In 2023, the gross domestic product per capita in London was 63,618 British pounds, compared with 37,135 pounds per capita for the United Kingdom as a whole. Apart from London, the only other region of the UK that had a greater GDP per capita than the UK average was South East England, at 38,004 pounds per capita. By contrast, North East England had the lowest GDP per capita among UK regions, at 26,347 pounds. Regional imbalance in the UK economy? London's overall GDP in 2022 was over 508 billion British pounds, which accounted for almost a quarter of the overall GDP of the United Kingdom. South East England had the second-largest regional economy in the country, with a GDP of almost 341.7 billion British pounds. Furthermore, these two regions were the only ones that had higher levels of productivity (as measured by output per hour worked) than the UK average. While recent governments have recognized regional inequality as a major challenge facing the country, it may take several years for any initiatives to bear fruit. The creation of regional metro mayors across England is one of the earliest attempts at giving regions and cities in particular more power over spending in their regions than they currently have. UK economy growth slow in late 2024 After ending 2023 with two quarters of negative growth, the UK economy grew at the reasonable rate of 0.8 percent and 0.4 percent in the first and second quarters of the year. This was, however, followed by zero growth in the third quarter, and by just 0.1 percent in the last quarter of the year. Other economic indicators, such as the inflation rate, fell within the expected range in 2024, but have started to rise again, with a rate of three percent recorded in January 2025. While unemployment has witnessed a slight uptick since 2022, it is still at quite low levels compared with previous years.

The sixteen datasets contain data collected from London archives, printed primary sources, and the Old Bailey Proceedings Online. They form the background data to graphs and tables published in the book, London Lives: Poverty, Crime and the Making of a Modern City, 1690-1800 (Cambridge University Press, 2015).

This study investigates the alarming rise of urban poverty in China; in particular the patterns of urban poverty and the institutional causes are examined. The researchers look for evidence of institutional innovations that have emerged as individuals and organisations seek to negotiate more secure access to vital civic goods and services. A case study approach was used due to the complexity of the issue and the size of the Chinese urban population. Six cities were chosen and four neighbourhoods in each city were investigated. These cities were distributed in the costal, central and western region respectively, including Guangzhou, Nanjing, Harbin, Wuhan, Kumin, and Xi’an.

Further information is available from the ESRC Award webpage.

(:unav)...........................................

(:unav)...........................................

The data in this collection include transcripts of group discussions held in two urban centres in each country - the capital city and a secondary town - and the questionnaire surveys conducted with small samples (80 respondents in Cambodia, 100 in Nepal) to validate the key findings from the group discussions. Urban food security, or the lack of it, is attracting growing interest in policy debates. Glaringly missing in these conversations, however, are the voices of the urban poor. To fill this gap, grassroots community organisations affiliated to the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR) with decades-long experience in collecting data on their own communities decided to ask the urban poor in Cambodia and Nepal how they define and measure food security, what key challenges they face in the daily struggle to put food on the table and what actions might help.

Urbanisation in low-income nations presents both opportunities and immense challenges. As urban centres grow rapidly, inadequate housing and the lack of basic infrastructure and services affect a large and growing proportion of their population. There is also a growing body of evidence on urban poverty and its links with environmental hazards. There is, however, limited knowledge of how these challenges affect the ways in which poor urban residents gain access to food and secure healthy and nutritious diets. There is also limited understanding of how different forms of conflict/fragility affect food security and nutrition of the urban poor. Poor communities usually have little voice but enormous and in-depth knowledge of their contexts, and of the priorities for action. And while local governments in low-income nations have a key role in reducing poverty and increasing environmental sustainability, they are typically under-resourced and unable to gather sufficient, timely and reliable data on rapidly changing contexts where urban growth and the erosion of natural resources overlap and can lead to conflict. Working with poor community organisations led by women in cities in Cambodia and Nepal, this project lets the poor themselves define and measure food security and nutrition using methods and tools that include the use of innovative but affordable technology. The collection of data and their analysis provides the groundwork for a dialogue that brings together grassroots organisations of the urban poor, local governments and other stakeholders. This, in turn, sets the basis for the co-production of solutions that respond to the needs of local low-income communities. At the same time, the knowledge developed informs global debates on policy that addresses the intersection of poverty, environmental sustainability and institutional fragility that can lead to conflict.

(:unav)...........................................

(:unav)...........................................