Julian Dobson runs Newstart, a magazine and website which has spent a good few years watching how cities and communities function and flourish, commune or collapse.

From time to time he blogs on the site Living with Rats. Today he writes on the enforced competition which can drive decisions by our city regions and how some are walking away from that approach:

In Newcastle and Gateshead, the two local authorities are already seizing those opportunities by setting aside old rivalries and are working on a combined city development company. They’ve realised there’s more to be won by collaborating than by fighting over resources. What’s impressive is not just that the civic leaders have grasped that vision, but that it’s being pursued at an operational level: instead of competing for business, the councils work together to give investors a consistent message and to provide employment for local people, whichever side of the Tyne they happen to live on.

That kind of leadership involves questioning and challenging familiar ways of working. It means continually asking what is appropriate and being ready to break old habits.

In a world where people are sometimes deliberately set against each other, it takes a twist of determination to turn your back on such a culture. This something I’ve found with the many stories I’ve recorded of active citizens and also is understood by Caret colleagues who work on community leadership. Leaders look for ways to collaborate.