ABSTRACT
The West Midlands lies in the heartland of the country (Figure 9.1). It has curiously been described as ‘a rump left over . . . when the more recognisable surrounding regions of England and Wales have been identified’ (Wood, 1976: 15). It is unique in being the only landlocked English region (Chapman et al., 2000). Outside of the South East, it is also unique in being dominated in its urban core by one city: Birmingham. It is this contrast, alongside racial and cultural diversity, that gives the region strength and character, but it also means that regional identity is weak and a regional image poor (AWM, 2004). Moreover, it has been argued that parts of the counties which comprise the rural region have more in common with neighbouring regions than with each other (Wood, 1976). Also, medieval Coventry was linked, through its woollen and leather trades, to Nottingham, Northampton and Leicester in the East Midlands (Dury, 1978; and see Chapter 10).
