James Gilmour
@cadastral.bsky.social
Economist/writer; cities, devolution and maps 😀
Manchester almost built its own version of the Elizabeth Line in the 1970s, but was stymied by central government funding cuts. Second time lucky??
July 10, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Manchester almost built its own version of the Elizabeth Line in the 1970s, but was stymied by central government funding cuts. Second time lucky??
It's very hard to say why for sure - but my personal hunch is that this isn't unrelated to expansion of the tram network, which has seemingly supported rapid jobs growth in the highly productive city centre (3/4)
July 2, 2025 at 9:18 AM
It's very hard to say why for sure - but my personal hunch is that this isn't unrelated to expansion of the tram network, which has seemingly supported rapid jobs growth in the highly productive city centre (3/4)
Economic productivity has nothing to do with hard work; it measures how efficiently we're able to turn time and material into value. But the UK's productivity growth has been anaemic from 2008 on, making us all thousands of pounds worse off.
Manchester, increasingly, is a rare bright spot 👇 (2/4)
Manchester, increasingly, is a rare bright spot 👇 (2/4)
July 2, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Economic productivity has nothing to do with hard work; it measures how efficiently we're able to turn time and material into value. But the UK's productivity growth has been anaemic from 2008 on, making us all thousands of pounds worse off.
Manchester, increasingly, is a rare bright spot 👇 (2/4)
Manchester, increasingly, is a rare bright spot 👇 (2/4)
Doing things differently here? After decades of hype, Greater Manchester is starting to look like something rare; an actual UK economic sucess story. I had a look into the latest economic data for @manchestermill.bsky.social to find out more (1/4)
July 2, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Doing things differently here? After decades of hype, Greater Manchester is starting to look like something rare; an actual UK economic sucess story. I had a look into the latest economic data for @manchestermill.bsky.social to find out more (1/4)
At its peak Trafford Park employed 75,000 workers, largely in high-value manufacturing and engineering. But industrial decline, fragmentation and the inexorable rise of logistics gave us the sprawling patchwork of warehouses, low-rise offices and roundabouts you see today (3/4)
March 11, 2025 at 5:41 PM
At its peak Trafford Park employed 75,000 workers, largely in high-value manufacturing and engineering. But industrial decline, fragmentation and the inexorable rise of logistics gave us the sprawling patchwork of warehouses, low-rise offices and roundabouts you see today (3/4)
Barring a council scheduling error, Trafford Park could have stayed a deer park and a vast green lung; something Manchester desperately lacks today. Instead it gave the city something very different; a cutting edge economy for the second industrial revolution (2/4)
March 11, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Barring a council scheduling error, Trafford Park could have stayed a deer park and a vast green lung; something Manchester desperately lacks today. Instead it gave the city something very different; a cutting edge economy for the second industrial revolution (2/4)
What do you do with Europe's largest industrial estate, in a city slipping into a post-industrial future? I wrote for @manchestermill.bsky.social about a long-time obsession - Trafford Park (1/4)
March 11, 2025 at 5:41 PM
What do you do with Europe's largest industrial estate, in a city slipping into a post-industrial future? I wrote for @manchestermill.bsky.social about a long-time obsession - Trafford Park (1/4)