The contribution and potential of town centre management for regeneration: Shifting its focus from 'management' to 'regeneration'

Abstract

Following the rapid growth throughout the UK in adopting the concept of town centre management (TCM) over the last few decades, TCM has made a dramatic shift from its original 'janitorial' (managerial) function to a more strategic role in the regeneration of public space as well as the rebranding of town centres. Much of the recent research literature has highlighted TCM's effectiveness when judged against the intentions as those of recent regeneration programmes. Place marketing, retail and leisure development, surveillance measures and evening and night-time economies are all activities that involve TCM partnerships and initiatives. Consumption-based economic revitalisation and physical upgrading alone, however, are not sufficient for identifying the potential contribution of TCM within broader urban regeneration agendas. This paper examines the capacity of TCM to contribute towards the social as well as the economic and physical enhancement of local places and communities – that is, beyond its generall...