City Talks: Paul Cheshire on challenging conventional urban policy wisdom

In this month’s episode, Andrew speaks to Paul Cheshirefrom the LSE about his book Urban Economics and Urban Policy,co-authored with Henry Overman and Max Nathan. Paul explains why there hasbeen a resurgence in the study of cities in recent years, how agglomerationeffects have become an accepted part of mainstream economics, and why localgrowth policy should focus on people rather than places. Also touched onis the question of how to deal with inequality between and within cities, the‘almost criminal insanity’ of  the greenbelt stopping new houses being built to take advantage of the £18bn investment inCrossrail, and Paul’s favorite bit of the Communist Manifesto.