The ambiguity of urban renewal in France: Between continuity and rupture

The term urban renewal was introduced in France in the Loi solidarité et renouvellement urbains (Loi SRU) of December 13th, 2000. Until then, terms like renovation, reconstruction, recycling or refurbishment were used to indicate similar phenomena. Is the introduction of a new term only an innovation in vocabulary, or does it imply new orientations, conceptions and practices? It appears that ever since its introduction in 2000, the notion of urban renewal has been subject to variations in its meaning and in its implementation. A double regime of urban renewal exists. On the one hand, there are the operations officially labelled as urban renewal, which benefit from central state subsidies. These operations aim at a social urban development, and almost exclusively concern the so-called quartiers sensibles, large high-rise housing estates in the banlieus. On the other hand, there are more market-driven, locally initiated and realised operations of regeneration of derelict and run-down areas of the city.     

The path to successful urban renewal: Current policy debates in the Netherlands

In Dutch urban renewal, we observe an implementation gap between dreaming and doing. Dutch national government recently proposed to focus urban renewal on more than 50 priority areas in the cities and to reduce urban renewal subsidies. It is not very likely that this policy will accelerate urban renewal. This contribution suggests a different approach: the formulation of an urban district vision shared by the sustainable stakeholders in those districts. If they can come to an agreement, they deserve housing association finance and public urban renewal support. By targeting the plans primarily on the social climbers in the urban districts involved, the city can keep their buying power within the city. Combining physical, social, economic and safety agendas and adopting a multi-functional orientation would seem to be a successful strategy.     

Renewing stigmatised estates in the Netherlands: A framework for image renewal strategies

Like in so many other European countries, the large housing estates of the post-World War II generation in the Netherlands did not fulfil the great and often Utopian expectations. Nowadays they are confronted with the effects of a negative image, a stigma. Images differ according to the persons asked for an opinion. Internal images, elicited from insiders, may overlap with external images but may also contradict them. The external image of many large estates accelerates their decay and lowers their reputation. All across Europe stigmatised large housing estates are subject to major renewal processes. The Amsterdam high-rise area of the Bijlmermeer is a good example. Once cheered by planners and politicians, later on criticised by inhabitants, avoided by outsiders and stigmatised by the media, the area is now an example of an impressive renewal programme. The question arises whether urban renewal will change a negative reputation. A stigma tends to stick, even after actual renewal activities are finished. Images of neighbourhoods can actively be promoted, just like a commercial product. Image promotion can be a supplementary strategy, which is seldom used in renewal processes. Which strategy would be the best depends on local circumstances, but strategies should be aimed at improving existing internal and external images. Image promotion may be directed to internal participants, to convince them the situation really is improving, or to outsiders, to promote the area and to counterbalance prejudices. Image promotion should not take the place of real improvements, but it is useful to work on a stigma and to give active image promotion explicit attention in any renewal process.     

旧城更新中城市文化再生方法分析

阐述了城市更新的现实意义,通过对城市更新中城市文化现状的分析,从五个方面研究了城市更新中城市文化再生的途径,最后指出探索、实施城市文化再生对适应现代城市生活需求、满足市场机制要求的特色城市形成具有重要的现实意义。     

Integrated urban renewal in The Netherlands: a critical appraisal

Urban renewal policies in The Netherlands already have a long history, which is characterised by varying attention for either smaller-scale (neighbourhood) or larger-scale (city) issues, and for either physical, social or economic questions. These variations run parallel with more general discourses on urban dynamics and perceptions of processes in (urban) society at large. In this paper the recent history of urban renewal policies will be briefly sketched, including their main orientations. Recent Big Citie Policies, currently in the third generation, will receive special attention and the actual policy discourse will be critically evaluated and confronted with some essential empirical findings. In this process, the Dutch policy on integrated urban renewal shows clear parallels with the experience in other Western European countries, demonstrating that a Western European paradigm of urban policies is in the making: integrated, area-based, with involvement of both public and market partners and residents. Nevertheless, the Dutch case is more outspoken than the approaches in other Western European countries, by paying more attention to the issue of social cohesion or integration and to the promotion of social mix as a solution for a lack of social cohesion in neighbourhoods. At the same time it is clear that this new paradigm of urban policies shows the characteristics of a discourse that is not based on research and on empirical facts, but that develops its own momentum from shared beliefs regarding the nature of urban problems and the appropriate policy responses. This new paradigm needs reconsideration.     

Integrated urban renewal in The Netherlands: a critical appraisal

Urban renewal policies in The Netherlands already have a long history, which is characterised by varying attention for either smaller-scale (neighbourhood) or larger-scale (city) issues, and for either physical, social or economic questions. These variations run parallel with more general discourses on urban dynamics and perceptions of processes in (urban) society at large. In this paper the recent history of urban renewal policies will be briefly sketched, including their main orientations. Recent Big Citie Policies, currently in the third generation, will receive special attention and the actual policy discourse will be critically evaluated and confronted with some essential empirical findings. In this process, the Dutch policy on integrated urban renewal shows clear parallels with the experience in other Western European countries, demonstrating that a Western European paradigm of urban policies is in the making: integrated, area-based, with involvement of both public and market partners and residents. Nevertheless, the Dutch case is more outspoken than the approaches in other Western European countries, by paying more attention to the issue of social cohesion or integration and to the promotion of social mix as a solution for a lack of social cohesion in neighbourhoods. At the same time it is clear that this new paradigm of urban policies shows the characteristics of a discourse that is not based on research and on empirical facts, but that develops its own momentum from shared beliefs regarding the nature of urban problems and the appropriate policy responses. This new paradigm needs reconsideration.     

The capacity of local government and continuing the decentralized urban regeneration policies in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands many national urban regeneration funds are concentrated in the Investment Budget for Urban Regeneration (a.k.a. IUR), a block grant made to 30 major cities and the 12 provinces for use in the smaller municipalities. IUR 1 covers the period 2000–2004. IUR 2 is based on the experience of IUR 1 and will be effective in the period 2005–2009. The decentralization of urban regeneration policies from central to local government involves more than just decentralizing the budget, as local government also needs sufficient capacity to pursue these policies. This paper will analyse this capacity and establish how far the experience gained from IUR 1 in this domain is incorporated in IUR 2.     

The lost history of urban renewal

Contrary to common understanding, the US government's policy of “urban renewal” was conceived as an alternative policy to slum clearance. Bitterly opposed to public housing, conservative housing‐industry trade associations sought a way to reform the urban redevelopment formula of clearance and public housing established in the Housing Act of 1949. In the early 1950s, the industry groups seized on citizens' neighborhood fix‐up efforts, particularly the Baltimore Plan, to conduct a national campaign to popularize code enforcement, rehabilitation, and private low‐cost housing development as methods to restore and stabilize city neighborhoods. At conferences organized by House and Home magazine and in the President's Advisory Committee on Government Housing Policies and Programs, the housing industry associations fashioned policies, now named “urban renewal,” which were codified in the Housing Act of 1954. But private industry's venture in urban policymaking failed in implementation. Home builders proved reluctant to participate in the new programs, public housing hung on, and hundreds of thousands of homes fell to the wrecking ball. As urban renewal became synonymous with slum clearance, neighborhoods continued to decline. In the end, ironically, housing rehabilitation reemerged as a populist tool for reviving the inner city.     

城市更新中旧建筑再利用初探

通过对城市更新中旧建筑再利用的产生与发展历程的阐述,得出旧建筑再利用的必要性和其基本过程与理论方法,以期为我国城市更新旧建筑再利用的未来探索之路提供相关素材。     

结合夹江旧城西片区改造谈城市活力的激发

以夹江旧城西片区改造为例,通过对旧城区整体结构把握、空间形态分析、景观视觉分析与景观完善等多方面的探讨,阐述了在改造中激发城区活力的具体过程,以保证城市健康良性的发展。     

中国城市更新的现况、特征及趋向

城市更新是世纪之交中国城市发展的研究主题之一。伴随中国进入工业化进程开始加速、经济结构发生明显变化、社会进行全方位深刻变革的关键时期 ,城市更新作为城市发展的调节机制亦正以空前的规模和速度在全国各地展开 ,进入了一个新的历史阶段。如何把握其主要矛盾、基本特征和发民趋势 ,制定适宜的城市更新政策 ,成为当前中国城市建设和发展的重要研究课题。本文围绕这些问题展开了分析和思考 ,并提出了一些建设性意见。     

城市细胞保护与更新的思考

以太原市旧城区为例,分析了一个城市保护与更新的矛盾,提出了对于城市保护与更新的探索之路,从而实现城市和历史建筑一起和谐发展、可持续发展。     

对城市节点更新的思考

通过对城市节点更新概念的阐述,主要以北京菊儿胡同和上海新天地的比较分析,讨论了城市节点更新方式、功能转换以及如何顺应城市肌理和文脉,指出城市节点更新要因地制宜,不同类型的城市节点应根据不同的情况采用具体的更新方式。     

城市更新与历史文脉保护并行

针对目前国内城市旧城改造过程中出现的一些问题,提出城市更新与历史文脉保护并不矛盾,并对旧城改建工作提出了一些建议,指出城市更新应与历史文脉保护并行,从而创建富有中国特色的现代城市。     

城市更新中的住宅规划设计引导

探讨了在城市更新中如何处理居住建筑与城市环境的关系,介绍了建成区内住宅规划设计的特点和思路,指出应从城市景观环境、城市空间设计方面去引导住宅规划设计,以实现更新的多元目标。     

北京城市更新与奥园设计

从城市更新的契机入手,研究了奥运会作为城市大事件在城市发展中尤其是北京城市发展中的重大作用,同时对北京奥林匹克公园的规划设计方案做了深入的分析,对北京市城市建设的前景做出了合理的预测。     

变革中的香港市区重建政策--新思维、新趋向及新挑战

随着由完全市场机制主导、以商业模式运作、忽略社会功能的旧的城市更新体制的失败,香港的城市更新政策近年来开始出现一种新思维、新趋向,体现在政府角色的进一步加强、全面化更新理念的主张以及以人为本、更注重社会效益的城市更新价值观的初步形成。然而,在现实环境及管治体制等各种复杂因素的制约下,新思维还难以取得显著成效、难以真正达成效率与公平的双重目标。     

历史街区保护改造与旧城更新的区别和联系

指出了在历史街区保护改造和旧城更新通常理解中的误区,介绍了历史街区和旧城的概念,从适用范围和具体措施两个方面阐述了它们的区别与联系,以制定完善的城市保护与更新规划,实现城市的可持续发展。     

太原市西山地区城市更新策略研究

通过太原市西山地区城市更新的典型案例,探讨了在城市转型发展的过程中,如何推动城市更新改造的问题,通过制定完备的更新目标体系、战略体系,实施政府引导下的以产业更新为主导的多元综合更新策略,充分发挥战略、规划、政策的抓手作用,最终实现城市的转型和可持续发展。