Birmingham Flashcards
Structural economic change
After loss of car manufacturing in 1970s there was switch to service-based economy in 1900s
- as money invested by local + national gov via Heartlands Development Corporation
History
1086: Poor rural manor
Became market town until 15th century
By 16th c: small scale industry grown
To west of Birmingham (Dudley) was large coal seam close to surface - provided raw materials for metal working industry
1500s - pop 1000 to 1700s - pop 15,000
During industrial revolution
Industrial factories established - Birmingham went from small scale industry to large manufacturing hub
Canals built as city grew to carry industrial goods + raw materials
- birmingham was at heart of national canal network
Metalworking industries grew + dominated throughout 19th c
- highly skilled workers in area
As industrial sector grew: needed finance + banks + legal firms to protect assets
- Lloyds + Midland banks were established in mid 19th cent
Industrial rev: Players
Manufacturing owners e.g Cadbury family built factory in Bournville in rural-urban fringe of city in 1870s - helped positively impact lives of workers: built model village for employees with good housing, parks, recreation facilities + good wages
1801 - pop 73000 -> 1901 - pop 1/2 million “city of thousand trades”
Birmingham 1900-1950s
New growth in industry in 20th century in car manufacturing
22k employed in Austin Car Plant - produced mini coopers
Population grew aided by rural-urban migration + migration from other parts of British Isles (Ireland) for job opp
- densely packed terraced housing built near factories to house workers
- transport improvements - increased mobility - people could live further from work so caused urban area to expand
by 1950s - poor conditions in inner city areas - slum like - industrial waste left polluted rivers - air pollution with no controls - lung disease
Demography mainly white in 1950s - migration limited to British Isles
Post war employment
1951-pop 1.1 mill
Unemployment dropped to below 1% in 1950s + 1960s
But by 1980s there was industrial decline from area of high unemployment to area of mass unemployment
Economic change of industrial decline from 1970s onwards
Metal manufacturing decreased from 22% in 1951 to 12% in 1981
Car manufacturing decreased too
What caused decline
In 1973 Arab-Israeli war in Middle East
- OPEC used oil as weapon + embargoed/banned supply to Western countries
- led to 1973 oil crisis - prices rose dramatically
How did this affect Birmingham
Manufacturing base hit hard as relied on cheap energy esp car manufacturing which had competition from foreign TNCs
E.g Japanese car manufactures became popular as better value + more fuel efficient
So car manufacturing declined + lots of strikes by trade unions - made Birm less attractive to investors, further decline
- foreign car manufacturing TNCs set up factories in UK but none in Birm
Council cleared slums as part of comprehensive redev programme
- small businesses demolished + could not afford new rents so declined
Housing change
1950s- housing poor quality + slums
- council built 400 tower blocks to replace these in 1950s + 1960s
- led to redistribution of pop (moved away from center)
80s/90s economy more service based
Demographic change
After ww2 from Carribbean, south asia to Birmingham - econ opp
Immigrants clustered in inner city areas of cheap housing
- growing service sector had opp for low skilled jobs
- mosque built
- new services - money transfer centres, ethnic restaurants
- more youthful + diverse pop
1982 vs 2020
19.4% unemployed in 1982
8% unemployed in 2020
Dominated by Manufacturing -> services
Role of gov/planning
National Exhibition Centre - attracts conferences - increases GDP
Increase size of airport
Birmingham heartlands dev corp - regenerate industrial areas - £100m by gov
Power station turned into Star City - entertainment - employment opp + invest
Flagship project - symphony hall - cultural
Indoor sports arena
National hub for retail - design of selfridges, Grand central mall
- river cleaned up
- 3 main unis
Hs2 - link Birm to London was cancelled
New station proposed
