A focus upon place is integral to effective public policy: where people live and work determines how policies affect them and what policies might deliver better results.
Are cities, with their significant inequalities, the drivers of economic growth for the foreseeable future? Are profound spatial inequalities unavoidable given the agglomeration effects associated with technological innovation and economic change? Does a place-based approach to policy mean that more funding and attention should be directed to towns and rural areas? Should policy decision making be more decentralised to respond to place-based concerns?
