Rob Johnson

Is 'Glasgow Crossrail' in the room with us right now?

Sydney's 1997 light rail system clearly a direct response to the true deserved winner of the millenium Olympic Games

Going through a document on regional railways from 1992 - there is a world out there where the Leeds tram is older than me, and yet... 😢

Here's a nice little taster of the work in GIF form

Our latest report looks at lessons for rules-based planning coming from an unlikely London Borough - check this thread by @mauricelange.bsky.social for all the details 👇

Can new universities save left-behind towns and cities? Fresh models of university outposts emerging in regions without access to higher education as financial crisis sees shuttering of traditional campuses

Talked to Times Higher Ed on the subject - the limitations of the current uni model but also the opportunities of different, more vocational-led options that seem to align with the policy trajectory of the current government: www.timeshighereducation.com/news/can-new...

An illustration of the benefits university campuses can have in local economies, but the risks of the model too, as I discussed in my blog last year: www.centreforcities.org/blog/branchi...

What does income deprivation look like within UK cities?

This #DataViz shows the distribution of neighbourhoods by income deprivation percentile in 2025.

While the average would paint a limited picture, the variation within cities reveals the true shape of inequality.

Why integration matters - making existing transport networks function 'better' in our big cities would be equivalent to having two more Liverpools (with european levels of connectivity) in the national economy.

What you produce in the local economy matters for what residents consume. Cities in the top right had faster growth in knowledge-based jobs, productivity, wages, and disposable incomes than the national average, tied to a growing economy. Bottom left cities were below average on all these indicators

Want a fly through of what's happened to economic and living standards growth over a quarter of a century? And what this means for the government's mission to raise living standards everywhere?

Read the summary blog of @centreforcities.bsky.social Cities Outlook 2026 report below:

‘A southern economy in the north’: how Warrington has adapted to change Good transport links and the quietly booming nuclear sector are helping the Cheshire town to thrive

💡 This is an excellent profile of Warrington by @rjpartington.bsky.social. As @centreforcities.bsky.social says “it’s about taking tough decisions… expansion of business parks… taking chunks out of green belt to build homes”
Want to fix the high street? First grow the economy and disposable incomes!

Cities Outlook 2026 shows economic growth and living standards have been disconnected.

Even though growth has almost returned to pre-2008 rates in many places since 2013, disposable income growth has been stuck near 0%.

But some cities have bucked the trend -

Thanks Ross, we had a lot of fun making this one!

Very swish visual from @centreforcities.bsky.social showing the income distributions of different neighbourhoods within our big towns and cities

‘A southern economy in the north’: how Warrington has adapted to change Good transport links and the quietly booming nuclear sector are helping the Cheshire town to thrive

This one was close to home for me, literally. A feature trip to where I grew up:

Warrington is a model town, the @centreforcities.bsky.social says today.

If its economic performance was replicated nationwide, the avg UK urban resident would be £3,200 better off:
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Want to understand the economic picture across urban Britain?

Come see me and colleagues discuss how the government can raise living standards across the country at midday today, where I explain what's happening in this chart:

www.centreforcities.org/event/cities...

Among other things, it will involve me talking extensively about this city as one that has got the ingredients right for reconnecting economic growth to rising resident incomes.

Not one of the 'usual suspects'. To know for sure you'll have to join us on Monday 👀

Cities Outlook 2026 - Online launch briefing - Centre for Cities Join Centre for Cities for a briefing on Cities Outlook 2026, our annual health check of 63 UK cities.

Like these tasters, and looking for more insight on how the government can reconnect living standards to economic growth across urban Britain? Sign up to our Cities Outlook 2026 launch on Monday where we give our assessment on what needs to be done in all the juicy detail:

Why growth remains the only lasting answer to the cost of living - Centre for Cities Andrew Carter on what's coming in Cities Outlook 2026 and why it matters more than ever.

Government should still keep this a priority even with an (understandable) political reframing around tackling immediate pressures with the focus on 'cost of living'. Because in the long run, if everyone is to have a bigger slice, the pie has to grow.

Short thread: how does Government raise living standards across the country?

Lots of recent evidence shows that local initiatives are an important part of that.

What do these need? It basically boils down to funding and flexibility. In essence this means local devolution backed by economic growth

Unironically a North West with 3 Warringtons would be great for local living standards 👀

One of the fundamental issues for the Government is that their political strategy is deeply contradictory.

You cannot simultaneously be all in on growth whilst pursuing anti-growth policy in a number of key areas (eg immigration, higher education).

ICYMI before Christmas:

Yellow trains. Blueprint. Green light?

My thoughts on Manchester's latest transport strategy and what it could mean for rail devolution in 2026.

Mancunians can expect a big yellow christmas present - next year - in the form of Bee Network rail services.

GM's future transport vision strikes all the right notes, and could be a blueprint for other metro mayors - just requires GBR/DfT to be aligned to help realise it

Going by 2023 data, Leeds is now above the national level of productivity (even accounting for the noise in hours worked data). It would be the third big city to do so, after London and Bristol. So it has the potential to be quite a regional economic hub.

To be clear, this reflects my overall feelings on the announcement, particularly what it signals for government ambitions for actually going for growth across the country. Just maybe less doom-y about it on what it actually means for Leeds

Mixed feelings. Sadly predictable result from lack of fiscal space, sclerotic planning system, and seeming blindspot on the limiting factor to growth here.

But buses are where the real marginal gains are in Leeds. Let's hope this means redoubled focus on a fully integrated system in the short term.

3. I know you're all full of burning questions about what devolution in Glasgow could look like. Why is it important? What are the options? Should it be a 'mayor' or a 'provost'?

Thankfully we've got a comprehensive FAQ to answer all that and more:

2. Want to know how UK city densities compare to France and Japan? We've published some pleasingly interactive data on density gaps in British cities, focused in the 'urban cores' of our large urban areas 👇