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Urban renaissance

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Revision as of 15:01, 7 May 2024 by Turtlecrown (talk | contribs) (specify lead and focus on definition, add policy roots; reorder text, new headings; remove repeated or irrelevant statements)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Repopularisation of city living in England This article is about the United Kingdom. For land redevelopment to address urban decay, see Urban renewal. For the Japanese housing agency, see Urban Renaissance Agency.
Waterside regeneration in Birmingham, England

Urban renaissance was a policy aim for England introduced from 1999 to address urban decline, and may also refer to the subsequent period of repopulation and regeneration of many British cities, following a period of widespread inner city urban decay and suburbanisation during the mid-20th century.

Cities considered to have gone through an urban renaissance include Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, as well as parts of London.

Urban renaissance has some similarities with the New Urbanism movement in North America.

Strategies

Urban renaissance deals with the negative impact of major factors driving change in urban areas such as technical revolution, ecological threat and social transformation. A number of initiatives were put in place, including tax incentives, the lifting of some urban planning restrictions, as well as state incentives encouraging business and residents back into city centre areas. Redundant land, such as 17th and 18th-century canals and docks, railway yards and derelict industrial sites have often been the focus of regeneration 'urban renewal companies' and regional development agencies.

Outcomes

Large developments such as the London Docklands project have helped to encourage people back into the city, assisted by gentrification. The most common re-development is mixed use, with flats, townhouse and offices, often with public art and high-quality streetscapes. Derelict but attractive historical buildings have been converted into residential or commercial premises with generous grants or tax relief.

Urban renaissance in the United States

Many American cities have seen at least a modest bounce in interest in core cities and older neighborhoods in recent years with a special emphasis on condominium projects, often in formerly non-residential structures. In the United States, efforts to revitalise urban areas often involve ideas of downtown/city centre as an art and cultural hub or arts district, somewhat akin to Richard Florida's concept of making the urban core friendly to the Creative Class. City leaders may promote events such as First Friday art walks and the construction of convention centers and theatres in order to attract visitors who live in suburbs.

Many American cities have renaissance-themed agency and building, for example Detroit's Renaissance Center and Renaissance Board.

Criticism

In a 2008 report, the Policy Exchange think tank argued that policies to regenerate struggling cities over the previous ten, twenty, or even fifty years have failed - "we can’t buck economic geography... Places that enjoyed the conditions for creating wealth in the coal-powered 19th-century are often poorly positioned today. There is no realistic prospect that our regeneration towns and cities can converge with London and the South East. There is, however, a very real prospect of encouraging significant numbers of people to move from those towns to London and the South East." The report was criticised by a number of British politicians.

See also

Notes

  1. The beginnings of an urban renaissance? Recent migration flows into and out of English cities, as revealed in a new study, just may be the glimmerings of a new pro-urban movem...
  2. "The Regeneration Game". BBC News. 2003-11-05. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  3. Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 716. ISBN 978-0415862875.
  4. "Detroit Renaissance". Archived from the original on 2006-04-02. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  5. Leunig, Tim; Swaffield, James (2008-08-13). "Cities Unlimited: Making Urban Regeneration Work" (PDF). Policy Exchange. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  6. "Northern cities 'beyond revival'". BBC News. 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2008-08-13.

External links

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