Economic component interactions between projects in urban regeneration plans: A network theory framework for plan quality evaluation applied to three French metropolitan cities in Normandy

Abstract

The evaluation of urban regeneration plan quality is a key issue for scholars and practitioners who are searching for a good urban regeneration plan. While a regeneration plan is intuitively perceived as a bundle of different rationally selected projects, there is no indication of the degree of interrelations and differences among projects in the literature. This study addresses those interactions in the economic development dimension and highlights the implicit economic component networking framework embedded in a plan's “vision.” Using urban economic development theory and the quality plan evaluation method, any project in a plan is classified according to its main urban economic purpose, servicing the “base” approach, fostering “agglomeration” economies, or promoting “clusters” between firms. The presented methodology is upward on a coding process assisted by word counting and downward on a network analysis from which the plan networking pattern is built. The method is applied to three neighboring Norman cities in France, Caen, Le Havre, and Rouen, each of which was involved in its own regeneration programs between 2006 and 2013. The projections of the economic path performances during 2013–2017 stressed the networking approach's accuracy and interest using indicators related to the three urban economic components.