Urban Regeneration Initiatives Research Articles

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.

Evaluating social sustainability of urban regeneration in historic urban areas in China: The case of Xi'an

Urban regeneration involves a highly contested process of social transformation. Examples from China have shown that this process has led to poor social sustainability. Previous studies have not adequately addressed the issue of poor social sustainability. This study aims to address this gap by developing a set of valid and reliable performance indicators for assessing the social sustainability of urban regeneration initiatives in China's Historic Urban Areas (HUAs). Through an extensive literature review and a Delphi survey, critical social sustainability factors facilitating urban regeneration were identified. An assessment tool was subsequently proposed, comprising eight themes, 29 indicators, and a corresponding point-scoring system. Finally, Xi'an was selected as a case study to apply and test the applicability of the tool and to evaluate social sustainability performance to further explore improvement strategies. The results show that adequate housing, housing quality, participation in regeneration initiatives, and safe design were the most critical indicators determining the social sustainability of urban regeneration. Additionally, the results reveal indicators with limited contribution to achieving social sustainability in Xi'an. The research findings have policy implications for pushing socially sustainable urban regeneration initiatives in China.

ASSESSING CONSERVATION APPROACHES FOR SUSTAINING HERITAGE BUILDINGS: A CASE STUDY OF IPOH OLD TOWN, PERAK, MALAYSIA

The worldwide emphasis on heritage building conservation has become one of the strategies to effectively conserve the values of heritage buildings and preserve their historic significance. Heritage buildings, acknowledged as vital assets for local development, particularly in the realm of tourism and cultural enrichment, require conservation efforts aligned with urban regeneration initiatives. Despite these international efforts, challenges persist in implementing effective conservation strategies, resulting in continuing deterioration. Therefore, a better understanding of the approach needed to conserve heritage building is important for its long-term sustainability. This qualitative study, involving site observation and semi-structured interviews with the Ipoh City Council and caretakers of selected heritage buildings, focuses on Ipoh Old Town as a case study as it is a historical area abundant in heritage and cultural elements. The findings highlight preservation and rehabilitation as prevalent conservation approaches, while restoration poses notable challenges in sustaining heritage buildings in Ipoh Old Town.

Community‐based participatory research for urban regeneration: Bridging the dichotomies through the exp‐EIA method

AbstractUrban environment design profoundly influences citizens' health and well‐being. Despite the aim of urban regeneration initiatives to enhance community well‐being and social connections, they often struggle to ensure a balance of power among stakeholders, effectively involve citizens, and accurately assess subjective urban experiences. New methodological approaches in community‐based participatory research (CBPR) are advocated to facilitate interactions among social actors and overcome the digital versus real dichotomy. This article introduces the Experiential Environmental Impact Assessment (exp‐EIA) method as a novel research and intervention tool to address these challenges. Grounded in psychology, exp‐EIA aims to integrate emotional, cognitive, and community identity dimensions to capture the nuanced experiences of urban environments. Through digital data collection and visualization tools, exp‐EIA could facilitate participatory decision‐making processes across various stages of urban regeneration projects. Furthermore, its adaptability enables significant integration with existing participatory methods, fostering inclusive engagement and innovative design solutions. The theoretical framework of exp‐EIA, its application in CBPR, and its potential to bridge the gap between technological innovation and citizen engagement in urban regeneration processes are discussed. A blended case study conducted in the metropolitan area of Milan (Italy) is presented, highlighting a promising pathway towards more inclusive and effective approaches to community revitalization.

Seasonal variations in city color preferences incorporating sex and age factors

ABSTRACT City color, serving as a pivotal element within the urban landscape, has garnered significant scholarly attention. Numerous cities have diligently instituted city color planning initiatives to enhance urban landscapes and cultivate city images. The color preference of citizens serves as a crucial foundation for the systematic development of city color planning. Nevertheless, the dynamic aspect of city color preferences is frequently neglected in previous research. Therefore, this article examined seasonal variations in city color preferences using Busan Metropolitan City, South Korea, as an illustrative case. Data collected through a questionnaire survey underwent statistical analyses, including the chi-square test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and multiple logistic regression, to investigate the influence of seasons on city color preference. The findings revealed that seasons primarily impact the hue preferences in city colors, rather than brightness and chroma preferences. Furthermore, sex and age factors were introduced, and the Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel (CMH) test was employed to identify demographic groups exhibiting seasonal variations in city color preferences. The analysis disclosed noteworthy seasonal disparities in city color preference, particularly among middle-aged and elderly males, who exhibited a significant decrease in preference for yellow and a notable increase in preference for green during winter compared to summer. The outcomes of this study provide valuable insights for informing city color planning. Additionally, the distinctive city color preferences observed among different demographic groups can be effectively applied in urban regeneration initiatives, thereby contributing to human well-being.

Multicriteria-decision support for master plan scheduling: urban regeneration of an industrial area in Northern Italy

Urban regeneration programs involve a series of intricate activities that utilize human, material, and financial resources, executed at varying times and in diverse manners. Within this complex scenario, a major challenge lies in effectively managing concurrent developments across multiple buildings and infrastructure projects, while also harmonizing the interests of all parties engaged in urban regeneration initiatives. This paper introduces a multi-step strategy designed to enhance and streamline urban management amid the multifaceted decision-making processes characteristic of urban regeneration efforts. Specifically, the multi-criteria decision-making model ELECTRE TRI-B is employed to sort the array of basic tasks within a complex transformation endeavor into priority groups based on various evaluative criteria. To ascertain the significance of these criteria and rank each task according to the interests of the stakeholders likely to be impacted, a panel of specialists, including construction experts, economists, and environmental assessors, is convened. Following this, project actions are organized in a Gantt chart reflecting the construction priority determined by the evaluation model. This approach facilitated the temporal organization of master plan activities, incorporating insights from a broad spectrum of experts including municipal technical staff, professionals, and the community at large. The findings indicate that this comprehensive and interactive approach to performance measurement enabled the handling of extensive datasets and the refinement of financial, economic, environmental, and social resources, all while adhering to logical constraints and urban policy demands.

Innovating the Local Plan through Co-Creation and the Public Sociology Approach toward Urban Regeneration: An Italian Case Study

This paper examines the role of social research and communication methodologies in fostering substantive democratic participation and policy co-production within the context of urban regeneration initiatives anchored in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This research critically analyzes the “becoming public” of sociology and social research in participatory design processes related to traditional urban planning instruments at the local scale (Regulatory Plans) in the Italian context, specifically through the case study of the Municipality of Appignano. It questions the role of sociology in activating a competent public sphere and promoting deliberative democracy at urban and territorial design levels and whether we can identify the traits of public sociology in facilitating the different stages of these processes. This paper details a participatory process in Appignano that sought to innovate urban regeneration within complex legislative frameworks, emphasizing community engagement and interdisciplinary approaches. The findings reveal a community actively participating in the regeneration process, demonstrating a high level of agreement on various urban development strategies aimed at sustainability. This study underscores the capacity of public sociology to facilitate public debate and democratic dialogue and suggests that such participatory approaches can significantly contribute to sustainable and resilient urban development, highlighting the potential of sociology as a moral and political force in urban planning.

They Like to Do It in Public: A Quantitative Analysis of Culture-Led Regeneration Projects in ITALY

This paper presents and discusses a quantitative analysis of culture-led urban regeneration initiatives in Italy. It draws on a database of projects built using the filter of the national funding schemes launched between 2012 and 2018. The main objective of the research is to build an overview of the phenomenon of culture-based urban regeneration in Italy, recognizing common trends and recurring dynamics. The projects in the database are analyzed quantitatively on the basis of 28 attributes, taking into consideration different aspects such as the projects’ localization, the typology, dimension and ownership of the spatial assets mobilized, the relationship with public policies, and the scale of actors and networks involved in the projects. The findings show that culture-led regeneration initiatives “like to do it in public”; namely, to achieve their objectives—to “do culture”—they seek to connect with the public sector to receive forms of economic, material, and organizational support, such as public spaces in which to host their activities. Therefore, the interaction with the public administration is interpreted as the sine qua non condition for the success of culture-led urban regeneration initiatives and to ensure that these are able to generate strong and durable impacts on the revitalization and regeneration of distressed urban neighborhoods.

DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE URBAN REGENERATION (SUR) EVALUATION METHOD FOR THE MALAYSIAN CONTEXT

Sustainable urban regeneration (SUR) represents an advanced and comprehensive approach to urban regeneration, aiming to integrate the three key pillars of sustainable development. While various global framework exist for measuring sustainable urban regeneration performance, a dedicated method tailored to the specificities of the Malaysian context remains absent. This study addresses this gap by developing SUR evaluation method for Malaysia, utilising indicators as a means to gauge sustainability performance. A self-administered questionnaire was employed to solicit assessments from key experts regarding potential SUR criteria and indicators. The resulting data were analysed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to establish weightage based on priority scales. Results from the study identified ten (10) fundamental criteria and thirty-three (33) indicators, each assigned respective weightage, pivotal in achieving sustainable urban regeneration. This study contributes to the improvement of sustainability performance of urban regeneration initiatives in Malaysia by introducing a novel evaluation method. As a way forward, it is recommended that the practicality and capability of the proposed evaluation method be assessed through real-life case study in Malaysia.

범죄율 감소를 위한 도시재생 계획기법 연구

Urban regeneration plays a pivotal role in enhancing urban safety and residents' quality of life while being closely linked to reducing urban crime rates through transformative changes in city spaces. The improvement of infrastructure, parks, and public facilities connected to residential areas has a profound impact on addressing urban crime issues within communities.
 This study focuses on Mitte, a district in the German capital Berlin, where successful crime rate reduction was achieved through urban regeneration initiatives in high-crime areas. The research conducts a comprehensive case analysis of urban regeneration plans and strategies to identify the specific attributes contributing to crime reduction and the strategic approaches used for crime prevention environment design. The analysis of Mitte's Leopolaplatz area reveals two distinct features of crime prevention environment design implemented through urban regeneration: physical space rejuvenation and enhanced social integration. The rejuvenation of physical spaces involves a clear distinction between private and public areas. The findings of the analysis are as follows: Firstly, urban regeneration of private spaces results in an improvement in residents' sense of ownership and increased surveillance. Secondly, the regeneration of public spaces strengthens their identity and image, promoting a more organic form of surveillance. Lastly, the physical urban regeneration of both private and public spaces contributes to a safer urban environment. The implementation of community strengthening programs further enhances community cohesion.

Financial MODELS for the Effectiveness of Urban Regeneration Initiatives

With reference to the urban regeneration interventions issue, in the present research an innovative model for the ex-ante financial verification of the projects is proposed. The model starts from the logic underlying the Break-Even Analysis (BEA) and modifies some of its starting hypotheses that in specific situations are inconsistent with the real market mechanisms. In this sense, in the paper, the explanation of the proposed innovative model hypotheses is carried out and the comparison with those ordinarily used in the BEA is developed. In particular, the linearity of total revenues and total costs, including in the classic version of the BEA, is not considered among the assumptions of the innovative model, and new parameters are defined. The proposed model can represent an evaluation tool to support the decision-making processes for the private and public operators’ investment choices, able to rapidly analyze the financial feasibility of the initiatives to be implemented on the territory. The outputs obtained from the application of the assessment model can guide the determination and the selection of the interventions to be developed and, integrated with more detailed evaluation analysis, can promote a successful cooperation between the public entities and the private investors for effective city development.

Institutional Collective Actions for Culture and Heritage-Led Urban Regeneration: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Institutional collective actions (ICAs) provide a fascinating framework for comprehending collaborative urban initiatives. We defined ICAs as groups of people and organizations working together to promote a shared goal they could not pursue on their own. This study provides an empirical justification of why particular characteristics support the success of ICAs and why others fail. We restrict our analysis to culture-and-heritage-led urban regeneration initiatives and analyze the combinations of conditions under which these initiatives achieve their objectives. Adopting an integrated strategy, we studied prerequisites and critical elements that affect the success of collaborative actions, such as entrepreneurship, the enabling role of institutional capacity, multi-stakeholder involvement, and co-governance. Therefore, we compared sixteen culture-and-heritage-led urban regeneration initiatives in Europe as examples of ICAs in the urban context. We utilized fsQCA, fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, as a method that enabled us to define the configurations (combinations of factors) that determine the performances of urban regeneration actions. The results demonstrate that a variety of elements are necessary for developing collaborative initiatives and that three different recipes can be developed. In addition, this study contributes to the body of knowledge on institutional collective actions in two ways: (1) by providing empirical evidence of why specific conditions need to be considered when developing collective actions and (2) by showing how specific conditions interact and explain the performance of ICAs.

Urban regeneration wheel: A practical tool for creating sustainable, thriving communities

The paper proposes a five-step effective method for creating sustainable, thriving urban communities, from sky-is-the-limit creative mapping to polished final execution. The underlying belief is that although every urban area is different, the use of the proposed method enables, under certain circumstances, the creation of favourable conditions for sustainable and shared prosperity. Drawing from the author’s two decades of high-profile experience as an urban regeneration expert, the paper offers comments and thoughts on each step, sharing some key lessons learned from real-life project examples. It shows how to identify a community’s unique strengths and competitive advantages, as well as the needs, motivations, inequalities and weaknesses that can be fundamental ingredients for crafting a strong vision for its future. It also proposes how to ensure communities have real purpose and how a collaborative approach can deliver lasting tangible benefits in all contexts — physical, social and economic — and generate places where people are happy to build their lives. Finally, it touches on how to break silos, dissipate political resistance, and disrupt unproductive decision-making structures and traditionally inefficient procedures, for creating sustainable shared value. One of the crucial aspects highlighted is that the proposed method must be intended not as a process with a beginning and an end, but rather a continuous iterative long-term effort aimed at achieving and maintaining a virtuous condition. The implication is that, as the context continues to change over time, it is necessary to create the conditions for ‘strategic urban agility’. This requires the adoption of a culture of flexibility in all regulatory, planning, design, construction and operational dimensions of an urban regeneration initiative.

A political concept for the Gragnano Valley of Mills (Valle dei Mulini). Urban redevelopment of cultural-industrial heritage

<abstract> <p>The scholarly community has been paying more attention to the issue of the revitalization of the historical conservation of cities and their alteration in the wake of Southern Italy's growing urbanization. Experts and scholars are beginning to understand the need for collaborative urban regeneration initiatives, protecting historical and cultural elements, upholding cultural identities, and establishing development districts. The Valley of the Mills of Gragnano, the subject of the proposed case study, is a complex issue that requires the consideration of several factors in addition to urban regeneration. These factors include the need to identify a system of multiple actions to regenerate the area, considering the current requirements for mitigating environmental risk in areas with cultural heritage, and suggesting monitoring and public participation actions for preservation. The complexity of the Valley of the Mills renovation is understood; it goes beyond the simple structural and architectural restoration of the buildings. In other cities similar to Gragnano where industrial, historical archeology and naturalistic significance run the risk of adversely affecting an extremely significant area from a historical and cultural perspective due to naturalistic and anthropogenic impacts, the article's goal is to present the case study of Gragnano as an example of a sustainable and moral urban renewal strategy. This research work aims to be proposed as a policy development guide for policy makers at local and regional levels for the development of the area.</p> </abstract>

Planning for change, long term: The 100-year plan

This article draws on the place-based practice as research work of Associate Professor Anna Francis, to consider an alternative model for developing long-term approaches to creative community development. Francis’s research into the effects of having professional arts practitioners facilitate public-participatory art within community development and urban regeneration initiatives has led to specific types of impact: fostering community development and cohesion in underprivileged areas of Stoke-on-Trent; influencing local government policy; and developing new initiatives and cultures in social arts organisations. A key part of that work has focused on the development of The Portland Inn Project since 2015, a creative artist and community led regeneration initiative, in a deprived area of Stoke-on-Trent, supporting community members to make positive change and development, via an embedded and varied arts development programme. Since 2021, The Portland Inn Project has developed thinking and action around the development of a Community Led 100-year plan for the neighbourhood. The 100-year plan borrows from landscape architecture and design thinking to empower communities, funders and policy makers to resist short-term project-based thinking, and to begin to think more holistically and sustainably, which can have significant benefits, socially, politically and environmentally.

THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK TO INTEGRATE SUSTAINABILITY IN URBAN REGENERATION INITIATIVES

Urban regeneration has become an essential spatial strategy to resolve urban decay issues in many countries and regions which is in line with the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to build sustainable cities and communities worldwide. Although urban regeneration is the desired solution for deprived cities, not all are successful in following the sustainable development path as more emphasis is on economic objectives over the environment and social sustainability. Thus, this study presents the conceptual framework that integrates sustainable development aspirations in the urban regeneration practice as the way forward. A qualitative method (content analysis approach) is adopted in this study by reviewing current and past studies on sustainable urban regeneration, using Mendeley as the search engine and ATLAS.ti for analysing. Findings from the literature review identified fundamental criteria and indicators of sustainable urban regeneration according to the three dimensions of sustainable development. A strategic approach to achieving sustainable urban regeneration is also identified which indicates that planning and social sub-systems are the crucial components or the enablers that integrate sustainability in urban regeneration initiatives. This study concluded that urban regeneration could be the solution to resolve urban decay and build sustainable cities if the town planning and social sub-system are incorporated appropriately within the sustainable urban regeneration framework.

Follow the River: City Regeneration in Tension as Works of Water

The article looks at some examples of the urban regeneration strategies and initiatives in Medellín, Colombia. Being part of the process of regeneration of the country after the decades of the armed conflict the initiatives transform the city at least by creating the discourse that facilitates the social change in the city. The ontological proposal of feminist more-than-humanism focusing on materiality of water, particularly its rhizomatic connectivity, allows rethinking the concept of the city and its regeneration as generation of the inclusive space that provides habitat and life for anyone who wants to live in, around, through, and with the city. The revised initiatives are symbolically divided into two groups: water plans of connection-fragmentation policy and traces of water—mostly grassroots connectivity in response to the dominating power structures. They are not uniform groups and are the products/processes of tension between opposite tendencies. Creative tension is works of water. Water looks at limitations as at the opportunity to create the new. Its regeneration is not re- but generation of the inclusive habitat that provides life for anyone who wants to live in, around, through, and with the city.

The social injustice of urban regeneration initiatives in the Johannesburg inner city

Urban regeneration and gentrification typically engender a situation of ‘winners’ (such as developers and those benefiting from a process of gentrification) and ‘losers’ (the marginalised and/or displaced). Those who are displaced can become (more) vulnerable and experience homelessness and loss of social capital and all manner of livelihood and psychological insecurity. The aim of this paper is to report on the experiences of gentrification and the social injustices perpetrated by post-apartheid urban regeneration initiatives in Maboneng, a precinct of the Johannesburg inner city. Building and neighbourhood upgrades in Maboneng favoured the newly resident ‘creative class’, while reducing the availability of affordable housing in Jeppestown. By means of a phenomenological investigation, a limited number of respondents in and around Maboneng (who were identified by purposive and snowball sampling) were interviewed. Primary and secondary data was then analysed thematically, in terms of social justice and right to the city conceptual frameworks. The key findings indicate that low-income residents experienced displacement due to gentrification and this led to them losing supportive social and economic networks. This stimulated adaptive strategies and those who remained in the neighbourhood proved to be both socially and economically resilient in the face of regeneration. Additionally, it was found that the ‘winners’ were not outright ‘winners’ and they themselves experienced forms of ‘regenerational turbulence’.

Applying a Place Making Sustainable Centres Framework to Transit Activated Corridors in Australian cities

The future ability of urban centres in Australia and around the globe to adapt and respond to big challenges of climate change, economic development, and social inclusion, will depend on how well we integrate and embed them within these built environments. Such a complex agenda presents a major collective challenge for designers, planners and engineers to address with politicians, developers, financiers and community leaders. Refocusing design requires collaborative processes and co-creation in a design space currently dominated by siloed approaches to traffic management, transport planning, precinct design and engineering, architecture and landscaping. With the aim of bridging these silos, an interdisciplinary research team has synthesised and then applied a set of principles of design to a range of development scenarios with the aim of delivering sustainable urban centre outcomes. This paper uses the lens of the Theory of Urban Fabrics to present a place making Sustainable Centres Framework created by the authors, comprising 7 principles and 21 associated practices of design. This formed a critical first step for a national sustainable centres research project underway at the time. The paper then presents the findings of a two-phase investigative study to apply the framework to four place-oriented urban regeneration initiatives (i.e. case study sites) that were endeavouring to enable transit activated corridors with local micro-mobility linkages, in Townsville, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The first phase of the study comprised a desk-based application of the Sustainable Centres Framework to the four sample urban fabric types observed the case study locations. The second phase involved detailed sense-checking of the framework in the one of the case study locations (Townsville), through stakeholder workshops. The findings provide insights into opportunities and considerations for managing the complexity of urban regeneration projects. The authors discuss the potential for the Framework to inform planning tools and decision support tools, and opportunities to further refine the Framework.

Heritage-Led Urban Regeneration in the Context of WH Listing: Lessons and Opportunities for the Newly Inscribed City of As-Salt in Jordan

The nomination of a city on the UNESCO WHL is usually followed by urban regeneration with emphasis on tourism development and the OUV assigned to the city. In doing so, other heritage values are likely to be excluded, while new urban challenges are unintentionally triggered such as gentrification, touristification, social exclusion, amongst others. Following the recent inscription of As-Salt City in Jordan on the UNESCO WHL in July 2021, this paper traces the urban regeneration initiatives in the city from the first attempt of its nomination on the WHL in 2014 to its inscription in 2021. Based on a survey of the local community members’ perceptions and priorities, conducted in November 2020, the paper highlights the opportunities and the challenges that have resulted from the urban transformations triggered by the WHL nomination processes of As-Salt. In addition, key lessons are drawn from the urban regeneration trajectories of world heritage cities in the MENA region that have been on the WHL for a number of decades. These lessons combined with the result of As-Salt community survey are used to develop a list of prioritized short, medium, and long-term recommendations for the city of As-Salt to address how the urban regeneration practices that have already started can be nudged to change to more sustainable trajectories.