Dundee city centre has been transformed by students moving in but the city now needs to create more jobs to keep them, according to new research published today (Wednesday) by ippr's Centre for Cities.

The research shows Dundee's city centre population grew by nearly 100% during the 1990s. The current population is around 3,000 people, two thirds of whom are students.

But focus groups show that most residents expect to move away from Dundee in the next few years to find work. The report says that the priority for policymakers is to find jobs to keep these high-skill residents in the city.

The report shows that around two thirds of working age people in Dundee city centre are students. Students accounted for 80% of the city centre population increase. People living in the centre of Dundee are twice as likely to be single than the national average. Forty-three percent are aged 20-24, compared with just six percent across Scotland. Fifty-four percent in Dundee city centre walk to work, compared to a national average of around seven percent.

There is a ‘conveyor belt effect' in Dundee, with most people staying only a few years. A third of residents move in or out each year, around three times higher than the national average.

ippr focus groups show that shops, bars, cafes, being able to walk to work and the city centre ‘buzz' are the main attractions. Retail, leisure and nightlife were far more important than art galleries and concert halls.

Max Nathan, Centre for Cities Senior Researcher and report author, said:

‘Students will remain the driving force of Dundee's city centre for the foreseeable future. The city has done a good job in bringing people into the city centre. Repopulation has helped improve the centre of town. But there are not enough skilled jobs around Dundee, and many city centre residents will have to find work elsewhere. Dundee needs to keep repositioning its economy to ensure these high-skilled workers have jobs to go to.'

Tom Bloxham MBE, Chairman of Urban Splash said:

‘The city centre living phenomenon has been with us over 15 years now. But as city centres have recovered, many areas nearby have stayed the same. Regenerating these inner ring neighbourhoods is the big priority for the decade ahead.'

City People: City Centre living in the UK, by Max Nathan and Chris Urwin, is available from here. A five page briefing on Dundee is available to download here.

Notes to Editors:

• Total population (2001): 2,900
• Total population (1991); 1,500
• Aged between 15-34: 74%
• Single people (as a percentage of adult population): 85%
• Students (as a percentage of working age population): 62%
• Percentage living young professional lifestyles: 1%
• Percentage living low-income lifestyles: 36%
• Percentage of rented households: 77% (22% social, 55% private)
• Percentage of 16-74 population that are graduates: 28.6%

The report tracks a long post-war decline of city centre populations and then a resurgence over the last fifteen years. Dundee's city centre population grew nearly 100 per cent between 1991 and 2001, from 1,500 to a total of 2,900 people.

The initial spate of office, loft and warehouse conversions has expanded to include large numbers of new-build studio and one or two-bed flats, aimed at the buy to let market. Nationally, 20% of Britons live in flats or apartments – but in Dundee city centre, a massive 95% of people are flat-dwellers.

The Centre for Cities is an independent urban research unit, based at the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr). Launched in March 2005, it is taking a fresh look at how UK cities function. Tom Bloxham MBE is the Chair of the Centre for Cities' Steering Group.