The study aims to investigate how urban regeneration projects contribute to achieving sustainable development through an intellectual capital (IC) perspective for driving growth within urban communities and improving quality of life. Literature has shown that urban regeneration projects help support urban change. The IC helps drive sustainable development and competitiveness of regions, cities and communities. Urban regeneration projects contribute to better quality of life and drive social and economic renewal of urban communities. This exploratory study proposes a research framework addressed to join urban regeneration projects with IC view on cities and urban communities. This paper can contribute to the extant literature focused on the relationship between urban regeneration processes and the role of intellectual capital as driver of sustainable development. This qualitative study, using a multiple case study methodology, provides a comparative analysis of two urban regeneration projects that help the redevelopment of urban environments and support human and social capital within communities. The findings show that urban regeneration projects significantly contribute to revitalising urban spaces, supporting the components of IC that drive social and economic growth of communities.