Noise. Overcrowding. Exorbitant rents. Pollution. There are plenty of reasons living in a city centre is not to everyone’s taste. But, as a new report by Centre for Cities shows, for an increasing number of young people the advantages of urban living outweigh the drawbacks.
The report, “Urban Demographics – why people live where they do”, reveals that since the start of the century, there has been a resurgence in living at the heart of the UK’s cities. This has been driven primarily by young people, with the number of residents in large-city centres aged 20-29 nearly tripling between 2001-2011.
Our research shows that the main attractions of city centres are the amenities and convenience they offer, as well as the chance to live close to work. More than a third (39%) of city centre residents surveyed said that, of 14 options, the availability of nearby restaurants, leisure and cultural facilities was one of the main reasons they chose to live in the city centre. More than a quarter (27%) said that being close to their workplace was one of the big attractions of being in an urban neighbourhood.
However, these benefits come at a price. The report shows that to enjoy the perks of city centre living, people are putting up with what they see as excessive rents, poor air quality and a lack of green space.
For example, around 31% of city centre residents said that the cost of housing was one of the main drawbacks of their neighbourhood, while a quarter highlighted pollution and poor quality of environment as the biggest drawbacks of living in urban areas.
The resurgence in young people moving to city centres has in part been driven by the expansion of UK universities in recent decades, and the growing trend for locating accommodation and campuses in city centres. Students now account for 25% of all residents in UK city centres.
But more significant still has been the growth of the “knowledge economy” in the UK – jobs in sectors such as law, accountancy and the creative industries. This has led to an increasing number of high-skilled jobs clustering in city centres, with businesses increasingly preferring to locate in dense urban areas where they can be close to customers, competitors and staff.
Manchester exemplifies these trends. The city centre population has nearly tripled since the start of the century – it had the fastest-growing city centre in Britain between 1998 and 2008. More graduates are choosing to remain living and working in urban areas after university, with those under 35 accounting for 41% of city centre residents. Some 39% of residents in urban areas also work nearby. This has boosted demand and footfall for retail and leisure businesses, which has then further strengthened the city economy.
Meanwhile, those with young families or older residents tend to prefer living in the suburbs or rural areas, while still travelling to the city centre for work and leisure.
But while the boom in city-centre living and working offers big opportunities for economic growth across UK cities and their surrounding areas, it also poses significant challenges for local policymakers.
Leaders need to understand the forces driving changing demographic patterns, the economic importance of city centres to the wider area and the implications this has for a wide range of decisions, from transport and housing to investment in the public realm. They need to respond to people’s changing preferences and manage the resulting strains on infrastructure and service provision.
The trends supporting city centre growth look set to continue. Support for businesses in major city centres to grow and create new jobs, availability of a good mix of commercial and residential property in city centres, and investment in improving skills levels and infrastructure to enable residents from across the city region to access new opportunities should all be at the heart of local economic strategies.
Ensuring that city centres continue to be attractive places to live and work will deliver benefits not only for the city region population, but also the national economy.
Alexandra Jones is chief executive of Centre for Cities
