Regeneration EQ2

Topic 13: How do we measure successful and unsuccessful places?

Key ideas

• Economic and social inequalities vary between places. Key measures:
  • Income and employment/unemployment;
  • Poverty levels;
  • Health and life expectancy;
  • Education levels;
  • Crime rates;
  • Environmental quality: pollution, dereliction, green space.
• Successful places often have:
  • a growing population,
  • high employment in the tertiary and quaternary sectors,
  • rising house prices,
  • good services,
  • a positive image.
  • Examples: Cambridge, Reading, parts of London.
• Unsuccessful places often have:
  • long-term unemployment, low wages and poor health;
  • dereliction, an ageing or declining population and a negative image.
  • Examples: some former coalfield, seaside and steel towns.
• Deprivation cycle / cycle of decline: factory closure → job losses → falling spending → shop closures → out-migration of young, skilled people → falling tax base → poorer services and dereliction → negative image → less investment, and the cycle repeats.
• Spatial inequality in the UK: the "North–South divide", although inequality exists within all regions, e.g. Tower Hamlets compared with Kensington.
• Rural places:
  • Successful: accessible, attractive commuter villages with high house prices.
  • Unsuccessful: remote rural areas with ageing populations, loss of services (shops, pubs, bus routes) and limited broadband.

Topic 14: What are the priorities for regeneration?

Key ideas

• Priorities vary by place:
  • Deindustrialised urban areas: jobs, skills, remediating contaminated land, image change.
  • Rural areas: affordable housing, services, transport, broadband, economic diversification.
  • Coastal towns: seasonal economy, deprivation, houses in multiple occupation.
• Political tensions: housing is a major priority.
  • Housing shortage and affordability in London and the South East.
  • Debates over greenfield versus brownfield development and the green belt.
  • NIMBYism: local opposition to housing.
• Economic change creates winners and losers:
  • Shifts to service economies leave some workers without suitable skills.
  • Social exclusion: groups cut off from opportunities, e.g. by poverty, poor transport or lack of skills.

Topic 15: How do people engage with their place?

Key ideas

• Lived experience and engagement differ by age, ethnicity, gender, length of residence and income.
• Measures of engagement:
  • voter turnout in local and national elections;
  • involvement in local groups;
  • protest.
• Conflict over regeneration arises because groups have different priorities and attitudes. Examples:
  • Residents may oppose gentrification-led schemes. The Heygate Estate, Elephant and Castle, London, was demolished in 2011–2014; its replacement, Elephant Park, provided relatively few social-rent homes, and this was criticised.
  • Businesses favour growth; environmental groups resist greenfield building.
• Contested places: different groups have different views on how places should change, e.g. long-standing residents versus newcomers, young versus old.

Glossary (Topics 13–15)

Term	Definition
Deprivation	The lack of resources and opportunities considered normal in society.
Cycle of deprivation (decline)	Self-reinforcing economic and social decline after the loss of key employment.
Social exclusion	Being unable to participate fully in society because of poverty, discrimination or poor access.
Brownfield / greenfield	Previously developed land / undeveloped land, often agricultural.
Green belt	A protected ring of open land around a city to stop urban sprawl.
NIMBY	"Not in my back yard": local opposition to development.
Voter turnout	The percentage of eligible voters who vote; one indicator of engagement.

Exam technique (20-mark: end-of-EQ2 assessment)

Question: "Evaluate the extent to which economic factors are the main reason why regeneration is needed."

• For:
  • Deindustrialisation causes unemployment and dereliction, e.g. Detroit, or Teesside after the 2015 Redcar steelworks closure.
  • The cycle of decline shows that economic shocks spread into social and environmental decline.
• Against:
  • Social factors: health inequality, crime, low engagement.
  • Environmental factors: contaminated land and poor-quality housing.
  • Image and political factors.
  • Rural decline linked to services and demographics, e.g. ageing populations.
• Judgement: economic causes are usually the trigger, but the need for regeneration is multi-dimensional and it varies by place (urban versus rural) and by player perspective.

Self-test

Q1: Describe the cycle of decline. A: The loss of a major employer causes unemployment and reduced spending. Shops close and young, skilled people migrate out. The tax base falls, so services decline and dereliction increases. The area's image worsens and investment falls, so the decline continues.

Q2: Why is housing a source of political tension? A: Demand outstrips supply in many areas, especially London and the South East, raising prices beyond local incomes. Building on greenfield and green-belt land, however, is opposed by residents and environmental groups.

Q3: Give two measures of community engagement. A: Voter turnout in local elections, and participation in community groups or consultations.

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