Richard Longworth is a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and author of the new book, Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism, published in January by Bloomsbury.

Sir Peter Hall is Professor of Planning at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, University College London. From 1991-94 he was Special Adviser on Strategic Planning to the Secretary of State for the Environment, with special reference to issues of London and South East regional planning including the East Thames Corridor and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. He was member of the Deputy Prime Minister's Urban Task Force (1998-1999).

He has received the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society for distinction in research, and is an honorary member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. He is a Fellow of the British Academy. He was a founder member of the Regional Studies Association and first editor of its journal Regional Studies. He was Chairman of the Town and Country Planning Association (1995-1999).