Public realm interventions cover a broad range of activities, from landscaping an existing park or public garden to cleaning up undesired graffiti and street rubbish, or erecting statues and improving pedestrian access to improve a town centre shopping district. Many of these interventions have intrinsic value and non-economic benefits, such as making streets more appealing to walk through, or giving people something pleasant and interesting to look at. There is a lack of evaluation evidence on the effect of public realm interventions on the local economy. But there is some evidence that effects might not always be as expected, particularly for existing firms and residents.
Key findings from this report:
1.    Public realm interventions may help create more attractive places to live, but this might lead to higher housing costs and displace existing residents
2.    Large-scale public realm interventions may help attract new residents and create mixed communities. But it is unclear that mixed communities deliver significant economic benefits to existing residents
3.    Smaller-scale public realm interventions that aim to modestly improve the wellbeing of existing residents are likely to have fewer undesirable or unintended consequences than large-scale, radical transformations
4.    Public realm improvements in commercial areas might boost overall business activity but will not necessarily increase jobs or firm profits in the long term and might also displace existing businesses.
5.    Public realm improvements that are sufficient to improve the quality of a business district, increase footfall and rejuvenate an area might be desirable regardless of whether existing businesses benefit

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Area based initiatives (ABIs) are policy initiatives aimed at improving growth in specific, tightly defined geographic areas. Examples include Enterprise Zones and some interventions made via EU Structural Funds. ABIs aim to improve local economic growth by incentivising firms to locate in the area, thereby increasing the availability of jobs. ABIs typically aim to improve growth in the defined area with some combination of tax breaks to firms; wage subsidies; reduced planning regulation; improvements to physical and transport infrastructure and improvements to communications infrastructure
Key findings from this report:
1.    Area based initiatives can have positive impacts on employment and regional GDP, but displacement can be a   concern when it comes to Enterprise Zone policy.
2.    Even if displacement effects are strong, Enterprise Zones may play a role in helping to concentrate local employment from a number of dispersed sites.
3.    Objectives of any area-based policy must be very clearly defined, and the more specifically they can be targeted in terms of outcomes the better.

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While Broadband, and information and communications technologies can have wide ranging impacts, the WWCLEG evidence review is particularly interested in their impact on the local economy via their effect on productivity, employment and wages. Governments may support Broadband provision because it could increase firm and work efficiency by lowering costs and enabling innovation and may improve productivity, leading to higher wages and employment. Connectivity allows for flexible working and may increase labour market participation and it may also lower barriers to starting a business. In terms of local economic performance, broadband is likely to have different effects on different places, such as in rural and urban areas.
Key findings from this report:
1.    The majority of evaluations reviewed found that broadband has positive impacts on the local economy, however, effects are likely to vary across types of firms, workers and areas, and may not be large in the aggregate
2.    Extending broadband to an area can positively affect firm productivity, the number of businesses, and local labour market outcomes (such as employment, income and wages). Service industries and skilled workers may     benefit more than manufacturing industries and unskilled workers.
3.    The economic effects of broadband tend to be larger in urban areas (or close to urban areas) than in rural areas.

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WWCLEG has focused on one of three areas: physical interventions which expand or improve transport infrastructure; service enhancement relating to the quality or frequency of transportation; or interventions which change the way transport is supplied or used, either by providing subsidies or changing the ownership and operation of services.
From a local economic growth prospective, transport spending has two main aims:
•    To reduce transport costs to businesses and commuters (for example by reducing congestion – and thus saving time – or by reducing fares).
•    To stimulate the economy, for example, by raising the productivity of existing firms and workers, or by attracting new firms and private sector investment

Key findings from this report:
1.    Overall, the impact of transport investment on employment is mixed (for road) or unknown (for rail, bus, tram, and cycling). However, there are also good reasons to invest in transport infrastructure beyond the impact on local growth which strengthen the rationale.
2.    Road projects can positively impact local employment, although some investments don’t generate measurable effects. They may also increase firm entry – both through new firms starting up or existing ones relocating – although the overall number of firms tends to stay the same (which suggests that new firms displace existing firms).
3.    Road and rail projects tend to have a positive effect on property prices, but in both cases the effects can  vary over time.

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This WWCLEG briefing presents evidence-based findings and conclusions about local growth, high streets and town centres. WWCLEG use impact evaluation evidence, where it’s available, to address issues for which there  is not yet high-quality evidence about real-world impact, they also draw on recent data trends, and economic theory. The briefing is designed to support people making decisions about which investments and interventions are most likely to be effective.
Key reflections from this briefing:
1.    Investments in ‘supply-side’ measures, such as renovating shop fronts, are unlikely on their own to increase economic activity for a struggling high street. They need to be accompanied by investments  and policies designed to increase demand.
2.    Improving the skills of residents can help to address consumer demand. Higher-skilled residents have higher wages on average, which will increase local demand for goods and services.
3.    There is surprisingly little evidence that ‘anchor stores’ are more important than other shops. Overall, the available evidence does not support the idea that public sector intervention is more justified to prevent closure of anchor stores than other types of shops.

The WWCLEG acknowledge that other outcomes may provide a stronger rationale for these types of investments including well-being. 

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Estate Renewal refers to area-based programmes that improve the housing stock, the built environment and other local amenities with the aim of improving outcomes for local residents. The WWCLEG evidence review for estate renewal includes programmes which refurbished, demolished, demolished-and-rebuilt or built properties, including but not limited to public housing estates and were area-based interventions that included an element of physical regeneration (although some, such as the New Deal for Communities, included other non-physical objectives).

Key findings from this report:
1.    Overall, the evidence suggests that the measurable economic impacts on local economies (in terms of employment, wages or deprivation) tend not to be large and are often zero. In contrast, projects may have a positive impact on property prices.
2.    It is important to note that estate renewal projects have intrinsic value in terms of improving housing and neighbourhood qualities, which is their primary value, and which is quite unrelated to local economic impacts.
3.    Estate renewal programmes lead to increases in property and land prices and rents, although not necessarily for nearby properties that do not directly benefit from improvements. They also tend to have a limited impact on the local economy in terms of improving income or employment and on the local area in terms of reducing crime, improving health, wellbeing or education.
 

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WWCLEG has concentrated on major events and facilities, such as large international sporting events, arts events or permanent facilities such as arenas. The review of evaluations carried out by WWCLEG excluded conferences and conference centres, trade events, and expos. Major events and facilities may play a significant role in promoting health and wellbeing or in cultural enrichment. However, WWCLEG specifically looks only at the economic impacts. From an economic point of view, local areas may wish to invest in hosting major sport and cultural events or facilities to create jobs and support regeneration.
Key findings from this report:
1.    Sport and cultural events have little or no lasting effect on the local economy. Effects on wages and income tend to be small and limited to the very immediate locality, or to particular types of workers.
2.    When events have been associated with increased trade or tourism, the effects appear to be short- lived.
3.    From a regeneration perspective, policymakers should consider how these facilities fit into a broader strategy, and they should not be relied on alone for job creation.

Find out more here.