Urban Regeneration in the UK

Exploring the streets of London, Manchester, Belfast, Edinburgh or Cardiff, one cannot help but notice the striking transformations taking place in the urban landscapes. This prominent regeneration of urban areas in the UK and around the world has become an increasingly important issue amongst governments and populations. The growing concern has been a result of the impacts of the decline of cities since the collapse of manufacturing industries and the heightening of global competition. A range of innovative approaches to tackle urban problems have been taken over many decades to attempt to regenerate the fortunes of towns and cities across the UK. This text provides an accessible, yet critical, synthesis of urban regeneration in the UK incorporating key policies, approaches, issues and debates. The central objective of the book is to place the historical and contemporary regeneration agenda into context. Section one sets up the conceptual and policy framework for urban regeneration in the UK. SectiontTwo traces policies that have been adopted by central government to influence the social, economic and physical development of cities, including early municipal interventions in the late nineteenth century, community-focused urban policies of the late 1960s, entrepreneurial property-led regeneration of the 1980s and competition for urban funds in the 1990s. The penultimate section illustrates the key thematic policies and strategies that have been pursued by cities themselves, focusing particularly on improving economic competitiveness and tackling social disadvantage. These approaches are contextualized by discussions covering, for example, urban competitiveness policies and the focus on sustainable urban regeneration. The final section summarizes key issues and debates facing urban regeneration, and speculates upon future directions. Urban Regeneration in the UK blends the approaches taken by central government programmes and cities themselves in the regeneration process. The latest ideas and examples from across disciplines and across the UK's urban areas are illustrated. This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis that will fill a significant gap in the current literature on regeneration and will be a tool for students as well as a seminal read for practitioners and researchers.

Table of Contents:
Section 1: The Context for Urban Regeneration 1. Introduction: The Decline and Rise of UK Cities Section 2: Central Government Urban Regeneration Policy 2. The Early Years: Town and Country Planning and Area-Based Policies 3. Entrepreneurial Regeneration in the 1980s 4. Competition and Community in Urban Policy in the 1990s 5. New Labour, New Urban Policy? Regeneration Since the Late 1990s Section 3: Cities in Transition: Themes and Approaches 6. Urban Competitiveness 7. New Forms of Urban Governance 8. Community and Regeneration 9. Urban Regeneration and Sustainability 10. City Centre Retail-Led Regeneration 11. Housing-Led Regeneration and Gentrification 12. Leisure and Cultural Regeneration 13. Regenerating Suburban and Exurban Areas of Cities Section 4: Conclusion 14. Urban Regeneration into the Future

About the Author :
Andrew Tallon is lecturer in Urban Policy at the Faculty of Built Environment, University of the West of England, UK. His research interests include the fields of urban geography, urban policy and urban regeneration.

Review :
"Urban Regeneration in the UK is an excellent addition to the available texts on urban regeneration. It is well written and easy to read which makes it appropriate for both students and practitioners alike. It provides a comprehensive introduction to urban regeneration policy and history and discusses a varied range of situations and case studies." Dr Ruth Richards, London South Bank University, UK "This is a clearly accessible guide to national and local regeneration strategies over the past half century. It provides an excellent critique of the trends and fashions in national policy-making while also offering a series of case studies of how different cities and regions have responded to changing economic and social fortunes. This will be an essential read for the student of urban policy as well as providing theoretical and practical insights of direct relevance to the practitioners and politicians who manage our towns and cities." Professor Nick Bailey, University of Westminster, UK