Allan Cochrane The Open University Presentation to CEEDR, University of Middlesex, October 23 rd, 2013

South East as the norm, against which others are judged Capital city – seat of government Home Counties Englishness (maybe even Britishness) The rest is peripheral – defined as provinces…. distressed areas…. the regions

So…not a real region – more of an accidental region in administrative terms BUT needs to be regionalised – to be understood as part of set of socio-spatial relations Within and beyond England and the UK And in the end also mobilised as part of explicit and implicit national regional policy

Rethinking the Region Defined as growth region and specifically region of neo-liberal growth But a particular version of neo- liberalism which involved a continual process of state privileging for the South East Whats in and whats out, not just an academic debate – feeds into policy debates

Activity space stretches across a huge area of England (Gordon) Over half the population of England included in some versions (Dorling) Polycentric city region (Hall and Pain) Edge city (Garreau) Worrying about city regions – mega region, super-region – but…beyond the metropolis (8m)

South East as national champion – Englands world region - Englands (and so the UKs) economic success relies on the success of the South east The SE as (more than a) suburban heartland SEEDA says its Englands World Class region Diamonds and clusters London as world city The South East as (explicitly regionalised) economic driver under new Labour

Subject of explicit and active state strategy in first decade of 21 st century focused on housing growth to underpin economic growth (housing as driver) Sustainable communities Squaring the circle Economic growth Social sustainability Environmental sustainability Growth regions identified (our research focused on one of these)

Carefully targeted nudges to the housing market, working with developers and house builders A neo liberal belief in the power of the market (and house builders in particular) Combined with active state support through planning and infrastructural development Paid for through rising property values

Strategy seems predicated on inequality and its reinforcement Sustainable communities in the SE; Pathfinders in the North Maybe making different claims – spreading out over the rest of England (Hall) BUT based on growth: what happens when growth stops and the growth region stops growing?

Still at the imaginative core of public policy – housing growth on the edge of the South East Centre for Cities – focuses on growth in growth areas (and still housing) City Deals – the case of Milton Keynes From sustainability to viability (removing perceived constraints of the planning system)