[Guardian] In a new essay, the archbishop of Canterbury argues that the decline facing many cities in the UK – and around the world – cannot be solved by economic solutions alone. Specific, local and above all holistic responses are required

Extracted from On Rock or Sand? edited by John Sentamu

In 2007, the thinktank Policy Exchange published a report called Cities Unlimited: Making Urban Regeneration Work. It offered a wide-ranging examination of the problems facing many cities and towns around the country where there were signs of long-term decline (with particular attention to cities on the coast).

The report made for sobering reading. It argued that for some towns and cities, which may once have been vital components of British economic and social life, “regeneration, in the sense of convergence, will not happen, because it is not possible”. But is that really the case, or can we imagine new possibilities?

The hard truth is that many of these cities are in what appear to be lose–lose situations. Already in decline, the road towards recovery and growth is made even more difficult. There are now fewer readily available government resources able to support economic development in these regions; and also, since the 1980s, the banking system has become more and more London-concentrated and consequently out of touch with local needs. As businesses gravitate towards more prosperous areas, more and more parts of the country find themselves facing significant financial exclusion.

Areas away from London, even when they grow economically, do so less quickly than London and the south-east generally. Lending too – whether in the form of mortgages, small business loans or personal loans – is concentrated overwhelmingly in London and the south-east, with areas in the north largely out of the loop. The economic gap between London and the south-east and the rest of the country does not seem likely to shrink at any point in the near future.

The full article can be found here