Urban Regeneration and Transport Investment: A Case Study of Sheffield 1992-96

Abstract

There has been little work exploring the impact of transport investment on economic regeneration at the urban scale. This lack of attention is in part related to theoretical inadequacies and methodological difficulties, not least the separating out and attribution of effects. Such issues were addressed by a major empirical study conducted in Sheffield during the early 1990s. This paper outlines the research methods adopted, which involved breaking down impacts into five thematic areas (image; property; land use; business location and operations; and labour market), and exploring the different mechanisms whereby effects might have become apparent in each. The findings from each of the themes are briefly summarised, the overall conclusion being that, in current circumstances, the impact of transport investment on regeneration is not particularly strong. In a broader policy context, however, the study also pointed to the improbability of securing regeneration benefits from transport infrastructure, given the lack of co-ordination and integration between the two policy areas, and the increasingly fragmented nature of urban governance in general.