Population change and migration in Britain since 1981: evidence for continuing deconcentration

Recent trends in spatial distribution and internal migration in Britain are reviewed using small-area statistics from the 1981 and 1991 censuses. "The results indicate that the differentials in the population growth rate between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan Britain narrowed somewhat between the 1970s and the 1980s, but the negative relationship between urban status and population change remained very clear. Moreover, contrary to the experience of the U.S.A. and a number of European countries, in the mid-1980s Britain saw a resurgence of nonmetropolitan growth which had widespread impact across the country."