Professor of Urban Geography | Deputy Director @Urban_Inst |
Joined June 2009
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This is not ‘just a football story’ but rather a story of a city-region in northern England aligning its economy into the orbit of an authoritarian state in the Gulf, accused of human rights abuses at home + terrible war crimes in Sudan.
theguardian.com/uk-news/2026…
I spoke to the Guardian this week as part of their investigation into Abu Dhabi presence in Manchester across two interesting pieces
theguardian.com/news/ng-inte…
Manchester City Council need to provide more transparency around the deal concerning the Man City stadium. I would argue it's a public asset and therefore the responsibility of the local authority to ensure it's maximising revenue back to the public purse
inews.co.uk/news/man-city-pa…
It's fascinating that the local newspaper terms our academic work on the Abu-Dhabi/MCR deal as 'ideological' but not the partnership between the powerful neoliberal growth regime and an authoritarian Emirate state, let alone its own claims of 'the truth'
manchestereveningnews.co.uk/…
Jon Silver retweeted
Burundi, Uganda, & Rwanda have long considered specific parts of eastern DRC "their" economic hinterland. After acts of 'hinterland piracy', in 2021, they each put boots on the ground; Uganda and M23 also rehabilitated roads.
This has turned into a regional trade war.
Jon Silver retweeted
"Burnham has staked his reputation on Manchesterism and now we see the compromises that have been involved in that" - Richard Goulding, University of Sheffield
mee.s.gy/8tJCMs
🚨New Paper in ADP
"New geographies of the special economic zone? Infrastructural bundling and local contingencies on the China-Pakistan economic corridor"
Written w/ Amna Shoaib as part of GlobalCORRIDOR project
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.…
Bad deal for the public? Given most profits flow to Jersey it remains hard to assess but…
Manchester Council has made just under £3m from a deal to share in the so-called "super-profits" from developments built on its land by Manchester City's owners
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62k…
The Warsaw Ghetto was made significantly smaller over time. Established by the Nazis in October 1940 and sealed on November 15, 1940, the ghetto's area was reduced multiple times, while its population density was kept at extreme, inhumane levels
Israel has expanded its military occupation of the Gaza Strip in violation of the ‘ceasefire’, forcing Palestinians into an ever-smaller area of the besieged territory.
Here is how much of Gaza Israel has seized since the ‘ceasefire’ ⤵️
🔗: aje.news/mgquw7
Final Call for Papers
AAG 2027 // NYC
Critical Geographies of the Infrastructure Corridor
Alan Wiig + I are excited to bring together a dialogue centring corridors in geographic scholarship + debate.
Deadline is 14th Oct.
See here👇
lnkd.in/e5xvjTJm
"Manchester council bound by gagging clauses in City property deals"
Lack of transparency in the Abu Dhabi-Manchester deal was built in. I suggest we need government reform to ensure public accountability of property deals/ 'investments'
In Sunday TImes tinyurl.com/punbssvb
Burnham oversaw £55m taxpayer loan to UAE businesses
telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10…
The Abu Dhabi partnership represents 'Manchesterism' and the 'Manchester Model' because it shows the redevelopment of the city Burnham celebrates was dependent on rentier capitalism...but it's part of a bigger story which we explore in this report 👇
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.…
- The production of new financial and social pressures on working class, inner- city neighbourhoods through state-led demolitions, displacement, social housing losses leading to massive GENTRIFICATION
How much tax do Manchester Life Management Company pay? (the UK company owned by Abu Dhabi controlled Jersey companies + that collects rental income)
Between 2019-2025 the company turnover is £46,857,891, the admin expenses £46,366,004 and the total tax on profit paid £112,316
Manchester LIfe outline their tax policy here
mcrlife.co.uk/tax-strategy/
We have an in-depth discussion in our 'Offshored Report' in the section 'Where Does The Rental Income Go (And Is It Taxed)?" - p40-43
sheffield.ac.uk/management/n…