Study title

GRIT (‘Geospatial Restructuring of Industrial Trade’) is an ESRC-funded project in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds. An energy revolution must take place if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided. Even without the impact this may have (eg through carbon pricing), fuel costs have a very uncertain future. GRIT has two aims: create a fine-grained picture of the current spatial structure of the UK economy consider how changing fuel prices could alter that structure over the long term. GRIT examines the web of connections between businesses in the UK to identify sectors and locations facing the greatest changes. GRIT will work with a unique dataset: the Business Structure Database contains information for nearly every UK business, including location and sector classification. This will be linked to sectoral trade flow data. These two sources offer an opportunity to map the current spatial distribution of economic activity in the UK and to think about how that distribution may change in the future. GRIT combines this data-driven approach with a plan to engage with organisations directly affected. GRIT will work closely with a small number of organisations and engage others through the project website.