Last week I wrote about our new partner cities report, 'Linked In: Realising Croydon's potential now' and some of the challenges former back office locations such as Croydon face as they become more residential.

A negative image, deteriorating public realm and fear of crime are not unique to Croydon. While 'image issues' might sound trivial, we found they do impact on business decisions and our cities' economies. As Croydon businesses explained it: improving the town's appearance and quality of life is key to many of them successfully attracting staff and staying in their current location.

But how much influence do town halls like Croydon have over these levers and business retention? Actually, they can have more influence than they might think, as the table below shows:

 

While perceptions take a long time to change, steps to start improving Croydon's image need not cost much. Improvements could be implemented through the Work Programme, at the same time easing out-of-work residents back into the labour market.

We estimate that for £5,000 Croydon Council could either:

• install and maintain about 40 hanging flower baskets to brighten up the town centre
• organise several community tree planting events and pay for ongoing tree maintenance to make the town centre greener
• or create 30 dedicated female car parking spaces to improve feelings of safety in car parks

The report sets out several other ways in which £5,000 could be spent to start making Croydon a nicer place to live and do business. It also shows what has worked elsewhere – featuring case studies of Sunderland's Safer Sunderland Partnership, which has significantly reduced fears of crime in the city, and urban realm improvements in Sheffield.

If you have examples of best practice in your or other cities on improving urban image, why don't you share them with us and post them here?