Regeneration X

As the credit crunch rumbles on, the concept of urban renewal takes on a new prevalence. Here, EU Infrastructure’s Matt Buttell looks at how regenerations are affecting Europe and rounds-up some of the most prolific projects from the last few decades.

“Over the past 30 years the construction of urban regeneration projects has reflected wider government policy”

Welcome to Vilnius, both Lithuania’s largest and capital city. Vilnius, coupled with Linz in Austria, is this year’s European Capital of Culture. And, in terms of regeneration, it’s a good place to start. The European Capital of Culture, being the city designated by the EU for the period of one calendar year, is given this chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. Traditionally a number of European cities have used their City of Culture year to transform their cultural base and, in doing so, the way in which they are viewed internationally. During the first two decades of the scheme, for example, cities that were chosen were done so primarily based on cultural history, scheduled events and the ability to provide infrastructural and financial support. Then, following a 2004 study by the European Culture Commission, it was realised that the choice of European Capital of Culture served as a catalyst for the cultural development and the transformation of that city and, consequently, the beneficial social-economic development and impact also began to be considered when choosing who would receive the designation.
 
This year, in Vilnius, the position of Capital of Culture resulted in New Year’s Eve celebrations that included a light show said to have been ‘visible from outer space’ and, in the build up to the event, the restoration and renewal of many of the city’s main monuments. The facade of the Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports was transformed into a multilevel glazed wall, where musical performances were broadcast onto huge screens installed in Cathedral Square; then, at midnight January 1st 2009, along the banks of the Neris River, 60 spotlights, 10 laser cannons and other assorted devices fired a breathtaking dome of light across the city. Now, throughout the year, Vilnius is offering some three million expected visitors an array of 900 cultural events, 600 of which will be free.
   
But it’s not just the City of Culture designation that stipulates the need for urban renewal. In the shadow of the credit crunch, many cities across Europe are looking to push their development, create new environments for workers and stimulate their economies. And from shopping malls to residential areas, to commercial complexes to leisure facilities, these sorts of developments are now heavily punctuating the European landscape.

In the UK for example, across many areas of the country, the impact of urban renewal (or regeneration) has been huge. Defined as a complex combination of social, economic, planning, construction and management activities, urban regeneration has, over the years, brought together the ability improve the social sustainability, economic stability and the infrastructure of a geographical location, which in turns has proven to help improve the sustainability of the urban landscape it occupies. Yet, according to one definition of urban regeneration, while it is frequently claimed that UK initiatives have largely improved the quality of life in regeneration areas, it is also still heavily criticized.

In fact, according to reports from the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA), this is because, in the past, urban regeneration has involved the purchase of residential properties in run down areas, meaning that family housing is frequently replaced by flats and apartments which are then priced too highly to be affordable for the people who used to live there, instead appealing to a totally different type of home buyer. “There is no doubt that over the past 30 years the nature and construction of urban regeneration projects has reflected wider government policy,” reads one BURA report. “The high profile construction of exclusive waterside regeneration developments at London’s Canary Wharf or Liverpool’s Albert Dock in the 1980s, for example, reflected, in part, the hopes and aspirations of the Conservative government at that time.”

Nonetheless, BURA is an organisation pushing for regeneration across the nation. “We have a unique strength that derives from our wide range of members in the private, public and community sectors,” explains CEO Michael Ward, “and this distinguishes us from any other sector interest group.”

Currently, BURA is working towards August’s BURA Awards for Best Practice in Regeneration. Speaking about the event Ward explained, “BURA’s Best Practice Awards recognise true excellence in regeneration, and at a time when many projects have stalled and future prospects for public spending are uncertain, BURA aims to seek out the very best from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to show others what can be achieved.”

Take the new report from the UK Government, for example. Entitled Transforming Places; Changing Lives: taking forward the regeneration framework (TPCL) the report sets out proposals to deliver a new national framework for regeneration. “Planning is a key driver of regeneration,” says Ward, “which, in line with the Government’s response set out in TPCL can provide a clear policy framework and facilitate a partnership approach. This commentary will then provide a focus on the relationship between TPCL and statutory planning policy.”

At least, that’s the hope for the UK. Meanwhile, URBACT, a European Programme funded by the ERDF, which aims to foster the exchange of experience among European cities on all issues related to sustainable urban development, is now beginning its second cycle. The first cycle (URBACT I), which lasted between 2002 and 2006, was a Community Initiative programme set up to foster networking between cities having benefited from the previous URBAN I, URBAN II and PPU programmes; consequently, URBACT I focused on social cohesion within deprived areas in European cities. Their partners and their inhabitants have since become beneficiaries of such programmes.

Now, through the second cycle (URBACT II), the challenge is to improve the effectiveness of sustainable integrated urban development policies in Europe with a view to implementing the European Lisbon-Gothenburg Strategy. The objectives include the need to provide an exchange and learning tool for policy decision-makers, practitioners and other actors involved in developing urban policies; learn from the exchanges between URBACT partners that share experiences and good practices; disseminate good practices and lessons learned from exchanges to all European cities; and assist city policy-makers, practioners and managers of operational programmes to define solid action plans.

It seems then that while there may be no single European ‘model’ for successful urban regeneration, a consistent approach does seem to run throughout. And that is the presence a powerful local authority that is using the regeneration scheme to not just revive a run-down area but also to change the whole image of the city and transform its strategic economic position. In the long run, as history has shown, successful urban regeneration will not only work at the physical level but will also result in successful, viable, vibrant and sustainable communities.

Regeneration 1

Parque das Nações
Lisbon, Portugal
The Parque das Nações (Park of the Nations) is a leisure, commercial and residential area covering an extensive area in northeastern Lisbon next to the Tagus estuary, which was formerly used for industrial purposes. The area, which underwent a tremendous transformation in the 1990s when it was chosen as the location for the Expo ’98 World Exhibition, saw further transformations with the construction of the Vasco da Gama shopping mall, the Lisbon's International Fair complex, hotels and many new office and residential buildings. Many attractions built for the Expo ’98 remained and keep drawing visitors, such as the Oceanarium, one of the world’s biggest aquariums. Currently an estimated 15,000 people live in the Nations’ Park, which is halved between the Lisbon and Loures municipalities, effectively splitting the local government of the area.

Regeneration 2

Clyde Waterfront Regeneration
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Clyde Waterfront is a 20km stretch of the River Clyde in Scotland with over 200 projects on both sides of the river it is one of Britain’s largest urban renewal projects. Throughout the area projects are in place to transform business, housing, tourism and infrastructure. The anticipated investment in Clyde Waterfront from public and private money is now estimated at £5.6 billion. Meanwhile, in Glasgow city centre, the International Financial Services District (IFSD) has been set up to attract new financial companies to the city and has now created one million square feet of new Grade ‘A’ office accommodation in the centre of the city. Back on the north side of the river, the first phase of the £1.2 billion residential development at Glasgow Harbour is almost entirely sold out and the second phase of housing, know as GH20, will provide a further 800 apartments, with many already sold or occupied. Phase 3 of the housing development is now beginning to take shape.

Regeneration 3

Redevelopment of Norrmalm
Stockholm, Sweden
The Redevelopment of Norrmalm (Norrmalmsregleringen) was a major revision, which was realised during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The renewal resulted in the old Klara quarters being replaced for the modern city of Stockholm, while the Stockholm subway was facilitated through the city. The renewal of Norrmalm was the largest Swedish urban development project to date and engaged a large part of Sweden’s architectural elite. What’s more the Norrmalm renewal was both criticized and admired throughout Sweden and internationally, and is now regarded as one of the largest of all city renewals in Europe during post-war time, even including the cities that took severe damage during World War II.

Regeneration 4

Croydon Vision 2020
London, United Kingdom
Croydon Vision 2020 is a regeneration programme by the London Borough of Croydon in South London. The original plans were carried out in 1999 by architectural company EDAW and are being taken forward through the Local Development Framework process. The programme seeks to affect the urban planning of Central Croydon extensively and promote the area as hub of living, retailing culture and business in South London and South East England. Currently UK£3.5bn has been committed to proposed development projects, which include a 12,500 maximum capacity arena, offering office space, apartments, supermarkets, health clubs, bars and restaurants; three residential developments compromising of 36,896 m² and providing 337 apartments in the town centre; a shopping mall, bus station and office development with a new public square; a mixed-use development consisting of a 44 storey tower, 800 new homes, 3000m² of retail and public realm space and a new 25,824 m² office and retail development directly opposite East Croydon train station.

Regeneration 5

Regeneration through culture
Bilbao, Spain
The objectives of the urban regeneration projects in Bilbao are to change the industrial image of the city and introduce new service and cultural activities which would be able to attract tourists, visitors and businesses. Through the creation of cultural infrastructure, services and waterfront, the area for regeneration is focused on the inner-city’s old industrial area and the declining neighbourhoods in and around the city. Subsequently a series of strategic guidelines and major infrastructure projects for the future regional development were assembled, including a focus on restructuring the region from a industrial one to an area with an important services and cultural sector; and the integration of public and private partners in the strategic design, planning and implementation processes. It is believed that the whole population of the areas which form the urban regeneration projects will benefit from new parks, public places, new roads and bicycle tracks in the regenerated areas.

Regeneration 6

The Transformation of Kazimierz
Kraków, Poland
Over the last 20 years, the district of Kazimierz has faced a revitalization as complex as its very history. The process of renewal in the urban village started in the early 1990s and the results are apparent today in al aspects of the district’s life: its building, the scale of business activity, the residents and the image it presents to Krakóvians and visitors. The changes are down to many factors: firstly Kraków’s prosperity and improved communication links with Poland and the rest of Europe as a whole, but the changes the area has seen are far from simple. As a result the growth in the quarter has main been driven by market forces, and nowhere is this more prominent than in the previously dilapidated Jewish quarter, which is dominated by commercial activities based on its Jewish cultural heritage and tourism is now becoming the most important function of the district.