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Next week's Core Cities Summit in Nottingham could not have come at a better time. We are poised at a moment of potentially-major change for England's cities, bringing with it inevitable risk, but also exciting opportunity. The importance of our cities and city regions to the economy has rarely had more profile. A wave of recent reports, reviews and inquiries, not least the 2006 State of the English cities report and, most recently, the Review of sub-national economic development and regeneration, support the empowerment of cities to define their own futures and call for cities to be equipped with the necessary tools and freedoms to do so. Although we are doing well, and better than for a long time, attention has been drawn to the apparent under-performance of our cities on the global stage. The English cities report compared the 61 top-performing cities in the EU and, apart from London, England had only two cities in the top 50, with France having five and Germany 15 in the top 20 alone. The report offered two central reasons for this. First, the most successful cities in Europe have organised themselves across administrative boundaries within functional economic areas, which have been afforded formal recognition by their central and regional governments. Second, they have a greater degree of autonomy, within a more decentralised system. They are consequently able to exert much greater control over their own finances. Next week summit will reveal a Core Cities Group, gearing up for delivery. Devolution is now firmly on the Core Cities agenda and, for the past year or so, the group has been working on key work streams, piecing together potential models for implementation. Achieving economic growth relies on a complex mix of factors, from transport to skills, innovation to climate change, and from culture to sustainable place making. The summit will unveil new thinking in these areas and set in motion a programme for delivery of sustainable economic growth. A key theme to the event was launched with the publication – with the Smith Institute – of Working together: Transformational leadership for city growth – a collection of essays from the leaders of the eight Core Cities, written in partnership with leaders from business, education and skills. This publication, available on the Core Cities website – www.corecities.com – reflects the true complexity of our cities, and the breadth of challenges they face. More importantly, it demonstrates how partnership and joint leadership are increasingly the key to successfully tackling these challenges. The sub-national review, when implemented, will take us a long way towards achieving the self-determination badly needed by cities. But bold leadership will be needed to drive through radical changes to the way key agencies work together towards a common city and city-region goal. Over two days, the Core Cities Summit will explore the key delivery challenges. How, for example, can science and technology build on initiatives such as Science Cities, so that innovation, rather than regulation, becomes the main driver of sustainability? How can skills strategies ensure cities are best placed to meet the demands of local businesses in the global economy? How can we work with local and global business to encourage fresh approaches to reducing carbon emissions? And how can we ensure our local and regional transport networks are integrated and fit for purpose? In attempting to answer these questions and more, the summit will hear from Government ministers, representatives of the Core Cities, major business figures and senior policy makers. Once again, young delegates from each city will be joining us to reality-check our discussions, and offer their own perspectives on the future. With new policy frameworks now defined, the spotlight is on cities to respond effectively. Our agenda in Nottingham aims to do just that. Chris Murray is director of the Core Cities Group. For details, contact Corewww.glasgows.co.uk/corecities Core Cities Summit, Nottingham, 7 and 8 November 2007 Featuring: Hazel Blears, secretary of state for communities and local government Hilary Benn, secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs Lord Digby Jones, minister of state for trade and investment John Healey, minister of state for communities and local government Sir David King, chief scientific adviser for government Prof Michael Parkinson, European Institute for Urban Affairs, Liverpool John Moores University

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ECONOMIC GROWTH

Making our cities slicker

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