Regeneration Projects Research Articles

Key Challenges and Strategies in the Evaluation of Sustainable Urban Regeneration Projects: Insights from a Systematic Literature Review

The rapid pace of urbanisation has heightened the need for sustainable urban regeneration projects on a global scale. These projects primarily aim to address the increasing demand for buildings and to cultivate liveable urban environments. Over the years, a substantial amount of data has been collected and analysed as a result of various urban regeneration efforts. These data indicate that the success of urban transformation is influenced by a wide range of interconnected factors rather than the mere creation of new areas to meet demand. The primary objective of this study is to carry out a comprehensive and systematic literature review that assesses the effectiveness of sustainable urban regeneration (SUR) projects. This review examines a range of existing factors, including policies, management practices, and economic considerations, while also highlighting frequently overlooked elements such as climate change. Moreover, the study investigates how these factors influence the success of SUR initiatives and seeks to identify their overall impact on the effectiveness of such projects. Specifically, it explores the common challenges encountered, the criteria for performance evaluation, and the strategies that lead to successful SUR projects while emphasising their interconnections. An in-depth assessment of urban regeneration projects is provided, focusing on performance indicators across multiple dimensions: social, cultural, economic, environmental, and physical. A novel organisation involving all stakeholders and addressing climate change is also proposed to ensure the success of the SUR projects. Lastly, the findings highlight existing gaps in the current literature, offering valuable insights for future research and identifying potential directions for further exploration.

Integrating the SDGs into Urban Regeneration: A Madrid Nuevo Norte Case Study Using an Adapted Voluntary Local Review Framework

While the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have emerged as the preeminent sustainability framework across various spatial scopes, the reporting and assessment of new urban developments and regeneration projects often remain tethered to sustainability frameworks that lack direct alignment with SDG targets. This paper proposes a framework to integrate SDG reporting within urban regeneration initiatives. This approach leverages existing resources, such as the Joint Research Center’s (JRC) European Handbook for SDG Voluntary Local Report (VLR) and UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Monitoring Framework (UMF), to report potential contributions towards SDG progress. The framework is validated through the case study of Madrid Nuevo Norte (MNN), one of the largest urban regeneration projects currently developed in Europe, located in the northern district of the Spanish capital and encompasses the regeneration of a 3.2 million square meter area. The methodology evaluates MNN potential contributions through a set of indicators based on input–output/outcome–impact framework to track the causal pathways arising from MNN activities. This paper presents an analysis of the methodological framework developed for the MNN SDG report during the project-planning phase, with a focus on evaluating the framework’s capacity to accurately estimate the project’s contributions to the SDGs.

The current state of Alex’s line in the Bohemian Shepherd Dog breed

The Bohemian Shepherd Dog is a Czech working dog breed of medium size with a long black and tan coat and characteristic ear shape. The dogs of this breed are friendly, trainable, and with no sign of nervousness. The population of this historic breed of dogs, known since the 13th century, was almost destroyed until 1984, when Jan Findejs and Dr. Vilém Kurz partnered to take the first steps to regenerate the breed. One of the sires used in the project was a sire named Alex. This study aimed to determine the state of Alex’s line (IV. line), and the number of descendant dogs born from 2021 until the first quarter of 2024. Used 13 years after the start of the breed regeneration project, and with only two breeding first-generation descendants, Alex’s line accounted for 2.7% of the population from the beginning in 1996 until 2008. In 2009 an expansion started, caused by three of his male descendants who sired more than 100 puppies each, resulting in Alex’s progeny accounting for 41.25% of all registered puppies from 2021 to 2024. Therefore, genetic testing before mating is now an essential measure to prevent genetic diseases in purebred dogs.

An Analysis of Architectural Characteristics of Durham & Gloucester Court Designed by Alison Brooks as a Sustainable Urban Regeneration Project

An Analysis of Architectural Characteristics of Durham & Gloucester Court Designed by Alison Brooks as a Sustainable Urban Regeneration Project

New Approaches for Regeneration of an Outstanding Baroque Living Heritage, the Széchenyi Linden Allée in Hungary

Allées used to be the essential artistic tools and indispensable parts of the strictly architectural, formal Baroque gardens. Beyond the practical purposes of edging paths and garden ways for walking, hunting, or horse and carriage riding, allées played a vital role in marking visual and landscape connections and thus the spatial projection of the noble estate, its wealth, and social rank. In Historical Hungary, Baroque architecture and garden art appeared in German-Austrian and French examples in the 18th century. The Széchenyi Linden Allée is an outstanding linear garden space of Baroque Garden art at Nagycenk, West Hungary. The generous composition, created by the prominent Count Széchenyi family in the mid-18th century, has remained a magnificent entity in the landscape ever since. Despite barely two hundred years of detected or unknown environmental or habitat changes, as early as 1942, the allée received a nature conservation nomination. More than a half-century later, in 2002, the allée became a historical and landscape aesthetical heritage within the Fertő-Hanság Cultural Landscape World Heritage site. Unfortunately, the once magnificent tree lines have severely eroded in recent decades due to mature trees’ subsequent death, inadequate replacement, lack of regular maintenance and tree care, and effects of climate change. In recent years (2011, 2018), landscape and horticultural analyses and visual and instrumental tree assessments were performed to help the conservation and rebirth of the allée, maintain the mature trees, and restore the landscape within a long-term renewal plan. Along with the 2018 survey and plan, the short-term maintenance works were completed in 2019–2020. This study, based on site surveys in 2022 and 2024, aims to identify the results of the primary management, analyses the vitality of mature trees after crown reductions, and then proposes a resilient and sustainable regeneration method with the habitat, cultural, natural, and genetic heritage, and the feasible maintenance contexts in focus. As proposed in the 2018 plan, the reproduction of mature trees started in 2020 and resulted in well-developing grafts for a later allée restoration. Due to the challenges of climate change, the regeneration project requires a special, long-term restoration management plan with a special focus on the still vital and possible remaining mature trees, the well-growing individuals from previous replanting, and the nursery school seedlings conserving the genetic heritage of the Széchenyi lime trees with long-viability capacity.

Critical Success Factors for Public–Private Partnerships in Urban Regeneration Projects

Public–Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements are used in different sectors in the provision of infrastructure and public services. The use of PPP agreements in urban regeneration projects, although more recent, has been gaining prominence in different contexts. However, in many cases, PPP projects have a controversial implementation, often not achieving the proposed objectives and presenting negative results. Their controversial implementation is the result of a lack of knowledge and lack of application of the best practices and Critical Success Factors (CSFs) associated with them. Based on this, the present study aims to identify and analyze the CSFs for PPP arrangements in urban regeneration projects. The study was conducted in two distinct parts. The first part consists of a literature review on the PPP CSFs in general. The second part consists of the development of a questionnaire seeking to identify the CSFs of PPP arrangements for urban regeneration projects. Based on the literature review and the questionnaire answers, the main success factors of PPP projects for urban regeneration were identified and structured in the framework with five main clusters: two related to the external environment (enabling environment and exogenous factors) and three related to the internal environment (preparation phase, procurement phase, and contract management phase).

Common values for common goods: a circular regeneration model for active citizenship

Regenerating cultural heritage implies adopting a systemic and multi-scalar approach capable of considering the characteristics and flows of relations between the different components of the system. The regeneration project can be a circular strategy to reconnect people and places, generating and regenerating material and immaterial values of cultural heritage as a ‘common good’. The research proposes a circular and participatory regeneration model, validated through an evaluative framework. It supports decision-making and assesses the multidimensional impacts of reuse, redevelopment, maintenance and management practices of the commons, at all stages of the recovery project, and with respect to emerging instances and criteria adopted in existing policies.

Towards the regeneration of mountain tourism territories. Insights from the Alta Valtellina Region

Since the 1960s, tourism development in mountain areas has significantly influenced territorial structures. The legacy of this development model is exacerbated by global crises, including climate change and sociocultural challenges that make mountain tourism territories much more fragile.Within this framework, the multifaceted dimensions of the crisis claim for a broader regeneration of these contexts based on a territorial, integrated and multi-disciplinary approach.Through the case of the Alta Valtellina Region in the Lombard Alps, the paper provides a methodology to measure, spatialize and represent the multiple challenges occurring in mountain tourism territories as a fundamental base to orient the regeneration project in these contexts.

Urban Livability Assessment in South Korea: Incorporating Climate Change Vulnerability

This study aims to develop an urban livability assessment index that incorporates climate change vulnerability and to apply this index to urban areas in South Korea, thereby analyzing the impact of climate change on living environments and quality of life. Existing frameworks for livability indices often fail to adequately reflect the long-term risks associated with climate change. Consequently, this research proposes a new livability index that includes climate change vulnerability, establishing a policy foundation aimed at protecting and enhancing the quality of life for urban residents. The methodology integrates existing livability indicators with climate change vulnerability indicators across 219 cities and districts in South Korea. Utilizing panel regression analysis and Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) analysis, the study evaluates the spatial clustering characteristics and potential risks in each area. The results indicate that urban infrastructure significantly influences livability, with climate change vulnerability indicators forming high clusters primarily in southern regions. Furthermore, the study confirms economic disparities within the metropolitan area, as well as the exacerbation of social inequalities in regions vulnerable to disaster safety and social services. This research underscores the necessity of integrating climate change vulnerability into livability indices, suggesting that such indices can serve as critical criteria for urban policy formulation and the evaluation of regeneration projects.

Using health evidence to influence healthier urban development: a qualitative evaluation of a researcher–practitioner collaboration

ABSTRACT Despite evidence showing health impacts associated with environmental features such as housing, air quality, transport, and greenspaces, urban development decisions often result in less healthy environments. To address research-practice gaps we explore a collaboration involving an embedded researcher who bridged between urban development practitioners and researchers on a UK local government-led regeneration project. This facilitated development and implementation of a new health economic model that demonstrated the health impacts of changes to the built environment. We shared evidence at multiple timepoints to influence decision-making for a regeneration framework. Evaluation of this approach involved analysis of semi-structured interviews with key practitioners, alongside project meeting notes and embedded researcher field notes. We found that the academic-practitioner partnership, enabled by the embedded researcher, helped academics understand a complex system, and provided contextually relevant evidence for practitioners to highlight problems; support good/aspirational solutions; and consider trade-offs. Academic-practitioner collaborations can help develop and implement impactful interventions to tackle important, and complex, health challenges associated with the built environment. Understanding how evidence may be useful for different purposes can help to implement its use more effectively, and translate it for different audiences.

From Port Misery to Post-Misery? Spectral-geographies and exorcising ‘ghosts’ in Port Adelaide

Through an interpretivist and hauntological approach, our study explores how self-guided ghost walks use ‘spectral-geographies’ to reconcile problematic colonial histories while simultaneously supporting urban regeneration goals. To achieve this, Port Adelaide was selected as our study context. Port Adelaide, founded in 1837 as the Crown Colony of South Australia’s first port, was quickly plagued with numerous challenges, earning it the colloquial title of ‘Port Misery’. While its fortunes waxed and waned over the decades, the port fell out of use in 1970 and quickly plunged into disarray, characterised by abandoned shopfronts, derelict buildings and social malaise, subsequently resurrecting its ‘Port Misery’ epithet. To reverse its misfortune, a series of state-led and public-private regeneration projects were initiated from the 1970s, however, each ultimately ended in failure. Despite this, another ambitious 15-year renewal plan was launched in 2012 where the spectre of decline is interred by redevelopment visions inspiriting the Port’s maritime history and heritage. While Port Adelaide may be haunted by its dark colonial history and repeated failings to regenerate, paradoxically, the government-sanctioned ghost tour narratives, may in fact exorcise its past as ‘Port Misery’ and positively inform goals to develop the Port as a progressive and innovative ‘Post-Misery’ place.

Neighbourhood Change, Deprivation, Peripherality, and Ageing in the Yorkshire Coalfield

Low‐income neighbourhoods in contemporary England continue to be buffeted by roiling economic inequalities and social policy absences. Long‐term residents have a unique perspective on this socio‐spatial stress. This article zooms in to examine the condition of one spatial manifestation of these broader forces: peripheral council/public housing estates in the deindustrialised North of England—in this case the ex‐coalfields of West Yorkshire. Neighbourhood conditions are seen through the eyes of residents aged between 60 and 85 years. The article explores their accounts of the local economic, social, and political changes which have interlaced their experiences of work, community, and place over six decades. It also examines how irregular regeneration projects, emergency initiatives and local organising have tried to address and ameliorate structural marginalisation in recent years, not least during the Covid pandemic. The article provides a historically contingent account of contemporary socio‐spatial stress, one that emphasises the significance of long‐term residence and feelings of not only loss and nostalgia, but hopeful and resilient attachments to place.

Performance analysis of a molten salt packed-bed thermal energy storage system using three different waste materials

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is a critical technology for the renewable energy transition, offering high power output at elevated temperatures. However, further integration of CSP plants requires a reduction in investment costs. This study investigates the use of cost-effective, sustainable, waste-based TES materials—such as Electric Arc Furnace Black Slag (BS) and Tundish (TN) from the steel industry, as well as Demolition Waste (DW) from urban regeneration projects—as packing materials in TES systems to reduce the capital expenditure of CSP plants. A One-Dimensional Continuous Solid Phase (1D-2P) model was employed to evaluate and compare the performance of DW, TN, and BS. The results revealed that all materials demonstrated comparable properties, with TN exhibiting the highest energy storage capacity (44.7 kWh) and energy storage density (296 kWh/m³). With high utilization rates of 73–75 %, waste-based TES systems show strong potential for application in CSP plants. The TES systems were scaled for a 110 MW CSP plant, which currently operates with a 2-tank molten salt TES system providing 4648.4 MWh of storage capacity. TN required the smallest storage volume of 22,273 m³ for the 110 MW CSP plant. The reduction of molten salt usage by up to 31,000 tons in the waste-based packed-bed TES system could significantly enhance the economic feasibility of CSP plants.

URBAN REGENERATION AND PUBLIC SPACE: LESSONS ON EARLY INTERVENTION OF COMMUNITY-BASED MICRO-PLANNING

Documenting lessons learned from revitalization projects through community-based micro-planning is crucial in developing countries, as it lacks mainstream urban regeneration recognition. This research aimed to evaluate the early intervention of community gardening or urban farming initiatives under an urban regeneration project: the Special Area Action Plan Section 13, Petaling Jaya City, Malaysia. This single case study was investigated using the mixed-methods approach. In the quantitative approach, 200 samples were collected via questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics. In the qualitative approach, eight interviews were conducted and analyzed via thematic analysis. The findings show that the respondents are sceptical about the awareness, safety infrastructure and support services, caretaker, and land ownership concerns surrounding the proposal for community gardening at the Sungai Penchala monsoon drain area. When revitalizing left-over urban public spaces, authorities are recommended to plan more awareness intervention campaigns, enhance safety infrastructure designs, provide policy support in appointing caretakers, and resolve land acquisition matters to realize and sustain the regeneration projects in the public interest. This study contributes lessons learned by auditing the early intervention urban regeneration initiatives in development plans, particularly in fourth-tier-community-based micro-planning in a developing country.

URBAN REGENERATION OF LARGE HOUSING ESTATES THROUGH THE HQE²R APPROACH – CASE OF BAB EZZOUAR (ALGIERS)

This article aims to adapt HQE²R approach to the Algerian “large housing estates”, through urban regeneration as a catch-up project. These neighborhoods constitute today a large stock of housing, mostly in decay, which deserves to be renewed. Nevertheless, they remain desirable neighborhoods due to their strategic urban location. The methodology consists of establishing a shared diagnosis model of sustainable development called HQDIL for detailed description of ZHUN Soummam according to urban actors, then an SD indicators assessment model called INDI as a decision support tool for the benefit of local authorities and their partners. In our study, we opted for INDI-2012 repository as a new operational tool which makes it possible to produce sustainability profiles through 127 composite indicators and 234 secondary indicators, first of all for an initial diagnosis, then by drawing up a potential scenario which describes the contribution of the urban regeneration project to improving the quality of life. Perceived visually, the neighborhood’s critical state with regard to the SD objectives was confirmed following the results of the assessment by themes, especially the indicators dealing with the quality of life of the inhabitants. The potential scenario for the urban regeneration project showed a very satisfying sustainability profile, if an action plan were to be implemented. The scenario showed a significant improvement in the neighborhood’s level of sustainability of 47% compared to the initial situation. This study promises to lead to a sustainable transformation of large housing estates in Bab Ezzouar thanks to shared challenges and proactive policies.

The Impact of Urban Regeneration and Environmental Improvements on Well-Being

Urban areas worldwide are grappling with significant challenges, including rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and socio-economic disparities. In response, urban regeneration has emerged as a vital strategy aimed at revitalizing declining neighborhoods and enhancing residents' quality of life. This paper investigates the complex relationship between urban regeneration, environmental improvements, and residents' well-being, which encompasses physical health, mental health, social connections, and overall life satisfaction. By synthesizing existing literature, the paper highlights how initiatives such as the creation of green spaces and sustainable urban design positively influence residents' well-being. Furthermore, it explores case studies, including the High Line in New York City and the London Docklands, illustrating the benefits of integrating environmental considerations into regeneration efforts. The findings reveal that while urban regeneration projects can lead to significant improvements in well-being, challenges such as gentrification and equitable access must be addressed. The paper concludes by identifying gaps in the current literature and suggesting areas for future research, ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of the interplay between urban regeneration, environmental enhancements, and well-being.

Informal participation in digital planning: How can third parties use social media to shift power relations in planning?

In recent years, social media has become an influential tool for engaging various participants and facilitating inclusivity in digital planning. While many studies highlight local governments' use of social media for formal participation, limited research assesses its impact on power dynamics in informal participation. This study aims to fill the gap by identifying key features of social media that facilitate informal participation and applying Castells' four forms of network power to understand power dynamics among civil society, journalism, citizens, and governments in planning processes. It also develops a novel mixed-methods approach that combines social media scraping, social network analysis (SNA), semi-structured interviews, and field observation. This approach is applied to investigate the Enning Road regeneration project in Guangzhou as a case study. Analyzing data from China's Weibo, the study reveals network disputes across three dimensions: graph, community, and network statistics. Hyperlink-Induced Topic Search (HITS) and community detection results suggest that civil society and journalism have substantial networked power as they strategically utilize social media to promote collaboration, mobilize citizens, and foster communities. They also excise network-making power by switching online and offline networks, thereby transmitting online debate to a wide range of audiences and compelling local governments to shift planning priorities from demolitions to preservation.

Residents’ decision-making in urban regeneration: consent and coercion in Çorum, Turkey’s Kale neighbourhood

ABSTRACT Urban regeneration in Turkey affects residents in diverse ways. However, research on their decision-making regarding urban regeneration projects is limited, making it challenging to address their concerns. Using the case of Çorum’s Kale neighbourhood, this study examined residents’ decision-making in Turkey’s urban regeneration projects and the Turkish government’s role in shaping their decisions through a Gramscian theoretical framework. Relevant project documents and newspapers, interviews, field observations, photographic documentation, and Tillmann-Healy’s (2003) ‘friendship as method’ were used to acquire data for this investigation. The central issue causing residents to reject urban regeneration is the absence of economic advantages, which involves undervaluing their existing properties, reselling newly constructed, relatively smaller units at higher prices, and indebting them with substantial mortgages. This study contributes to the literature by presenting a nuanced analysis of decision-making regarding urban regeneration in a highly polarized and contentious context and an understudied, peripheral region in Turkey.

Analyzing the Spatial Factors and Characteristics of Urban Regeneration Projects of Haebangchon Sinheung Market: From the Perspective of Henri Lefebvre’s Spatial Triad

Analyzing the Spatial Factors and Characteristics of Urban Regeneration Projects of Haebangchon Sinheung Market: From the Perspective of Henri Lefebvre’s Spatial Triad

Transforming Urban Space: The Success of Sustainable Regeneration in Speirs Locks

This paper examines the Speirs Locks area regeneration project in Glasgow, focusing on the implementation of a sustainable and inclusive master plan aimed at revitalising the canal area. The study explores the strategic integration of urban planning principles, stakeholder engagement and environmental sustainability in the redevelopment process. Through qualitative analysis and case study methods, the research highlights the project's successes and challenges, particularly in improving the social, economic, and environmental conditions in the area. The findings show that despite facing physical and infrastructural constraints, the regeneration project has significantly improved the quality of life of the local community and set an example for future urban redevelopment initiatives.