measures and a pro-development agenda. The use of the notion city-region is less common in England and there are great differences between the realised combined authorities Sykes and Nurse 2021). In fact, the practice of city-regional governance in some states requires new notions.…”