City Talks: Growing Urban Inequality with Professor Michael Storper

In this month's episode, our chief executive Andrew talks with Professor Michael Storper (UCLA, Sciences PO and the LSE) about the widening gap between successful cities and struggling places, and how this is contributing to the political tensions which helped drive the vote for Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.

With migration between cities in decline and the diffusion of jobs lessening over time, they discuss why it's become much harder for people who grow up in lower income areas to move into and thrive in economically vibrant cities like London, and the limited role that housing policy can play in addressing these problems.

Prof Storper also talks about his fascinating research comparing the paths of San Francisco and Los Angeles from the 1970s to the present day. He gives a nod to our report A Century of Cities to illustrate the success of cities who reinvent themselves and so prosper in the future. Finally, Andrew and Prof Storper turn to how policy can help middle-income cities grow, and how regional cities in developed countries have been affected by the loss of jobs to countries such as India and China.