Spaces/Places Casestudy: Birmingham structural economic change

Question 1

Where is Birmingham

Answer 1

In the heart of the West Midlands cornubation

Question 2

Currently, is Birmingham the 3rd most populated city in the UK?

Answer 2

Yes

Question 3

What was the purpose of Birmingham up to the late 1960s

Answer 3

• Birmingham had a major role in the industrial sector.
• Engineering industries made up a large composition of the economy, such as Austin car plant and Dunlop tyre company - employing 10,000 in the 1950s.

Question 4

Up until the 1950s what was Birmingham’s populations demographic?

Answer 4

• Overwhelmingly white in ethnic origin.
• Employment was dominated by males.
• 60% had skilled jobs such as lathe operators and precision engineers.

Question 5

How was the inner city of Birmingham deprived before rebranding?

Answer 5

• The inner city areas comprised of poor-quality housing at high density such as in Aston and Handsworth.
• Decades of industrial activity had left land sites, canals and rivers with high levels of pollution.
• Air pollution reached high levels as controls on emissions were almost non-existent.

Question 6

What was the significance of the post-war industrial decline in Birmingham?

Answer 6

• Birmingham was prosperous up till the 1960s with unemployment figures below 1%.
• Between 1970 and 1983, earnings fell from being the highest in the UK to almost the lowest of any region.
• In 1982 unemployment rose to 19.4%

Question 7

What factors led to Birmingham becoming deindustrialized?

Answer 7

• The interaction of several players (IMPORTANCE OF PLAYERS)
• Birmingham suffered from the global recession in the 1970s, with a leading issue of the Arab-Israeli war. OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) weaponized oil supplies.
• Birmingham’s traditional industries were damaged by oil prices increasing ten-fold.
• These industries were already threatened by overseas TNCs based in countries with lower production costs.