Linking neighbourhood regeneration to city-region growth: Why and how?

Abstract

Urban regeneration policy in the UK has traditionally focused special time-limited initiatives on small areas experiencing severe social problems and physical decay. Current economic development strategies are oriented towards the much larger city-region scale. The paper considers some of the limitations of this separation and explores the case for city-region economic and spatial plans taking neighbourhood regeneration issues into account. It examines the economic and social benefits of doing so and the costs of neglecting to do so. It also discusses the broad policy fields and levers at the city-region level that can support regeneration, including employment, land and property, and connectivity.