ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the study areas of Merseyside County and Strathclyde Region. The Merseyside Development Corporation was one of the first waves of Urban Development Corporations established by government in 1981 to encourage redevelopment of derelict inner-city land. The contrasting city-regional and public choice geographical structures of local governance put in place in each area over the ten year study time period are described, including the pattern of elected local authorities, and the internal composition of the various Passenger Transport Authorities and Executives. The available options for local rail transport development can be grouped into two broad categories, expanding the catchment of the network, and integrating layers of the rail network hierarchy. The post-war histories of both Glasgow and Liverpool and their surrounding areas are characterised by the impacts of economic and population decline. The successive extensions to the riverside docks provided a major focus for continued railway development in Glasgow as in Liverpool.
