For three centuries Britain’s economic growth has been driven forward by its cities. So how are our cities placed to weather the current recession? What factors will make the difference between urban resilience and urban decline?

Of course in a severe, general and prolonged recession all cities will suffer. But some will do better than others. As a new report by the think-tank Centre for Cities points out, cities that have relatively high exposure to the financial sector, such as Leeds or Edinburgh, or to construction are already suffering the effects of the downturn.