Twinning towns why

But now he insists the move has proved popular with voters. Only about a dozen people ever benefited from these trips. I can see that it arose out of altruistic motives after the war, but it just became about junkets. The scheme was not always regarded thus. Keighley in West Yorkshire was the first British town to forge a "sister cities" link with Suresnes and Puteaux, France, in , and subsequently "adopted" the French commune of Poix-du-Nord in But the practice took off in earnest after World War II, with community leaders keen both to heal the divisions of the conflict and seek support in rebuilding.

Coventry, which suffered heavy bombing, twinned with Stalingrad now Volgograd and then Dresden, which had suffered similar fates. The turning point in public attitudes appears to have come in the s, when battles flared between Margaret Thatcher's government and several left-wing councils.

In particular, the decision by Dundee - partly influenced by local activist George Galloway, the future Labour and Respect MP - to twin with the West Bank city of Nablus, flying the flag of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation from the city chambers for good measure, became the focus of opposition to such arrangements.

But the notion has not entirely died out, even if its contemporary manifestation often differs radically from traditional formats. In October , a Conservative councillor proposed twinning Royston, a sleepy town of 14, souls in the Hertfordshire Chalk Downs, with Benghazi, fulcrum of the Libyan rebellion.

Introduction Town twinning was first developed shortly after , when mayors and citizens alike were determined more than ever to prevent Europe from being torn apart by war.

CEMR seeks to strengthen the links of exchange between municipalities, as these links are a driving element in the construction of Europe. To this day, town twinning continues to evolve. It allows two or more municipalities to concentrate on common issues which can sometimes be very specific, such as water management, economic development, or the improvement of social services.

Helens, as a leading manufacturer of glass, was able to support the rebuilding of Stuttgart, Germany, parts of which had been destroyed or damaged by bombing during the conflict. These types of historical partnerships have continued until today when there are often still close links between the British and German communities.

The towns and cities themselves, however, are not necessarily similar in characteristics. This section looks at population structure and change in British towns and cities, compared with their German twins. Population growth between and has been notably higher in British towns and cities, compared with their German twins, reflecting a trend seen generally in the two countries since the early s. Figure 1: British towns and cities have been growing more in terms of population than their German twins Urban Audit, to Source: Eurostat, Office for National Statistics Download this chart Figure 1: British towns and cities have been growing more in terms of population than their German twins Image.

A comparison of the twinned towns and cities in our study shows more people aged 75 years and older in European towns and cities, compared with their British counterparts. Structural changes to the demographics of the European population are attributed mainly to low birth rates and increasing life expectancy. In Germany, the current life expectancy at birth is In the UK, life expectancy at birth is slightly higher for males However, the population aged 65 years and older in Great Britain is projected to grow in urban areas.

Figure 2: The proportion of population aged 75 years and older is higher in German towns and cities Urban Audit, Source: Eurostat, Office for National Statistics Download this chart Figure 2: The proportion of population aged 75 years and older is higher in German towns and cities Image. Population ageing in Europe means that people are not only living longer but also that the proportion of people aged 20 to 64 years, which includes the majority of people working, is declining.

The old-age dependency ratio defined internationally as the population 65 years and over to population 20 to 64 years can be an indicator to show the level of support available to people aged 65 years and older by the working population. The number of people aged 65 years and older, relative to the number of people aged 20 to 64 years, tends to be higher in European twinned towns and cities compared with those in Great Britain and this is reflected among the British and German twinned towns and cities we feature Figure 3.

Figure 3: German towns and cities have a higher old-age dependency ratio Urban Audit, Source: Eurostat, Office for National Statistics Download this chart Figure 3: German towns and cities have a higher old-age dependency ratio Image. Native born as a proportion of population for the German and British twin towns and sister cities is shown in Figure 4. Data are from as this provides the most complete coverage for the places we feature in this article. With the exception of Coventry, Leicester and Birmingham, British towns and cities have higher proportions of native born people people born in Great Britain , compared with the proportions of native born people in their German twins people born in Germany.

Figure 4: British towns and cities generally have higher proportions of native born people, compared with their German twins Urban Audit, Source: Eurostat, Office for National Statistics Download this chart Figure 4: British towns and cities generally have higher proportions of native born people, compared with their German twins Image. The European City Statistics project also collects data on foreign persons living in cities.

Overall, the percentage of foreign nationals living in cities has risen within the EU. In our study, the proportion of foreign nationals was generally higher in German towns and cities compared with their British twins, as shown in Figure 5. Foreign nationals accounted for nearly a quarter of the population in Stuttgart, Germany.

Other British places in our study with higher proportions of foreign nationals also tend to be university towns and cities. Figure 5: The proportion of foreign nationals is higher in German towns and cities than in their British twins Urban Audit, Source: Eurostat, Office for National Statistics Download this chart Figure 5: The proportion of foreign nationals is higher in German towns and cities than in their British twins Image.

Analysis by type of dwelling shows distinct differences in the prevalence of flats or houses across countries. There is a notable predominance of houses in the British towns and cities we feature, rather than apartments, compared with their German twins. Cologne, Germany, particularly stands out because its high number of flats , is more than four times the number of houses in the city.

Its twin city, Liverpool, in contrast, has more than two and a half times more houses than flats. Across the EU, the share of flats in the total number of dwellings tends to be higher in cities with a larger population size, however, even in larger cities houses are common in Great Britain, as shown in Figure 6. Figure 6: British towns and cities have a predominance of houses rather than apartments in cities with a population above , Urban Audit, Source: Eurostat, Office for National Statistics Download this chart Figure 6: British towns and cities have a predominance of houses rather than apartments in cities with a population above , Image.

Figure 7: British towns and cities with a population below , have a predominance of houses rather than apartments Urban Audit, Source: Source: Eurostat, Office for National Statistics Download this chart Figure 7: British towns and cities with a population below , have a predominance of houses rather than apartments Image.

Many of the strongest links between British and European towns and cities are because of active exchange programmes between schools. This section expands our examination of twinned towns and sister cites to other European countries, as well as Germany. For example, Strasbourg in France offers its students special grants in order to study in one of its five dedicated twin towns, which includes Leicester.

It should always be able to survive changes in political leadership and short-term difficulties of one or other partner, and support each other in times of need, e.

And being a commitment for the long term, it is vital to ensure that the partnership is regularly reviewed, to make sure it meets the needs of the present day, and remains fresh and dynamic. Equally important is the dual commitment required for twinnings to be successful: that of the local authorities, but also that of the citizens.

In a few words: there can be no twinning without the active participation of the citizens! This dual nature often requires the setting up of a twinning committee bringing together local officials and citizens.