Economic Development
Harold Wilson said that he was at his best ‘in a messy, middle of the road muddle’. I think this speaks to many of the ways we actually do policy in England. It might not be perfect, it might not get your heart racing, it ain’t sexy, it’s not ideologically left or right, but at the end of the day, we tend to just muddle through in a messy way.
Being host to Expo 2008 accelerated the regeneration of Zaragoza, Spain’s fifth largest city. Investment in large-scale infrastructure has been combined with small interventions which have engaged local citizens. Clare Goff reports
Fresh from the success of the roll-out of its high-speed rail network, Spain has been investing heavily in tram networks in its major cities. By the end of 2011 four Spanish cities – Zaragoza, Murcia, Jaen and Granada – will have new tramway systems, joining cities such as Valencia, the first to re-introduce trams in 1994, Bilbao and Barcelona. And the country is using its tram renaissance as another chance to experiment in new technologies, leading the way in energy-saving transportation.
