‘Money’s too tight to mention’? Urban regeneration in a recession and beyond: The case of Oxford

Abstract

The UK is currently experiencing one of the deepest recessions since the 1920s. For over a decade, economic growth driven by the finance and service industries has seen considerable private-sector investment into urban areas, helping to fuel the regeneration of city centres. With the economy now retracting, this has had an impact on both the public and private sectors’ ability and willingness to finance regeneration projects, either already in progress or in the pipeline. This paper examines the evidence of the state of regeneration in the UK currently in recession, and then looks at the case study of Oxford as an example of a relatively prosperous area in the South East of England, but which is currently facing record unemployment levels. Through interviews with stakeholders, the paper considers three aspects of regeneration in the recession: physical regeneration, socio-economic regeneration and social housing. It then explores prospects for recovering, as well as the opportunities presented by the recession for urban regeneration. The paper concludes with an assessment of how far the recession provides an opportunity for reviewing the way in which regeneration is delivered, in the context of the previous neoliberal approach to urban policy, and the potential for different models to emerge post-recession.