Local Meanings and “Sticky” Measures of the Good Life: Redefining prosperity with and for communities in east London

Prosperity for Whom? Systemic Injustice and the UK Economy

Assembling prosperity in a post-Covid United Kingdom: New approaches to levelling up

Livelihood analysis and citizen-led understandings of prosperity have useful analytical potential to investigate the impact of policies, infrastructure, institutions, social support and democratic engagement on quality of life, beyond traditional income and economic growth measures.

Imagining a welfare state that supports secure livelihoods

The pandemic has clearly exposed the inability of our existing welfare system to provide people with an adequate safety net to navigate times of crisis. The significant rise in food poverty, debt and extreme financial vulnerability caused by the pandemic is clear evidence of this.

Rebuilding the post-Covid-19 economy through an industrial strategy that secures livelihoods

The Covid-19 crisis has further exacerbated the insecurity of livelihoods in the UK. This commentary reflects on what resources the UK has to fulfil the calls to ‘build back better,’ to transform the economy to prioritise health and wellbeing over economic growth.

Identifying and understanding local priorities for developing an ‘Economy of Belonging’: A case study of eight areas in the UK

The recent outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has reanimated the discussion of socio-economic inequalities and livelihoods’ insecurity across the UK. There is a clear disconnect between policymaking frameworks, macroeconomic theories, and empirical exercises using national and regional statistical data, on the one hand, with the lived experiences of individuals and communities at the local level, on the other.

'Community and prosperity beyond social capital: The case of Newham, East London'

Using data from Newham, London, this article argues that a narrow focus on social capital obfuscates the complexity of community dynamics, leading to misconceptions about the causes of social fragmentation. In the case of Newham, we show that while survey data on social capital suggests that diversity is detrimental to community life, a more nuanced analysis reveals that it is in fact an important part of community cohesion.

'Super-diversity and the prosperous society'

Drawing on ethnographic material from East London, the authors contend that, in super-diverse places, ethnic diversity could become a valuable aspect of community life, while inequalities in social, cultural and symbolic capital become central points of social antagonism to the detriment of prosperity.

The next big challenge!

Henrietta L. Moore has been appointed to lead the new Institute of Global Prosperity at University College London (UCL). The institute will be part of The Bartlett, UCL’s Faculty of the Built Environment in October when Professor Moore joins UCL.

The Business of Funding: Science, Social Science and Wealth in the United Kingdom

Two events loomed large in the imagination of those employed by universities in England this year: the publication of the Research Assessment Exercise results and the agreement on a new review system for quality assurance in Higher Education.

'The Health of Children and Young People: Setting a Research Agenda'

This paper summarises and updates the report of one of the seven Expert Working Groups established by the UK’s Health Education Authority (HEA) in October 1996 to look at the potential for health promotion with key populations – in this case that of children and young people. It seeks to establish a revitalised agenda for research into the health and wellbeing of children and young people in the UK.