Product Description

Confronted with a declining jobs base, deepening social problems and apparent indifference on the part of central government, many British cities made an "entrepreneurial turn" during the 1980s and 1990s. Few did so in quite such a dramatic way as Manchester - once a bastion of municipal socialism, the city has enthusiastically embraced the new economy of high-level services, conspicuous cultural consumption and aggressive self-promotion. This is a reflective and critical analysis of this far-reaching process of urban transformation, searching beneath the hype to expose the true character of the "new Manchester". Has Manchester engineered an urban renaissance, having finally turned its back on the grimy factory economy? Or is it on a slow-motion slide into the post-industrial sludge of economic insecurity and social polarisation? Drawing on the work of researchers and commentators in the field, this collection provides answers to these and other questions concerning Manchester's changing political economy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #410619 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Interesting city, boring book
I studied Kevin Ward's course at Manchester University all about the new urban geographies and got 72% in his exam so I feel as if I am able to comment on his work.

The fact is, as with his Phd thesis I read - this book concentrates too much on Manchester City Council and other politicians rather than what has actually set Manchester apart from its contemporaries over recent years. Its people. People like Ian Brown, Tony Wilson, Morrissey, Johnny Marr, John Squire, John Robb, Sean Rider, Martin Merchant and the guys behind rottingoffal.com.

They ignore the hige buzz in Manchester at the moment, To quote Brian Redheads wonderful book "ask anyone in Manchester what the second city in England is and they will answer... its a straight choice between London and Birmingham. Implicit in the answer is that Manchester is the first city in the land".