For decades towns have been buffeted by economic headwinds that feel out of the control of local communities. De-industrialisation, austerity and the rise of e-commerce have hollowed out many towns, leaving high streets barren.
The pandemic has, if anything, deflated hopes of a better future for town economies further, crushing local businesses and entrenching digitalisation, while once again raising the spectre of a generation scarred by unemployment.
For those who have experienced these economic cycles before, the temptation is to look for the next big investment to come, whether from the central state or a corporate giant riding into town – or both. The notion that recovery could start with community control, and that this could then be used to adapt to crises in the future so that ruptures are not accompanied by the destructive processes of unemployment and industrial dislocation, would appear like wishful thinking to many.
