Revival of a City, 1st ed. 2019
Coventry in a Globalising World
Palgrave Studies in Economic History Series

In 2021 Coventry celebrates being the national City of Culture. Modern Coventry is a product of successive rounds of industrial, economic and social developments driven by regional, national and global forces. This book presents a timely opportunity to reflect on this rich, and often misunderstood, history.

The book examines the development of industry, services, infrastructure and social transformation, and the role which globalising forces have played in influencing these, particularly since the 1950s. It looks at the experiences of the city of Coventry in responding to the challenges of socioeconomic change, technological advances, reconstruction and renewal.

Issues of investment, economic decline, reconstruction, employment change and local and national governance are all considered in assessing the story of modern Coventry, a city influenced by new industries and development opportunities while still being shaped by its historical economic challenges. By focusing on the case of Coventry this book contributes to debates surrounding urban structural change, economic diversification and resilience from the perspective of a medium-sized city.

Chapter 1: Introduction; Jason Begley, Tom Donnelly, David Jarvis and Paul Sissons.- Chapter 2: Coventry: A Growing City; Tom Donnelly.- Chapter 3: Coventry at War: Industrial Relations, Ownership and Production; Malte Busch.- Chapter 4: Coventry in the Long Boom 1950-1970; Michael Haynes.- Chapter 5: Recession and Relative Recovery; Clive Collis.- Chapter 6: Affective Regeneration in Coventry; Jonathan Kershaw.- Chapter 7: Population, Migration and Commuting Patterns in a Changing City; Paul Sissons.- Chapter 8: Occupational Structure and Change in Post-war Coventry; Jason Begley.- Chapter 9: The Rebirth of the Phoenix City: Sectoral Shifts and the Evolution of Coventry’s Economic Base; Myles Mackie.- Chapter 10: Toward a New Knowledge Economy?; David Morris.- Chapter 11: Concluding remarks; Jason Begley, Tom Donnelly, David Jarvis and Paul Sissons.

Coventry provides a concrete example of a city that has been subject to numerous challenges and subsequent changes

Contributes to our understanding of how urban centres are increasingly embedded in the architecture of the global market and whether this serves to insulate them from peaks and troughs in economic activity

Asks whether globalising economic forces have served to make Coventry’s local economy a more robust, dynamic and innovative economy, enjoying higher standards of living and offered improved work opportunities in better paying jobs

Presents a collaborative and detailed investigation into the social and economic history of a major UK conurbation, from the post-war period up until the present

Explores the dynamics of socioeconomic change and globalisation through the prism of Coventry