ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the question how information and communications technologies (ICT) offers new opportunities for both economic and social regeneration in Manchester, and how urban management could grasp them. It takes the economic perspective: in what way can Manchester benefit from the current growth of the ICT sector; what are Manchester's strengths and weaknesses? The chapter describes and evaluates regional policies to further the ICT cluster. It addresses the question of how ICT can contribute to the inclusion of less favoured groups into the information society, and shows some examples of projects in Manchester in this field. The chapter draws some conclusions and present some policy recommendations. ICT is the principal growth sector of the early twenty-first century. Its development is driven by super-fast technological evolution, resulting in a continuous stream of new products and applications onto the market, eagerly used by companies and consumers.
