A Level Revision Notes: Regeneration - Government Role in Regeneration

Regeneration:

Regeneration is the process of improving an area or place that has experienced decline
Regeneration overall aims to increase the ‘development’ of an area e.g. growth in GDP, growing population, improved infrastructure, higher living standards etc. and reduce deprivation
It usually requires a financial investment (money) from public (council and government) or private (businesses, TNCs)
Urban regeneration could include new infrastructure, improving housing areas (gentrification), new housing, more job opportunities and industry being created, and other improvements such as rebranding towns and reimaging places
Rural regeneration is usually on a smaller scale, but again involves investment to improve transport, communities, tourism attractions, employment opportunities, or rebrand and reimage an area or place

The Key Players Of Regeneration:

Public Sector Key Players: Government (top-down), councils, lottery and EU funding
Private Sector Key Players: Business, companies and TNCs
Voluntary: Local residents (bottom-up), charities

Hard Regeneration Vs Soft Regeneration:
Hard Regeneration:	Soft Regeneration:
Infrastructure	Skills
Buildings	Education
Money	Migration Policy
Resource Extraction	Planning Laws

Government Role In Regeneration:

Infrastructure investment such as railways and airports to improve access, connectivity, and therefore a multiplier effect e.g. links to Manchester Airport and High-Speed 2 (HS2) (through new interchange)
Improving the quality, amount and affordability of housing available to improve residents quality of life and disposable income e.g. Salford Quays
Developing new industries to create jobs and other benefits, such as permitting ‘fracking’ in Lancashire to improve gas supplies (energy security) and employment
Managing overall immigration – joining the EU trade bloc, allowing in other foreign nationals e.g. from Asia, to boost skills and economic growth e.g. 15% of Bolton is Asian ethnicity
Deregulation of capital markets (economic liberalisation) – encouraging FDI, globalisation, TNCs investment, and increasing trade and development

Flagship Schemes:

These can be regeneration flag-ship, or just rebranding flagship schemes
Flagship schemes are large-scale, prestigious projects, often using bold/innovative/radical/iconic/unique architecture.
The hope is they will create a positive spin-off for the area e.g. attract more tourists, residents or businesses. i.e. create a multiplier effect
Examples range from London Olympic Park (2012 games) to Bolton One

Pump Priming And Catalysts:

Regeneration strategies hope to ‘pump prime’
This means get the pump of economic improvement started…..
Then a multiplier effect will hopefully take off! And the area will improve etc. with more residents, more jobs, better access, education, etc etc.
Regeneration (or rebranding) can also be called a ‘catalyst’: a catalyst makes something e.g. development, happen much faster.
Flagship schemes are catalysts for example that hope to ‘pump prime’ and areas regeneration

Infrastructure:

‘The basic physical systems of a place’:
Economic infrastructure is roads, railways, energy distribution, water and sewage pipes, and telecommunication networks
Social infrastructure is public housing (e.g. council), hospitals, schools and universities
Governments often heavily involved with ‘infrastructure’ regeneration as it is so expensive, and so important in the long term for the UK

Government Led Regeneration Through Infrastructure Case Study:

Flagship infrastructure regeneration costing £56 billion
Aims to improve connectivity and therefore flows of tourism and business and skills to the North of England.

Positives:	Negatives:
Will allow for faster movement of migrants and workers	Expensive
Creates jobs	Puts pressure on the environment
Boosts the economy	Puts pressure on the community e.g noise pollution
Boosts the economy	Some areas will miss out e.g Hull.

Government Role In Regeneration – Planning:

Planning is the ‘the control of urban development by a local or national government authority, from which a licence must be obtained to develop properties or resources’.
Government can plan in three ways:

Use of the land e.g. permit new infrastructure developments like offshore windfarms or allow HS2
Allow resource extraction e.g. Fracking in Lancashire
Encourage housing developments and relax planning controls to increase more housing

Government Policies On Migration And Deregulation Of Capital Markets:

Governments set immigration policies e.g. as part of the EU, any migrants can come and work in the UK – Evaluate this
Government in the UK has also promoted policies that encourage free trade, free markets, globalisation, TNCs, FDI, capitalism (all economic liberalisation) and these in turn increase economic activity to help develop and regenerate areas

Government Planning In Regeneration – Fracking In Lancashire:

Positives:	Negatives:
Will regenerate urban and rural areas	Environmental impacts e.g ground water pollution
Will create up to 60k jobs producing income	Possibly small earthquakes
More consumerism	Puts pressure on small communities
Will improve living standards	Could cause conflict with locals.
Multiplier effect and will regenerate local skills	Could cause conflict with locals.