Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Rob Johnson, Senior Analyst, and Neela Parker-Talwar, Researcher, to discuss the current debate on growth and inclusion in big cities. Drawing on our recent publication Uneven Cities, which looked at how urban deprivation has changed over the last 15 years, the newly published Milburn Review, and examples such as Liverpool and Manchester, they discuss whether it is possible to achieve inclusive growth.
City Talks: Cities in the media
27/05/2026 | 56 mins.
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Joshi Herrmann, founder and editor of Manchester Mill (Mill Media), Dave Hill, founder and editor of OnLondon, and Jane Haynes, politics and people editor at Birmingham Live, to discuss cities in the media. They explore how narratives about cities are formed, why they matter and whether they shape investment and policy.
City Talks: Devolution's next steps
11/05/2026 | 29 mins.
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Ant Breach, Director of Policy and Research, to discuss devolution following the passing of the Devolution Act at the end of April. They cover what is included in the Act, what is missing - notably fiscal devolution - and how the Chancellor’s Mais lecture has added momentum to the case for it.
City Talks: What these elections could mean for local power
27/04/2026 | 33 mins.
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Caitlin Rollison, External Affairs and Policy Manager, and Jess Tulasiewicz,
Head of Public Affairs and Policy. They discuss the manifestos for the upcoming Scottish and Welsh elections as well as the English local elections and discuss what more politically diverse councils could mean for mayors.
City Minutes: The Croydon planning experiment
26/03/2026 | 1h 1 mins.
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Analyst Maurice Lange as well as Alison Coutinho (Mace Consult) and Guy Rochez (Town) who both worked for Croydon council between 2019 and 2022 when they were designing and implementing a new planning strategy to build more homes in the borough. Building off our recent research into the experiment, Croydon calling: Lessons on rules-based planning, they discuss what made the experiment successful as well as lessons learned.
Centre for Cities is the leading think tank dedicated to improving the economies of the UK’s largest cities and towns. In these podcasts, Chief Executive Andrew Carter interviews leading thinkers in the urban policy field, as well as experts from Centre for Cities about their research and ideas on improving the economies of cities and large towns.
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