Rising Curve Blog

You crawl through the traffic chaos approaching a set of roadworks. As you pass them you give a sigh of relief, which lasts a couple of miles until you reach the next lot. You fight off the anger and rising sense of desperation and take the chance to think for a few minutes.

Across the region there are areas where there is an almost endless stream of road construction projects going on. Some of these are works brought forward by the government’s infrastructure spending intended to help stabilise - and hopefully even boost - the economy.

And now we have a national debate about government spending that is being conducted in simplistic, populist terms – “we need big cuts now”, “we need no cuts now” . . . . and on, and on, rolling over the shallow, delusional and self-serving territory over which national politics always seems to be conducted in the run up to the election.

Roadworks are one example of helpful spending on infrastructure that will pay dividends in terms of economic growth and public convenience long after the election and the quieting of the current puerile debate about spending. Some types of social expenditure really do result in long-term investment, providing rewards well into the future that more than justify the initial cost.

There are other forms of spending that we know are more debateable – although not necessarily wrong. We can understand these issues. We can debate them. The worry is that we end up with an election campaign that excludes us from these debates, almost lulling us into disengagement with an issue of long term importance. Then once the election is over the region and our local communities will have no chance of participating in these important decisions.

Perhaps before polling day we should encourage our national politicians to spend a little more time in these traffic jams, where they will be able to reflect on the road building programme and other government infrastructure initiatives. Maybe this period of reflection will help them think of ways in which they could start to have a serious debate with us about it rather than indulging in the same old childish slanging match.

Posted by Glenn at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We should all be looking at our lifestyles to see how we might become greener, in terms of protecting the environment and in particular cutting down on harmful gas emissions.  When Lord Stern talks about people cutting out meat to save the planet (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6891362.ece) this is what he is really getting at – fundamentally looking at every aspect of our lives in a different way.  We need to spot check through the green lens things we have previously taken for granted.

This is daunting, but probably easier to make a start on, and make a significant difference, than we might expect.  Take lawns.  They are almost the mark of civilised British, suburban life.  A neatly manicured lawn says a lot about the inhabitants of the house.  But it takes a lot of work, and energy, to maintain and has no positive environmental benefit. 

Ah, you say, but we are green with our lawn, we put the cuttings into a big green bin and every 2 weeks or so the council come and take it away for . . .  something. 

Well they in part take it away to meet targets for the amount of green collection they do, and for little real environmental benefit.  Then there is the environmental cost of the collections.

Just let your lawn grow, and seed it with wild flowers.  Cut it back about twice a year and place the cuttings on to your own compost heap in the garden.  You’ll have a good supply of compost for the vegetables you have started growing (you have, haven’t you?), wild life will prefer the lawn and flowers helping them to flourish and there will be less consumption of CO2 emitting fuels.  In time you’ll come to prefer the wild to the manicured look, and have more time to enjoy it instead of cutting it.

Making greener choices in your life is easier to start than you might have assumed.  Go green, go wild, let your lawn go.

Posted by Glenn at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 We are in danger of losing the plot and momentum with banking reform in this country.  Populist calls to curb bankers’ bonuses (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3733afa4-c276-11de-be3a-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1) are cheap and fail to grasp the real nature of how we got into the credit crunch and the future challenges we face.  We cannot blame what happened to the economy solely on bankers’ bonuses .  They were part of a complex system and culture – and only a small part. 

Global economic developments – like the trade imbalance between China and other economies, and the greater interconnection of global finance – were overlaid on the ways that we had structured and promoted our national finance system, which in turn were interwoven with the financial culture we developed over the last thirty or so years – expectations of credit and consumption beyond our means, something too many of us were happy to play along with in the bubble.

How then are rhetorical demands to curb City bonuses going to get us out of this?  They aren’t.  They won’t work.  They are cheap headline grabbers.  Which is not to say we should not examine more closely the issue of bonuses, but not in this tin drum banging way.

The Midlands has been bearing the brunt of the recession as its manufacturing industries are once again pounded.  The area needs a reformed banking system which is more connected to and supportive of the manufacturing economy.  We need banks that can take longer-term investment decisions to support manufacturing and the innovation we need for a more economically and environmentally sustainable future. 

Part of the banking system needs to turn away from the seduction of quick profits from financial innovations and look to investments in greener technologies and other innovative sectors.  We need our politicians to play a leading role in drawing together the intellectual understanding of how to do this, such as examining where investment and commercial banking could be separated to manage risks and how the investment side could then be encouraged to support the development of manufacturing.  Wasting their time, the media’s time and our time on cheap grandstanding about banking bonuses is irritating and distracts from these real issues.

 

Posted by Glenn at 05:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The romance of trains . .  . a long running national joke . . .  an even longer running national gripe. These strident feelings we have for our trains generally inhibit our national debate on the subject.  And yet we seem to be inching towards an agreement on the next generation of rail travel with discussion and proposals for a High Speed 2 link from North to South.  With the Midlands well placed to benefit.

We can’t get carried away.  There’s a long way to go with the idea with further proposals to come, then planning, then permissions, then etc. etc.  . . dare we say from conception to a delayed reaction?  But the prospects are promising.  

The arguments have largely been aired.  The capacity issues we need to face with in a decade or so with the existing rail infrastructure compel us to begin to address the challenge now.

The environment is a handy argument to use in the current climate (excuse us again).  It may be something of a distraction, though.  The environment is important, but the environmental impact of a new high-speed line is far from clear.  It will probably mean more journeys – and in that lies something more of the rationale for the line.  The history of transport has been one of more journeys when new developments happen – bringing social and economic benefits with that.

The obsession with London is painful in the discussions about the possible line.  Sure, all of the cities on the new line will have quicker links to London – but they will also have quicker links to each other too.  A journey time of around 30 minutes between Birmingham and Manchester, for instance.  What are the implications of that for the two cities?  Can they become a more powerful economic powerhouse joined together and provide the geographic and sectored diversity our economy greatly needs?  And then there are the links into Europe through high-speed rail.

But what is not being well considered in the public debates about high-speed rail is what will a new line mean for the region beyond Birmingham?  We can see the argument both ways – positive or negative.  It may be an opportunity to move investment into the wider region and, for example, build a habitable place for people who wish to use the high-speed train.  Or a link could mean that Birmingham builds a stronger economic centre but that others beyond that do not benefit.

If a high-speed rail link is coming it could be here in about 10 years.  But now is the time to start to think and debate and plan for the implications for the whole region of its arrival.  Are we as a region jumping on board or sitting in the waiting room?

Posted by Glenn at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What does information technology mean for local media, and in particular the local press?  Local broadcast media have never seemed as personal as local press, and so the local press often has the potential for a closer connection with people and more of a place in their hearts.  People tend to see the owners of their local papers as custodians rather than owners aiming to make money - they forget it is a business with a business relationship with them as much as a news or heritage connection.

Yet technology, in particular the internet, is threatening the existence of local newspapers – the Birmingham Post is the latest to openly discuss options for its future (http://blogs.birminghampost.net/news/2009/08/why-the-birmingham-post-must-c.html).  With national newspapers reviewing their incomes and strategies, and some considering charging for their online content, local media are not going to be immune.

A vibrant local media is important for local society and democracy – but has the local media been that vibrant in recent years, even before the internet mushroomed?  A decline in revenues may be partly due to competition from other media, or may be walking hand-in-hand with a lack of relevance and connections with local people.

Those running local media in the Midlands need to review their strategies (and ideas about future income) and their connection with the region.  Some thoughts:

-    If your paper has a souring instead of soaring relationship with local communities, is going to fewer or thinner papers the longer-term answer, or is it to find ways to forge greater links with readers?  Grasp the opportunity for more debate, to reflect more cultures and, perhaps, to reflect more widely the region rather than the narrower niche currently occupied.  The Birmingham Post, for instance, seems to like to bask in a sense of glory from covering the region when it suits it, but does its heart or its content really make that wider connection beyond the outer ringroad?
-    Syndicating national content is not the answer to the need to build a stronger local connection.  It may help to fill part of a stronger website (which most local media need to continue to work on) but will not make and sustain the local connections needed for readership and advertising.
-    If blogs are taking away readers (by stirring more interesting debate?), is the option to start your own newspaper’s blog placing the same kind of content on line, or to link with the bloggers being read and see what they might do for your local media?  
-    Similarly, social networking and media web sites such as Facebook, youtube and flickr are full of vibrant local content and networks of people.  Have our local print media exploited all potential links with these groups?

There are so many options and ideas for the local press.  We need strong local media – local news and debate cannot be left in the hands of interest groups or dispersed across the internet.  The future may not be as definite and cosy as many would want for local media...but we should never waste a crisis.

Posted by Glenn at 06:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In these hard pressed times it is heart-warming to celebrate some good news for the Midlands’ economy.  The news of fifteen West Midlands business collecting Queen’s Awards for Enterprise is excellent and shows the dynamism of local firms.

Another piece of news is the near miracle of the ‘Tipton possession’.  Over the Easter bank holiday, with good weather and even better planning, the construction of a tunnel under the west coast main train line in Tipton took a huge step forward when the tunnel lining was pushed into place below the rail line.  The construction company took ‘possession’ of the rail line for the weekend in order to do the job, and any over-run would have resulted in huge penalties for all involved.  The facts of the job get a little anoraky but are worth a close look, as is the timelapse photography film now on line. Other photos of possession and the locality are available here.

It is easy to focus on bad news, and to only berate the rail industry when things go wrong.  We should also give credit where it is due.

Posted by Glenn at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Taking a walk recently across the Rowley Hills our minds wandered as far as the views. After over a century of building its economy on the local geography and geology it is time the Black Country took another positive view of its deeper history and natural assets.

The Black Country’s future must lie in a more forward-looking image than its decayed industrial one.  Whilst the roots of the industrial history are important the Black Country must not become trapped in that version of the past.  It has to construct itself as a more desirable place to live, not just a shopping area, nor a convenient geographical base for distribution companies, nor stirring views.  These simply mean that those with more wealth can commute into and out of the Black Country, depriving the boroughs of economic and social capital.

Which was the perspective we got from the top of the Rowley Hills.  They include Turners Hill, which, at around 270 metres above sea level, offers incredible panoramas across the West Midlands.  Across the conurbation through Oldbury, West Bromwich and over to the suburbs and the city centre of Birmingham.  On the other side, across Old Hill, Netherton and Brierley Hill towards Clent Hills, the Wrekin and beyond.  Amazing to think that the Black Country area you survey from up there was once a forest with small hamlets dotted around – the ‘ley’ in Dudley, Cradley etc. means a clearing in the woods.  These are views that can inspire art (click here to view), which is perhaps surprising to you if you have not been up there.

The Hills were formed from volcanic activity and then the quarrying of the Rowley Rag, a hard basaltic rock, an important source of road surfacing material.  The Planet Art sculptures now placed at points across the hills celebrate this history – being made from the Rag, and depicting scenes from other important economic activities such as mining and manufacturing.

But in thinking about regenerating the area it is important to not get locked into this particular historical period and that experience of the Black Country.  For example, considering the Rowley Hills, we ought to think of a longer history, to the time of the leys.  There is still a strong village mindset within most of the Black Country, despite the fact the once dense, partitioning forests have given way to a blurred merging of places.  This can be a positive thing to work with – the sense of community – in these times of economic and social questioning.

The hills also ought to be looked on as part of a green belt within the conurbation and protected and opened up as such.  Already the housing developments have encroached across the hills.  It is time to stop and leave the rest as an officially designated natural urban park, opened up with better facilities to encourage more to come and enjoy the walks.  The benefits to the image of the area, to people’s health and even to the inspiration of more local artists will be great.

Posted by Glenn at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)