Players, Birmingham

Question 1

Players

Answer 1

• Affects places in variety of scales: local, to countries
• Individuals or groups who influences change
• Public players: Gov, responsible for planning & investment, jobs, environment. Includes national and local gov
• Private players: TNC, Businesses, Individuals (self employed). Primary goal, make money from investment
• Private players have a specific focus or cover whole countries

Question 2

Birmingham

Answer 2

• 1086, poor agricultural place
• First players to influence: Bermingham family
• 1166 purchased royal charter —> market, grew in trade
• Medieval Birmingham had metal work established
• Black county supplied raw materials
• 1563, sword works, anvils, power —> water mills

Question 3

Industrial Birmingham

Answer 3

• 15k pop in 1700
• Many were migrants
• Middle classes increasing
• Different housing on status
• Mathew Boulton, entrepreneur & engineer, 1st Factory in 1761. 700 employees
• 19th century: gun, jewellery, brass, button industries
• Cadbury family set bournville factory for workers
• Financing, Bank, insurance, legal firms developed
• Cannel developed
• London to Birmingham rail 1838

Question 4

1900 to 1950

Answer 4

• Continued growth, first half 20th century, sustained economic growth
• New engineering industries
• Vehicle industry expended
• 1917 dunlop tyre company employed 10k people, 1950
• Survived great depression, inter war years
• Continued pop growth via natural increase & migration
• Large areas terraced housing for factory workers, walking distance
• Middle class who commuted helped drive urban expansion
• Transport: trams, busses, railways —> urban expansion
• Until 1950, pop mostly white, male dominant employment, 60% had skilled jobs
• Interwar suburbs: semi detached + detached, local authority housing
• Inner city: poor quality, high density housing
• Decades industry, pollution, Canals + rivers, no regulations

Question 5

Post war

Answer 5

• Unemployment <1%
• Prosperous 1950 - 1960
• 1970 - 1983, earnings fell, highest - lowest
• 1982, unemployment 19.4%
• Huge decline in primary and secondary sectors: Manufacturing,
• Increase in Tertiary sectors: finance, law, education

Question 6

Economic change

Answer 6

• Caught in global recession 1970
• Oil crisis 1973 most significant
• Arab-Isralian war, Oil prices rose, Saudi Arabia held most of oil supplies
• Suffering from overseas competition
• 1970, vehicle industry decline
• Foreign TNC, Japanese car company, cheep reliable cars
• Some oversea manufactures based in UK, none in west midlands
• Aim to attract FDI, create employment
• Frequent strikes 1970, less appealing to investors
• Small industries premises demolished, new ones build by gov

Question 7

Housing

Answer 7

• 5k homes destroyed, more damaged, WW2
• 110k sub standard houses, post war
• 400 tower blocks built in 1950 - 1960
• 81k new dwellings 1945 - 1970
• Redistribution of people, central zone cleared, residential land, migration to rural areas
• Flows of commuters into Birmingham
• Service orientated
• Green belt restricted outward expansion, increase land value

Question 8

Demography

Answer 8

• 1950 +, lots international migration
• Most Caribbean, south Asia, Far east
• 58% white British, 6% Indian, 2.8% African, 4.4% Caribbean (2011)
• Immigrants in cheap housing, good employment
• Service sector, lot skilled jobs: cleaning, drivers
• Religious buildings, ethnic shops, foreign banks, built
• Relatively youthful pop 38%, <24
• elderly 13%

Question 9

Regeneration - Government

Answer 9

• Attracting investment
• Expansion of airport
• National Exhibition centre
• Improved international accessibility
• City challenge, help places access funding
• Birmingham Heartlands Development Co-orp (1992) regeneration, deindustrialised areas
• Asked Europe Affairs team, promotion for funding
• £235m from EU, funding insulation in social housing

Question 10

Regeneration - Flag ship development

Answer 10

• Planning, catalyst, socio-economic change
• Public spaces dev in centre, refurbishments to town hall
• Some funded by EU, international convention centre, conferences + symphony hall, orchestra, culture (1991)
• National indoor arena attract sporting events
• Universities 50k students
• Wealth / spending
• Improving service, Bull ring redev, major shopping centre (1960)
• Pedestrianised streets, furniture, trees

Question 11

Regeneration - Transport

Answer 11

• Dramatic changes in 20 years
• Main railway station £700m investment
• area called Grand central shops, businesses contributed, 1k jobs
• Previous scrapped trams, made comeback, midland metro, Birmingham to the west
• HS2: £20b, London - Birmingham, 50min commute
• Funded by gov, TNCs
• M6 linking M1, M42 provides ring road