From Low Demand to Rising Aspirations: Housing Market Renewal within Regional and Neighbourhood Regeneration Policy

The paper draws on qualitative empirical evidence from studies of regeneration in North-East England, and seeks to link housing market renewal to wider regeneration issues at regional and neighbourhood levels. It suggests that the discourse on, and justification of, housing market renewal has shifted from a specific concern with low housing demand and abandonment to a more generalised modernisation agenda seeking the restructuring of low-income neighbourhoods in terms not only of housing quality but also of tenure and population. This modernisation discourse is strongly linked to a regional economic regeneration agenda. It is argued that despite claims for the holistic nature of market renewal policies, it seems unlikely that these will improve the economic circumstances of existing residents as opposed to serving regional economic development objectives. Moreover, the more sweeping change implied by the modernisation agenda may reinforce the tension at neighbourhood level between community-led neighbourhood renewal and the restructuring of tenure and population through market renewal.     

Participation in neighbourhood regeneration: achievements of residents in a Dutch disadvantaged neighbourhood

Despite the fact that resident participation has become central to the Dutch policy discourse on ‘good’ urban planning, it is unclear to what degree new participation mechanisms have created opportunities for residents to actually influence neighbourhood governance and contribute to the improvement of their neighbourhood. This paper explores how residents in the neighbourhood of Transvaal (Amsterdam) have been involved in regeneration since 1999. Although residents have been successful in putting everyday concerns about safety on the agenda and contributed to small-scale improvements of public space, they were unable to contribute to regeneration plans at the scale of the neighbourhood, in particular strategic decisions about state-led gentrification.     

Livability in dense residential neighbourhoods of Dhaka

Prime cities in developing countries, like Dhaka experience haphazard and intense horizontal densification. The livability of dense neighbourhoods needs to be investigated, particularly, the role of housing and planning in mitigating density problems and capitalizing the advantages of high-density living. This article argues that housing form and planned community facilities giving respect to socio-cultural practices can significantly influence Dhaka’s livability. Also, a wider definition of housing should be adopted to facilitate improvements in livability. As well, an integrated approach of residential planning is important in intensified housing development projects or planning for dense areas, encompassing housing standards, community facilities, public transport, open space provision and socio-cultural habits. This paper recommends the Bangladeshi Government to ensure enforcement of residential plans, to establish density zones in Dhaka’s main urban areas to guide spatial and transport development and neighbourhood facility provision, and to give greater respect for cultural practices in neighbourhood planning.     

From shikumen to new-style: a rereading of lilong housing in modern Shanghai

This paper provides a rereading of a particular dwelling form under the general name of lilong that has constituted the primary living space in the inner city of Shanghai, where ordinary Shanghainese have conducted their everyday life for more than a century (1870s–1990s). Attention is given to two types of lilong neighbourhoods, in which two housing types are involved respectively: one is the so-called shikumen neighbourhood, including its early multi-bay model and a later double- to single-bay model, which are believed to derive from a more native dwelling concept and value system; the other is the so-called new-style neighbourhood, which is believed to have its origin in western dwelling culture brought in by foreign sojourners and welcomed by locals. Based on a combined historical and typo-morphological reading, changes in both types can be identified at housing unit level and neighbourhood level. In terms of the neighbourhood structure in relation to a larger urban block, a dual structure of ‘outside shops and inside neighbourhoods (waipu-neili)’ was commonly adopted in shikumen neighbourhoods that helped to integrate those pocket-like houses into the fast-modernising urban environment through a mixed land-use pattern, while a more pure residential environment was created in the new-style housing neighbourhood where very few or none shop houses were to be found as ‘mediators’ between the neighbourhood and the urban. Differences in their unit plans also revealed a shift from a more metaphoric layout to a more functional layout, from the clan/family-based courtyard-centred living to the community-based alley-centred living, from a self-contained traditional living style towards a more open, more independent modern urban living style. Nevertheless, under the general name of lilong, these dwelling forms as a whole shared much of the experience of ‘alley-living’ that was due to simultaneous densification – the inhabitants turned this transitional space into a shared living room and multifunctional space, through which a particular local dwelling culture was created. As the first kind of mass commodity housing produced and consumed in the dynamic of local/foreign interactions within a market mechanism, lilong dwelling played a transitional role in Chinese urban history by challenging age-old values in the traditional dwelling system and bringing it further towards its modern version.     

Sinks of Social Exclusion or Springboards for Social Mobility? Analysing the Roles of Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods in Urban Australia

For two decades analysts have noted significant and growing socio-spatial polarisation in Australia’s cities. Dominating policy discourse has been the hypothesis that residence in “poverty neighbourhoods” can compound individual disadvantage. Prominent here are concerns about social exclusion and spatial entrapment. A contrary perspective is that low income communities often contain substantial social capital and that accessing relatively affordable housing available in such places may provide a basis for subsequent “progression” in the wider urban housing market. Drawing on a household survey in four disadvantaged Sydney neighbourhoods, we confirm that rates of socio-economic deprivation indeed substantially exceed citywide and national norms and that the perceived incidence of neighbourhood problems is substantial. At the same time, results reveal that such places are far from unmitigated spaces of alienation and suggest that they can provide springboards for geographical and social mobility.     

Delivering Social Housing: Examining the Nexus between Social Housing and Democratic Planning

The construction of social housing in gentrifying neighbourhoods can ignite contestation, revealing tensions between economic imperatives, social policy and neighbourhood change. With a view to understanding how the convergence of these agendas preserve unpopular, but socially critical housing infrastructure, the aim of this paper is to explore how the challenges social housing implementation encounters across these agendas intersect with a broader agenda for local democratic planning. Using social housing as our empirical focus and directing attention to the gentrifying local government area of Port Phillip in Victoria, Australia, this paper reveals how a council’s main asset to support implementation – its policy frameworks – creates an urban narrative of social inclusivity and diversity. Through this case, we illustrate how elected officials and some residents draw from these policies to interject into episodes of community contestation, which we argue presents opportunities to expose and renew commitments to social housing over space and time.     

Community participation as a tool for conservation planning and historic preservation: the case of “Community As A Campus” (CAAC)

The objective of this article is to examine a community planning approach to urban conservation and rehabilitation. In Chicago, like in many other cities across the USA, there has been an unequal distribution of school closures in minority neighbourhoods with higher than average poverty rates. The closure of school buildings, most with historical value, has destabilizing effects in communities, including the loss of public assets, vacancies, and disinvestment. In neighbourhoods experiencing rent increases, such as with Humboldt Park, the use of historic properties can provide an opportunity to develop affordable housing and avoid displacement. This case study seeks to demonstrate how a grassroots organization in a gentrifying neighbourhood created their own participatory planning process to obtain a surplus school building and reuse it as a “teacher’s village”. The reuse plan includes affordable housing targeted primarily at school teachers, office space dedicated to educational-community-related uses, a café open to the public, and a number of other amenities. The overall development plan seeks to make significant upgrades to allow the building to operate sustainably for years to come. The building is expected to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places and will require a unique and sensitive approach to creating an inspiring, collaborative, and community-oriented development. The methodology employed in this article is based on Participatory Action Research and includes field notes and interviews. The researcher engaged as a participant–observer and committee member for about 1.5 years with “Community As A Campus”—the initiative dedicated to envisioning and planning the redevelopment project.     

Housing at the neighbourhood level: a review of the initial approaches to neighbourhood development plans under the Localism Act 2011 in England

The Localism Act 2011 created an opportunity for local communities to form neighbourhood forums and to prepare their own neighbourhood development plans in urban and rural areas in England. Initial reactions suggested that, rather than leading to the development of more housing, these initiatives would confirm all the stereotypes of local residents blocking unwanted development in their defined neighbourhoods. However, neighbourhood plans need to be in general conformity with the core strategies of higher-tier plans and often make provision for more new homes than planned before 2011. This article discusses the role and purpose of neighbourhood plans, the evidence base on which they are founded and some of the legal challenges which have helped clarify procedures. It then identifies two types of plan based on the ways housing strategies and evidence of need are reflected in a sample of 10 plans which have been made to date. It concludes that the voluntary nature of localism to date tends to favour more rural and affluent areas and ends with an assessment of the impact of neighbourhood plans on the planning process. It suggests that the implications for spatial planning may be far-reaching.     

From shikumen to new-style: arereading of lilong housing in modern Shanghai

This paper provides a rereading of a particular dwelling form under the general name of lilong that has constituted the primary living space in the inner city of Shanghai, where ordinary Shanghainese have conducted their everyday life for more than a century (1870s-1990s). Attention is given to two types of lilong neighbourhoods, in which two housing types are involved respectively: one is the so-called shikumen neighbourhood, including its early multi-bay model and a later double- to single-bay model, which are believed to derive from a more native dwelling concept and value system; the other is the so-called new-style neighbourhood, which is believed to have its origin in western dwelling culture brought in by foreign sojourners and welcomed by locals. Based on a combined historical and typo-morphological reading, changes in both types can be identified at housing unit level and neighbourhood level. In terms of the neighbourhood structure in relation to a larger urban block, a dual structure of 'outside shops and inside neighbourhoods (waipu-neili)' was commonly adopted in shikumen neighbourhoods that helped to integrate those pocket-like houses into the fast-modernising urban environment through a mixed land-use pattern, while a more pure residential environment was created in the new-style housing neighbourhood where very few or none shop houses were to be found as 'mediators' between the neighbourhood and the urban. Differences in their unit plans also revealed a shift from a more metaphoric layout to a more functional layout, from the clan/family-based courtyard-centred living to the community-based alley-centred living, from a self-contained traditional living style towards a more open, more independent modern urban living style. Nevertheless, under the general name of lilong, these dwelling forms as a whole shared much of the experience of 'alley-living' that was due to simultaneous densification - the inhabitants turned this transitional space into a shared living room and multifunctional space, through which a particular local dwelling culture was created. As the first kind of mass commodity housing produced and consumed in the dynamic of local/foreign interactions within a market mechanism, lilong dwelling played a transitional role in Chinese urban history by challenging age-old values in the traditional dwelling system and bringing it further towards its modern version.     

Forced Relocation in France: How Residential Trajectories Affect Individual Experiences

In France, an urban renewal programme was launched in 2003 with the aim of boosting social mix by diversifying housing in disadvantaged neighbourhoods known as ‘Sensitive Urban Zones’. Drawing on 121 qualitative interviews conducted in seven neighbourhoods in the Paris region, this article focuses on relocation processes triggered by the demolition of social housing. How are these socio-residential changes experienced by those actually being relocated? To answer this question, the paper shows how an analysis of long-term residential trajectories can highlight and nuance the experiences of relocatees. Three broad types of trajectories are defined as an analytical framework for a comprehensive approach of the meaning of relocation and opportunity held by households. It shows how forced relocation can either be a positive step in residential trajectories or merely an adaptation in terms of housing, whether or not the inhabitants actually stay in their neighbourhood or leave it.     

Spatial assimilation? The development in immigrants’ residential career with duration of stay in Denmark

Many studies have shown that immigrants’ residential situation differs from that of natives and that factors other than housing needs and financial situation influence immigrants’ options and choices concerning housing and neighbourhood. Research has indicated that immigrants might have a stronger preference for renting due to insecurity about their future situation and that especially newly arrived immigrants tend to live in immigrant-dense, so-called multi-ethnic, neighbourhoods. However, the spatial assimilation theory claims that in the course of time immigrants will move to other kinds of housing and neighbourhoods. In this paper, the residential careers of immigrants in the first years after their arrival are examined and compared with Danes. The hypothesis tested is that over time the housing situation of immigrants gets closer to the comparable one for Danes. It is a longitudinal study based on data from 1985 to 2008 on non-Western immigrants in Denmark. The results show that non-Western immigrants steadily increased their presence in social housing and multi-ethnic neighbourhoods during their first 10 years of stay; then, their presence stagnates; and after 15 years, it declines. Part of the initial increase in the frequency of living in multi-ethnic neighbourhoods was not due to individual choices among immigrants but could be ascribed to the increasing number of multi-ethnic neighbourhoods over time. The study confirms spatial assimilation, also when controlling for degree of economic integration, but the change was not dramatic over the 24 years covered by the study.     

Residential satisfaction of elderly in the city centre: The case of revitalizing neighbourhoods in Prague

While the historical cores of the post-socialist cities of Central and Eastern Europe are adapting to the invasion of tourism and profitable companies, dynamic regeneration is altering the character of the inner-city neighbourhoods from working class peripheries to modern multi-functional urban sub-centres. Changing residential environments, landscapes and functions affect the daily lives and residential satisfaction of the local population, and especially of the low-income and elderly people facing mobility restrictions. This research evaluates the residential satisfaction of the elderly in two Prague city centre neighbourhoods that experienced dramatic changes in their residential environment during the post-socialist transition: the historical core, which has been exposed to massive touristification and commercialization, and a former working class neighbourhood that has been experiencing rapid regeneration. The local accessibility of services, public spaces, housing and social support was examined through a questionnaire survey. Contrary to our expectations based on the existing literature review, the results show that, despite the rapid revitalization processes, the elderly are fairly satisfied with their residential environment in both neighbourhood types.     

Privatizing public housing redevelopment: Grassroots resistance,co-operation and devastation in three Dublin neighbourhoods

This article examines variations in residents' responses to proposals to redevelop three public housing neighbourhoods in Dublin using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and the outcomes their resistance achieved. It investigates the important role that structures of participation and representation and local social cohesion play in developing effective resident resistance to displacement and gentrification through regeneration. In two of these neighbourhoods community representative structures were strong and although one community co-operated with the PPP plans and the other opposed them, both were broadly successful in achieving their campaign objectives. Community structures in the third neighbourhood were weak however and the imposition of PPP redevelopment devastated this community which is now almost entirely vacant. This article provides some important insights for the literature on grassroots resistance to urban redevelopment, welfare state restructuring and public housing redevelopment. It reveals that, despite their lack of power, residents' resistance can significantly influence public housing redevelopment strategies particularly where community representative structures are strong. However for vulnerable communities, where representative structures are weak, the over emphasis on poverty de-concentration and refurbishing the built environment in public housing redevelopment policy can have devastating consequences. Thus, it concludes that the rationale for grass roots resistance to redevelopment is centred upon a strong place attachment, but also opposition to the privatization of public housing and the desire for poverty to be addressed in an holistic manner.     

Resident Participation in Housing Regeneration in France

The involvement of local residents in housing regeneration policy and practice has become a ‘new orthodoxy’ across Western Europe. This paper considers the experience of France, a country noted for its history of ‘third sector’ activism and innovative practice in, for example, neighbourhood management. It is argued here that—notwithstanding three decades of central government rhetoric and exhortation—there remain few examples of genuine involvement of residents in formal regeneration decision-making processes at a local level in France (especially in respect of strategic issues). There exists a ‘participation deficit’. This paper explores this phenomenon empirically through case studies of housing regeneration in Lyon, Marseille and Mantes la Jolie. It also seeks to explain the ‘participation deficit’, drawing a distinction between those factors that are pan-European and those that are particularly French, not least the apparent resilience of representative democracy.     

The place of neighbourhood in social cohesion: insights from massey,West Auckland

Within public health discourse there is growing recognition that the social structures and ecology of neighbourhoods impact on health and wellbeing. A clearer understanding of the pathways through which this influence occurs will inform locality-based interventions to tackle inequalities. In this paper we report on an interview based study with parents of young children living in Massey, a suburban neighbourhood of metropolitan Auckland. Locational access to community resources is comparatively poor in Massey as measured by a community resource accessibility index. The findings provide insights into the impact of such access to services and amenities on neighbourhood social cohesion. We conclude by suggesting planning strategies for strengthening neighbourhood identification and attachment for this population group.     

The place of neighbourhood in social cohesion: insights from massey, West Auckland

Within public health discourse there is growing recognition that the social structures and ecology of neighbourhoods impact on health and wellbeing. A clearer understanding of the pathways through which this influence occurs will inform locality-based interventions to tackle inequalities. In this paper we report on an interview based study with parents of young children living in Massey, a suburban neighbourhood of metropolitan Auckland. Locational access to community resources is comparatively poor in Massey as measured by a community resource accessibility index. The findings provide insights into the impact of such access to services and amenities on neighbourhood social cohesion. We conclude by suggesting planning strategies for strengthening neighbourhood identification and attachment for this population group.     

Commercial Gentrification and Entrepreneurial Governance in Shanghai: A Case Study of Taikang Road Creative Cluster

Commercial gentrification—based on the adaptive reuse of historic dwellings for upscale shopping, dining and culture—is emerging as a new model of neighbourhood regeneration in China. Through an analysis of Shanghai's urban restructuring and a case study of Taikang Road Creative Cluster, this article demonstrates that entrepreneurial local government is a key facilitator. Conscious of the synergistic value of restored urban heritage with conspicuous consumption, tourism and even the creative industries, local officials have utilised their urban planning authority to open up urban heritage to a host of gentrifiers including businesses, artists and creative firms. In terms of social outcomes, some local residents have capitalised on inflated property values and gained the opportunity to move out of poverty. Nevertheless, socially exclusive outcomes have also been evident, as commercialisation eroded the living environment of rural migrants and other poor residents.     

An Unlikely Urban Symbiosis: Urban Intensification and Neighbourhood Character in Collingwood,Vancouver

Urban intensification is a key planning strategy for all major Australian cities, but proposals for higher density buildings in established neighbourhoods are frequently opposed by local residents on the basis that they would be ‘out of character’. In this article, the opportunities for urban intensification to reinforce and enhance the existing character of a place are explored through a case study of a Vancouver neighbourhood where a proposed high-rise project was initially resisted by community members, but has subsequently been embraced by them. It is argued that in this case, through a participatory and debate-centred planning process, urban intensification and neighbourhood character became mutually dependent in an unlikely form of urban symbiosis.