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

Reminder that Manchester City Council also actively went out their way to silence criticism of the deal + Abu Dhabi more generally... That is not a functioning democratic city and shows how regulatory/financial + legal transparency is required around these agreements

"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 model focused more on short-term, immediate need to attract ‘investment’ - Its weakness is neglecting pressing societal issues such as housing + climate crisis. The same approach to GROWTH by Burnham will simply accelerate a RENTIER CAPITALIST economy in UK cities

- 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

- A problem with EXTRACTION which means many benefits of agglomeration are privatised and taken out of the region by developers/landlords (such as Abu Dhabi) - Productivity + wage rises are captured by increasing housing costs with NO 'TRICKLE DOWN' effect to surrounding towns

We show the 'Manchester model' is shaped by the logics of supply-side economics + agglomeration not more 'public control' as Burnham contends. We found it's is A MODEL FOR CAPITAL, NOT PEOPLE because... - Reliant on public subsidies + public de-risking for private investors.

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.…

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