Birmingham- Economic Change Flashcards
Birmingham: Context
population of 1.2 million
Located in the West Midlands region of the UK, Birmingham grew in size and importance during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th-19th centuries – with various industrial techniques and machinery invented or developed in the city
Before economic change: Demographic
In the 1951 census:
The population of Birmingham was around 1.1million – approximately the same as today!
95% were born in the UK
5% were born outside the UK (the majority most likely from Ireland)
Although data on ethnicity wasn’t collected in the census, estimates from a 1958 Home Office study suggest that only around 1% of the city’s population were non-white.
By place of birth, these were (estimates):
20,000 Afro-Caribbeans
7,000 Pakistanis
2,000 Indians
450 West Africans
Before economic change: Socio-economic
At its peak, 250,000 worked in manufacturing in Birmingham. Unemployment rates were below 1%
Before economic change: Socio-economic
The Austin factory (famous for building the ‘Mini’) employed around 22,000 people.
Other industries which supported car manufacturing developed, for example the Dunlop tyre factory employed 10,000.
Before economic change: Environmental
By the 1950s, many were classed as “slums”, with around 110,000 homes labelled “sub-standard”,
There were high levels of industrial waste in the canals and waterways
, there were high levels of air pollution from industrial emissions. The city was often blanketed by clouds of smog
Economic change
Between the 1960s and 1990s, the UK (and other ACs) saw major changes due to structural economic change – deindustrialisation, which had significant impacts on cities which relied heavily on manufacturing industries.
After economic change: Demographic impacts
The initial impacts on Birmingham’s demographics was a sudden decline in the number of people living in the city.
Deindustrialisation fuelled the growth of the service sector.
This fuelled further immigration from abroad (e.g. South Asia) into Birmingham due to increased opportunities in low skilled jobs e.g. hospital porters, retail, taxi drivers.
Immigrants tended to cluster in the inner city (see map ) where there was cheaper housing, this created spatial variation in the demographics of the city – which still exist today
After economic change: Socio-economic impacts
The major socio-economic impact was a rapid rise in unemployment. During most of the 1980s, Birmingham’s unemployment rate was over 20%, whilst the UK average was 12%.
After economic change: Cultural impacts
The increased immigrant population in Birmingham brought with it a far more diverse culture to the city.
The “Balti Triangle” area of Birmingham is an area famous for Indian and other ethnic restaurants
The combination of a sudden loss of jobs (particularly for white British people who had worked in manufacturing since the boom of the 1950s-60s) alongside a rise in immigration to the city caused social conflict
After economic change: Environmental impacts
Many industrial buildings of the city closed and were left abandoned which resulted in vandalism
Some factories left behind highly contaminated land
As people gained higher-paying jobs in the tertiary sector, they wanted higher quality housing.
Birmingham City Council built 400 tower blocks between the 1950s and 60s, with a total of 81,000 new homes built between 1945 and 1970. These were far higher quality than the slums.
After economic change: Environmental impacts
With the movement of families out to the suburbs there was the worry that the city would continue to expand into the countryside.
Therefore the ‘greenbelt’ was formed around the city in order to protect the rural-urban fringe from any further development.
This suddenly increased land value of areas on the edge of the city where they were close to the city for commuting but also close to protected green natural spaces
