Regeneration and urban renewal

• Funding
• Mixed use development
• Refurbishment vs demolition and rebuild
• Retail and regeneration
• Role of public, private and voluntary sectors
• Socially responsible property investment
• Sustainability

Context

Those involved in regeneration and renewal have arguably had it relatively easy over the past decade or so thanks to favourable economic conditions and a buoyant private sector. The current economic downturn is likely to create new challenges and opportunities, as a result, for example, of falling land prices.

Regeneration experts in both the public and private sectors are likely to become increasingly influential over the next few years, with the reluctance of private sector developers and investors to commit to large-scale and high-risk projects and the expected shortfall in public sector funding.

CEM carries out research with partners to learn lessons from previous initiatives, to help ensure that public funding is used to drive forward existing projects and kick-start private sector development. It is increasingly important to consider how funding should be targeted and what delivery mechanisms should be used.

Case study:

Knock it down or do it up? Sustainable house building: New build and refurbishment in the Sustainable Communities Plan

More new homes are needed in the UK and the government’s Sustainable Communities Plan identifies areas of run down older housing for regeneration. But is mass clearance the most sustainable way to create lasting communities for the future? This report examines the relative advantages of two approaches to housing renewal – demolition and new build or refurbishment – based on a major industry survey covering developers and building professionals working in the public and private sectors.

Sponsor: BRE Trust. The information paper (IP2/08) and full report can be obtained from BRE Publications.