All articles by jonn elledge
jonn elledge
Manchester Metrolink: six lessons for other cities
Nearly a quarter of a century ago, two suburban railway lines, to the north and south of Manchester, were joined…
Is it time for Greater Birmingham?
If Britain’s cities are to regain their greatness, they need to learn to act as one.
No, Greater Manchester never voted no to a mayor
Okay, let’s get this straight, because it’s been annoying the hell out of me. Despite what the Spectator believes, George…
Here's an imaginary tube map of Leeds
What do you do when you move to a new city that doesn’t have its own metro network? Easy: you…
London wants more powers. And it's in the north's interest that it gets them
Big week for the north of England, this. Yesterday the government confirmed that Manchester was to get its own mayor…
Here's how we solve the housing crisis
Great news, Londoners: the capital doesn’t have Britain’s biggest housing crisis. Let’s hear it for Oxford where, relative to wages,…
Chart: US home ownership rates at 20 year low
CityMetric is based in London. CityMetric often runs angry commentary about house prices. These two facts may be connected. So…
Forget HS3, “Transport for the North” was the real meat of yesterday’s announcement
Yesterday, Britain’s trainspotters got very excited when transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin officially announced that the government would begin planning for…
Which is England’s second city? When it comes to public transport, the answer is clear
The Midland Metro is a light rail network, that connects Birmingham to Wednesbury, Wolverhampton and other bits of the West…
Geoffrey West: The theoretical physicist with the grand unified theory of cities
So, here’s a thing. If you double the size of a city, then you don’t quite double its infrastructure. If…