Talking-up Scotland

(c) People Make Glasgow

In Insider today

Following an inaugural CBRE study in 2017 and using the same methodology to compare 65 cities throughout the UK, the new report provides an update on the top 25 locations for companies in the tech sector. Manchester remains in first position with Glasgow second and Edinburgh retaining its third spot. Commentators suggest that the proximity between Edinburgh and Glasgow, rather than the competitive distance, is helping both cities, with many in the tech and creative industries happy to live in Glasgow and work in Edinburgh, or vice versa.

Factors contributing to the very strong rankings scored by both Glasgow and Edinburgh are highlighted in the report.  These include high concentrations of tech businesses and tech professionals, generational diversity and a strong creative arts legacy. The two cities are also advantaged by high levels of educational attainment and access to a number of world-class universities, with strong research and computer science degree rankings. 

Both cities have a large ratio of millennials (Edinburgh 28.5% and Glasgow 24.2% of the population) and a high proportion of the population qualified to NVQ 4 or above (Glasgow ranks third and Edinburgh fifth out of 65).

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/glasgow-edinburgh-named-among-top-14280586

Previous good news on the Scotland’s cities:

Edinburgh 10th out of 100 global cities for job opportunities

Above New York and Berlin, Edinburgh has come tenth out of 100 top global cities, for ‘opportunities.’ Here’s what organisers, Movinga, say about their criteria: ‘The research tackles three key areas: economic strength for start-ups and established businesses, standard of…

‘Edinburgh and Glasgow in top five cities to work in UK’

They came third and fifth with London and Manchester at 1 and 2. Frankly, I’m astonished that anyone thinks London would a better place to live. This is, of course, from Insider. Here’s a short extract and the…

Scotland’s big cities boom

Yes, from Insider again, today: ‘Edinburgh’s office market has enjoyed a strong second quarter after a slow start to the year, according to new figures. Office lettings between the first and second quarter rose 150 per cent to 351,916 sq…

‘Edinburgh tops list of most influential small cities in Europe’

From Insider magazine, again, today: ‘Scottish capital scores high on economic output and the aspirations of its workforce. Bottom of Form  Top of Form Bottom of Form Edinburgh has been ranked first among its peers in a new…

Less homicide, less knife crime, less domestic violence, safer cities and now much lower alcohol problems: should Scotland’s old stereotypes be sent south?

It’s been more than 80 years since ‘No Mean City’ was set in Glasgow and comedians, including our own, continue to base their humour on an image of a violent, drunken people but the last ten years have…

Scotland’s university cities by far the safest places to send your children

I’ve just reported on falling domestic violence in Scotland and the increasingly inaccurate nature of the stereotypical view of Scots and Scotland as violent. The Complete University Guide has published some shocking data which was too large to fit into…

Glasgow only UK city to make New York Times top ten cities to visit. Dundee makes CNN’s most design-savvy list with Tokyo and Paris

From the STV News website: ‘As part of its annual travel list, the publication [New York Times] has compiled a rundown of 52 must-visit cities in 2018. Glasgow was in tenth place and the only city…

Scotland’s cities ally to exploit hydrogen-based technologies. Scotland’s Unionist media ally to ignore it

An alliance between Scotland’s seven cities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth and Stirling – set up to develop a wider economic and environmental strategy will focus on hydrogen-based technologies. Aberdeen already has Europe’s largest fleet of hydrogen-fuelled buses,…

Edinburgh and Glasgow come second and third in survey of UK cities’ ‘smartness’

A new survey based on factors such as the levels of congestion and crime and on the quality of transport, healthcare, energy and productivity put London in first place. I’d have though Edinburgh and Glasgow would have scored…

As major global cities like London struggle with pollution, levels in Scotland have dropped by more than 66% since 1990. Has this contributed to falling crime levels too?