Pub Date : 2023-11-13DOI: 10.1177/02690942231214494
Alexia Gignon
This article looks at the impact of public policies relating to the Olympic Games in the north-east Paris area in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Games. It is based on a qualitative survey (semi-structured interviews and observations/immersion) of the different stakeholders involved with the aim of identifying the divergences and convergences between them. The article seeks to analyse how the stakeholders are using this event to benefit the regions and their residents. The engagement on the part of the City of Paris and the surrounding areas highlights their common goals as well as their specificities.
{"title":"Public policies and governance of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Potential impacts on territorial development in north-east Paris","authors":"Alexia Gignon","doi":"10.1177/02690942231214494","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231214494","url":null,"abstract":"This article looks at the impact of public policies relating to the Olympic Games in the north-east Paris area in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Games. It is based on a qualitative survey (semi-structured interviews and observations/immersion) of the different stakeholders involved with the aim of identifying the divergences and convergences between them. The article seeks to analyse how the stakeholders are using this event to benefit the regions and their residents. The engagement on the part of the City of Paris and the surrounding areas highlights their common goals as well as their specificities.","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"56 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136282542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-07DOI: 10.1177/02690942231213579
Alan McNiven, John Harris
The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the important ways that communities can support each other in and across neighbourhoods. Volunteers played a fundamental role assisting individuals with basic needs and with keeping people connected. In a number of different settings, volunteering is part of everyday life for many people, making a huge and often hidden contribution to the lives of individuals and communities. This paper looks at the specific case of a community football club in Scotland who played a significant role in engaging with its local populace and becoming a focal point for people during a very challenging period. The case study club looked at here were like many Third Sector agencies and community groups the ‘go to’ agencies for local council’s during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many social, community organisations adapted quickly to undertake a huge range of critical roles in neighbourhoods such as food distribution and prescription delivery services. This paper suggests that these types of locally owned and operated ‘hubs’ may offer the best opportunities for important co-designed and co-delivered services, accessible to all.
{"title":"Community and the voluntary sector in a pandemic: The significant role of a local football club","authors":"Alan McNiven, John Harris","doi":"10.1177/02690942231213579","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231213579","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the important ways that communities can support each other in and across neighbourhoods. Volunteers played a fundamental role assisting individuals with basic needs and with keeping people connected. In a number of different settings, volunteering is part of everyday life for many people, making a huge and often hidden contribution to the lives of individuals and communities. This paper looks at the specific case of a community football club in Scotland who played a significant role in engaging with its local populace and becoming a focal point for people during a very challenging period. The case study club looked at here were like many Third Sector agencies and community groups the ‘go to’ agencies for local council’s during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many social, community organisations adapted quickly to undertake a huge range of critical roles in neighbourhoods such as food distribution and prescription delivery services. This paper suggests that these types of locally owned and operated ‘hubs’ may offer the best opportunities for important co-designed and co-delivered services, accessible to all.","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"302 8","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135475321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-06DOI: 10.1177/02690942231213589
Fillipe Soares Romano, Roberto Paolo Vico, Ricardo Ricci Uvinha
Football is an integral part of Brazil’s historical-cultural process, and tourism represents one of the segments deeply impacted by the occurrence of sporting mega-events. The present study aims to present and critically reflect on the main legacies and impacts that these events brought to the Brazilian population. This paper is based on notes surrounding the legacies put forward for the city of São Paulo. To do this, information gathering lends to suggestions that help situate future planning and organization. The purpose of this paper concerns sociocultural and economic futures and the role of tourism and events for local communities based on the current realities and challenges in Brazil. The article is based on a qualitative approach, where descriptive and explanatory information is triangulated. This study utilizes a range of methods, employing a combination of bibliographic research, documentary analysis, and content analysis to frame the base of the research. Moreover, we use field research techniques such as semi-structured interviews with managers, questionnaires administered to residents, interviews with local representatives, direct observation, and active participation in events held at the main stadium associated with sport mega-events in São Paulo, namely, the Neo Química Arena. Noteworthy findings demonstrate a discrepancy between the objectives pursued by host city planners, who strive to maximize the positive legacies encompassing local infrastructure, stadiums, and the city’s image, and the experiences reported by local residents, who have encountered negative impacts and legacies resulting from the same sport mega-event. These adverse effects include issues such as flooding, gentrification, exclusion from decision-making processes, and real estate speculation. Stadiums are considered the greatest tangible legacies of sport mega-events, although their construction and maintenance costs are questionable. The participation of local residents seems to be essential in the promotion, knowledge, appropriation, belonging, support, and transparency in all phases of the mega-event planning.
{"title":"Legacies and impacts of sports mega-events in Brazil: São Paulo as a host city for football matches","authors":"Fillipe Soares Romano, Roberto Paolo Vico, Ricardo Ricci Uvinha","doi":"10.1177/02690942231213589","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231213589","url":null,"abstract":"Football is an integral part of Brazil’s historical-cultural process, and tourism represents one of the segments deeply impacted by the occurrence of sporting mega-events. The present study aims to present and critically reflect on the main legacies and impacts that these events brought to the Brazilian population. This paper is based on notes surrounding the legacies put forward for the city of São Paulo. To do this, information gathering lends to suggestions that help situate future planning and organization. The purpose of this paper concerns sociocultural and economic futures and the role of tourism and events for local communities based on the current realities and challenges in Brazil. The article is based on a qualitative approach, where descriptive and explanatory information is triangulated. This study utilizes a range of methods, employing a combination of bibliographic research, documentary analysis, and content analysis to frame the base of the research. Moreover, we use field research techniques such as semi-structured interviews with managers, questionnaires administered to residents, interviews with local representatives, direct observation, and active participation in events held at the main stadium associated with sport mega-events in São Paulo, namely, the Neo Química Arena. Noteworthy findings demonstrate a discrepancy between the objectives pursued by host city planners, who strive to maximize the positive legacies encompassing local infrastructure, stadiums, and the city’s image, and the experiences reported by local residents, who have encountered negative impacts and legacies resulting from the same sport mega-event. These adverse effects include issues such as flooding, gentrification, exclusion from decision-making processes, and real estate speculation. Stadiums are considered the greatest tangible legacies of sport mega-events, although their construction and maintenance costs are questionable. The participation of local residents seems to be essential in the promotion, knowledge, appropriation, belonging, support, and transparency in all phases of the mega-event planning.","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"65 8","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135684841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-04DOI: 10.1177/02690942231213585
Nicholas Wise
{"title":"Book review: A research agenda for place branding edited by Dominic Medway, Gary Warnaby and John Byrom, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, England, 2021","authors":"Nicholas Wise","doi":"10.1177/02690942231213585","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231213585","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"12 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135774564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-03DOI: 10.1177/02690942231210229
Ronald V Kalafsky, William Graves
After years of relative neglect, renewed attention has been paid to smaller, “ordinary” cities. The distinctiveness of these cities is often found in their economic development paths, which, can encompass their roles in international trade. Many locations have included exports as part of their economic growth strategies, yet the effectiveness of export strategies varies by location. This is in addition to varying components of exports for these cities, including the destination geographies and reliance on particular markets. In order to contribute to the growing literature on ordinary cities, this paper examines the export performance of smaller metropolitan areas across the southern United States. In recent decades, the South has been a region marked by robust economic performance, both overall and in terms of exporting; the region’s smaller cities are an especially notable case in terms of export performance and structure. While goods-related exports from the smaller cities across this region have tended to trend upward, export performance has been spatially uneven, with export markets and key export industries varying widely. The article concludes with an exploration and discussion of possible export trajectories for these urban areas in the post-pandemic and potentially, post-globalization, environments, particularly in terms of development-related outcomes.
{"title":"Global connections from the second-tier: The trade performance of smaller southern US cities","authors":"Ronald V Kalafsky, William Graves","doi":"10.1177/02690942231210229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231210229","url":null,"abstract":"After years of relative neglect, renewed attention has been paid to smaller, “ordinary” cities. The distinctiveness of these cities is often found in their economic development paths, which, can encompass their roles in international trade. Many locations have included exports as part of their economic growth strategies, yet the effectiveness of export strategies varies by location. This is in addition to varying components of exports for these cities, including the destination geographies and reliance on particular markets. In order to contribute to the growing literature on ordinary cities, this paper examines the export performance of smaller metropolitan areas across the southern United States. In recent decades, the South has been a region marked by robust economic performance, both overall and in terms of exporting; the region’s smaller cities are an especially notable case in terms of export performance and structure. While goods-related exports from the smaller cities across this region have tended to trend upward, export performance has been spatially uneven, with export markets and key export industries varying widely. The article concludes with an exploration and discussion of possible export trajectories for these urban areas in the post-pandemic and potentially, post-globalization, environments, particularly in terms of development-related outcomes.","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"12 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135868075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-30DOI: 10.1177/02690942231213590
Nicholas Wise, Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen
This viewpoint addresses notions of impact and soft power. Two bidding documents submitted in 2018 by Morocco and a joint bid by Canada, Mexico, and the United States are explored, focusing specifically on language used when discuss the term “impact.” Soft power is important to consider and use as a framework for interpretation because bidding for events involves the ability to persuade and use power as a medium to showcase the ability to host. Both bid proposals place less attention on economic impact, and emphasize the social and environmental impact that these events will have. Each bid document had a defined statement on legacy, but legacy did not dominate either bid as both put focus on how they would create impact in the present time. This approach is something that brings people into the directions of the bid, in terms of how social, economic, or environmental impact would be achieved, and directives positioned how they would make people aware of impact.
{"title":"New notions of soft power: Impact rhetoric in mega-event bid documents","authors":"Nicholas Wise, Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen","doi":"10.1177/02690942231213590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231213590","url":null,"abstract":"This viewpoint addresses notions of impact and soft power. Two bidding documents submitted in 2018 by Morocco and a joint bid by Canada, Mexico, and the United States are explored, focusing specifically on language used when discuss the term “impact.” Soft power is important to consider and use as a framework for interpretation because bidding for events involves the ability to persuade and use power as a medium to showcase the ability to host. Both bid proposals place less attention on economic impact, and emphasize the social and environmental impact that these events will have. Each bid document had a defined statement on legacy, but legacy did not dominate either bid as both put focus on how they would create impact in the present time. This approach is something that brings people into the directions of the bid, in terms of how social, economic, or environmental impact would be achieved, and directives positioned how they would make people aware of impact.","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"05 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136067368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-19DOI: 10.1177/02690942231208916
Pål M Vik, Joanna Curtis, Karl T Dayson
UK community finance institutions play an important role in deprived neighbourhoods by serving households and businesses unable to access mainstream finance. This paper analyses the short-term effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on the activities and sustainability of the community finance sector by analysing longitudinal survey data for 40 providers and follow-up interviews with 25 organisations. COVID-19 resulted in an acceleration of the shift to online service delivery and temporary and permanent branch closures among community finance institutions. Further, the demand for, and volume and value of lending fell significantly during the first lockdown only recovering by the end of the summer 2020. This resulted in lower income, greater costs and lower regulatory ratios. Smaller providers in a weak financial position with more financially vulnerable customers were worst affected by the pandemic. We argue the pandemic may reduce access to finance for the financially excluded through the intensification of the shift to online services and by increasing the risk of providers serving the poorest folding or being merged with larger providers.
{"title":"The impact of COVID-19 on UK community finance institutions – Implications for local economic development","authors":"Pål M Vik, Joanna Curtis, Karl T Dayson","doi":"10.1177/02690942231208916","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231208916","url":null,"abstract":"UK community finance institutions play an important role in deprived neighbourhoods by serving households and businesses unable to access mainstream finance. This paper analyses the short-term effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on the activities and sustainability of the community finance sector by analysing longitudinal survey data for 40 providers and follow-up interviews with 25 organisations. COVID-19 resulted in an acceleration of the shift to online service delivery and temporary and permanent branch closures among community finance institutions. Further, the demand for, and volume and value of lending fell significantly during the first lockdown only recovering by the end of the summer 2020. This resulted in lower income, greater costs and lower regulatory ratios. Smaller providers in a weak financial position with more financially vulnerable customers were worst affected by the pandemic. We argue the pandemic may reduce access to finance for the financially excluded through the intensification of the shift to online services and by increasing the risk of providers serving the poorest folding or being merged with larger providers.","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135779301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-13DOI: 10.1177/02690942231207308
Geoff Bates, Charles Larkin, Nick Pearce, Laura Smyth
City regions and Mayoral Combined Authorities are at the heart of the devolution policy agenda in England. This article assesses and compares the policy and research capabilities of Combined Authorities in England, drawing on elite interviews with officials in four diverse Combined Authorities and their wider sub-regional policy and research communities. There are significant inequalities between the policy and research capabilities of the Combined Authorities reflecting institutional histories, as well as differences in size and functional responsibilities. Those with already greater capabilities and infrastructure appear likely to continue to benefit from greater opportunities in the future, widening existing inequalities.
{"title":"Policy ‘R&D’, capacity and advocacy in English Combined Authorities","authors":"Geoff Bates, Charles Larkin, Nick Pearce, Laura Smyth","doi":"10.1177/02690942231207308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231207308","url":null,"abstract":"City regions and Mayoral Combined Authorities are at the heart of the devolution policy agenda in England. This article assesses and compares the policy and research capabilities of Combined Authorities in England, drawing on elite interviews with officials in four diverse Combined Authorities and their wider sub-regional policy and research communities. There are significant inequalities between the policy and research capabilities of the Combined Authorities reflecting institutional histories, as well as differences in size and functional responsibilities. Those with already greater capabilities and infrastructure appear likely to continue to benefit from greater opportunities in the future, widening existing inequalities.","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"256 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135858828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-03DOI: 10.1177/02690942231203935
Paul Hildreth, Maria Hinfelaar
The purpose of this paper is to develop a typology of firms operating in a peripheral economy. A three-way typology is presented which builds on previous studies, distinguishing between the ‘pure agglomeration’,” ‘industrial complex’ and ‘social network’ models. This typology is refined and applied to the Mersey Dee area, a cross-border region within the UK with a dispersed, segmented economy. Two case studies of firms located in the Mersey Dee are explored to test the typology and examine how these firms related to their places and to other firms and institutions, in the context of rapidly changing market conditions due to COVID-19 and Brexit. The findings confirm the typology and establish a clear contrast between firm types operating in a peripheral economy such as the Mersey Dee, providing relevant insights into the contributions they can make and how balanced regional development policies could support the heterogeneity and richness of their place-based economies. These approaches will differ from the traditional agglomeration or cluster model, typically advocated to build sustainable economic centres. Further research is recommended through comparator case studies of similar regions internationally, within the typology presented.
{"title":"Place-making in the Mersey Dee before and after Brexit and COVID-19 disruption: A typology of companies and their engagement with their localities and key actors","authors":"Paul Hildreth, Maria Hinfelaar","doi":"10.1177/02690942231203935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231203935","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this paper is to develop a typology of firms operating in a peripheral economy. A three-way typology is presented which builds on previous studies, distinguishing between the ‘pure agglomeration’,” ‘industrial complex’ and ‘social network’ models. This typology is refined and applied to the Mersey Dee area, a cross-border region within the UK with a dispersed, segmented economy. Two case studies of firms located in the Mersey Dee are explored to test the typology and examine how these firms related to their places and to other firms and institutions, in the context of rapidly changing market conditions due to COVID-19 and Brexit. The findings confirm the typology and establish a clear contrast between firm types operating in a peripheral economy such as the Mersey Dee, providing relevant insights into the contributions they can make and how balanced regional development policies could support the heterogeneity and richness of their place-based economies. These approaches will differ from the traditional agglomeration or cluster model, typically advocated to build sustainable economic centres. Further research is recommended through comparator case studies of similar regions internationally, within the typology presented.","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135695898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-03DOI: 10.1177/02690942231206369
Billy Southern
This study critically examines the impact of a rail network on mobility of residents in an urban area in the north of England. The research provides a ward-level analysis of rail commuting habits, social indicators and economic trends throughout Liverpool, in order to evaluate how access to the Merseyrail network reflects socioeconomic engagement and opportunity. Secondary sourced quantitative data is used in an exploratory data analysis of mobility and socioeconomic participation in Liverpool. Operating the Travel Time Application Programming Interface (API) furthers the research by generating a spatial analysis of rail accessibility. Initial results indicate that the rail line enables mobility throughout Liverpool. Wards served by the Merseyrail network demonstrate around 8%–12% of residents use the service. Findings highlight that the rail network is associated with socioeconomic opportunity, as eight of the ten wards served by the Merseyrail network represent the lowest unemployment rates. An inequality in rail accessibility is observed as all passenger routes converge on the city centre. Should the limitations to the network be addressed through the Liverpool City Region Long-Term Rail Strategy, new social, economic and cultural opportunities will open for the city and the wider city region.
{"title":"The impact of a rail network on socioeconomic inclusion: A ward-level analysis of Liverpool","authors":"Billy Southern","doi":"10.1177/02690942231206369","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942231206369","url":null,"abstract":"This study critically examines the impact of a rail network on mobility of residents in an urban area in the north of England. The research provides a ward-level analysis of rail commuting habits, social indicators and economic trends throughout Liverpool, in order to evaluate how access to the Merseyrail network reflects socioeconomic engagement and opportunity. Secondary sourced quantitative data is used in an exploratory data analysis of mobility and socioeconomic participation in Liverpool. Operating the Travel Time Application Programming Interface (API) furthers the research by generating a spatial analysis of rail accessibility. Initial results indicate that the rail line enables mobility throughout Liverpool. Wards served by the Merseyrail network demonstrate around 8%–12% of residents use the service. Findings highlight that the rail network is associated with socioeconomic opportunity, as eight of the ten wards served by the Merseyrail network represent the lowest unemployment rates. An inequality in rail accessibility is observed as all passenger routes converge on the city centre. Should the limitations to the network be addressed through the Liverpool City Region Long-Term Rail Strategy, new social, economic and cultural opportunities will open for the city and the wider city region.","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135690009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}