ABSTRACT
Birmingham is the second city of the UK and the capital of the West Midlands Region. The city, which covers approximately 267.8 km2, is located in the centre of England and represents a national transport junction. Since the abolishment in 1986 of the West Midlands Metropolitan County Council the local authority responsible for the governance of the city is Birmingham City Council. Local authority services are organized around wards boundaries. The Birmingham Community Safety Partnership, established in 1998 in response to the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act, is the local authority charged with the monitoring of local crime and the preparation of the city’s crime reduction strategy. The 1998 Crime and Disorder Act and the new City Centre Strategy developed by the city in the 1980s represent the two most important factors that have influenced Birmingham’s attractiveness in the last decade. This process of renewal has led to two main spatial consequences.
