Photo credit:
davepatten
A strong national economy needs a flourishing network of local economies. These are shown to give resilience in times of crisis, but are consistently undermined by the sprawl of supermarkets and other chains - the kind of businesses that are most likely to up and leave in times of trouble. We should be ensuring that money stays in local communities rather than leaking out to distant head offices, and encouraging a range of diverse high streets rather than clone towns.
Key Facts
- Small and medium-sized businesses employ 58% of the private sector workforce.
- Small shops are closing at a rate of 2,000 a year.
- Queen's Road Market, in Newham, London, supports twice as many jobs per square metre than the average superstore.
Featured Work
Publication // October 30, 2012
The Haringey Carbon Commission
Only by investing in the transformation of the economy of the borough will we be able to provide the basis of future prosperity. The economic prize is substantial. It is estimated that for the UK as a whole the UK low carbon and renewables sector in 2010 was worth £76 billion offering new employment opportunities as the sector grows. For Haringey to capture its share of this economic prize, we need to support the growth of green industry in the borough through the creation of a low carbon enterprise district, and ensure enterprise and job opportunities are created locally.
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Blog post // April 2, 2012
Time is running out for clone towns
Whatever other drawbacks there may be for the National Planning Framework, which came out last week, it marks a victory for nef’s seven-year campaign against clone towns – and to revitalise high streets as the beating hearts of local economies.
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Publication // November 29, 2002
Plugging the Leaks
This handbook is a guide to a new approach to revitalising local econonomies. It can be used as a basic introduction to economics, as well as the starting point for a new involvement with your local area.
Since there is no such thing as a ‘standard’ community, this handbook has been written in a way to be applicable to almost any location. We’ve also tried to make it appropriate to a very wide range of community organisations, including public sector bodies, voluntary organisations, business networks, regeneration bodies, religious groups and so on.
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