What are the causes of uneven development?
Geographical Location
Economic Change
Infrastructure
Government Policy
London is the center of economic activity and wealth creation in the UK.
mainly due to its role as capital of the UK London has long been one of the world's major trading centers . It the UK major hub for business, finance and media
• Many national and international companies have their headquarters in London. As London has grown, wealth has extended out into the rest of the South Eas
• Many people who work in London now commute from the 'home
counties, choosing to live in more pleasant rural surroundings.
• The areas around London have witnessed tremendous economic growth • Cities like Cambridge have become core growth centers Increasingly, London and the South East has benefited from trade with
Europe.
• London and the South East have excellent access to the continent • There are fast Eurostar rail services through the Channel Tunnel . There are several ferry routes and many air connections from London airports, including City Airport in the center of London.
Regions in the north and west of the UK are more distant from the European mainland. Despite good transport links with cities such as Manchester and Glasgow, many rural areas are remote and inaccessible. Whilst some northern cities have a wealthy base, the rural districts are often much poorer, unlike the wealthy rural areas in the South East.
Most people in the UK worked in farming, mining or related activities-the primary sector.
People moved to the towns and cities for work making steel, ships or textiles the manufacturing sector. During this period, much of the UK's growth was centred on the northern coalfields. Heavy industries and engineering thrived in the cities and a great deal of wealth was generated.
Many industries in the north closed, mainly due to competition from abroad, and people lost their jobs, In 2015, the Redcar steelworks on Teesside closed with the loss of some 1700 jobs. This had a huge impact on the community and the economy of the region
Recently there has been huge growth in the service or tertiary sector involving jobs in health care, offices, financial services and retailing
Most recently, the quaternary sector has developed with jobs in research, information technology and the media. Most of these jobs have been based in London and the South East. Today London is a world centre for financial services, media, research and the creative industries, and it has benefited hugely from globalisation and interconnectivity with the rest of the world.
infrastructure involves transport, services and communications l bears, London and the South East has benefited from a bar developments including:
the Channel Tunnel (1994)
expansion of airports, such as Stansted, and the construction of sew terminals, such as Terminal 5 at Heathrow (2008) .
High Speed 1 Eurostar trains starting to operate from London St Pancras (2007).
In the future, there are several planned developments in transport. including Crossrail and the construction of a new airport probably at Heathrow.
Many companies - both UK based and international - have chosen to be in London rather than elsewhere in the UK. Government investment in infrastructure projects such as Crossrail, the regeneration of London's docklands (1980s+) and construction of the Olympic Site (2012) have all promoted the economic growth of the south.
In 2015, the government announced plans to create a Northern Powerhouse of modern manufacturing industries specialising in science and technology across the major cities of the north. The aim is to redress the North-South economic imbalance, and to attract investment into northern cities and towns. Several transport improvements will support this initiative:
• HS2 (High Speed 2) is a C50 billion project to build a new high-speed railway line to connect London with Birmingham and then on to Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. It may then be extended to Newcastle and into Scotland. The scheme, which is due to start in 2017 for completion in 2033, is highly controversial as the route passes through several stretches of highly valued countryside and close to many people's homes.
• Electrification of the Trans-Pennine Express Railway between Manchester and York by 2020, reducing journey times by up to 15 minutes and completing the electrified link between Liverpool and Newcastle. • Electrification of the Midland Mainline, between London and Sheffield by 2023