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Urban Regeneration Strategies
A Social Perspective
Naomi Carmon
Professor of Urban Planning and Sociology
Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning
Technion, Israel Institute of Technology
Philadelphia 2014
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The Context: Urban Regeneration
Definition: A deliberate policy and action directed at a significant change in the physical, social, economic and environmental conditions (all or some of those) in a selected urban area
based on cooperation between the public, private, and civil sectors (all or some of those) and the local users of the area (mainly residents)
There are various patterns of urban regeneration (e.g. culture-led, commerce-led) but here we focus on
Housing-Led Urban Regeneration (HLUR)
In developed economies
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Three main strategies of
Housing-led urban regeneration
1. Demolition and redevelopment
2. Working with the existing fabric
3. Incentives for mostly private urban
rehabilitation, using the land-use
planning system
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Strategy 1
Demolition and redevelopment
1a. Old style
1b. New style
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The oldest and most popular strategy
probably in all countries
Millions were displaced and re-housed
since the 1930’s until today
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Strategy 1
Demolition and redevelopment
1a. Old style (since the 1930’s): The
public sector initiates and manages;
frequently, the residents were relocated
in huge buildings of public/social
housing
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“A symbol of all that was perceived as wrong with Urban Renewal”
(Peter Hall, 1988, p. 235)
Old style
The project of Pruitt-Igoe
in St. Louis (Arch. Yamasaki)
33 identical blocks of award-
winning public housing project
Built in 1955, Blown-up in 1972
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Old style in Chicago
Turned to be a concentration of povertywith multi-problems households
Demolition of Cabrini-Green
In Chicago (last one: March 2011)
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Demolition of the slab blocks at Venserpo
“An icon of failed urban planning
of the 1960′s and 1970′s”
Old style in Amsterdam
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Lessons from a wide implementation
of old style demolition and redevelopment
• No to forced relocation of residents
• No to concentrations of poverty
• No to big housing blocks for low-income
families
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Strategy 1
Demolition and redevelopment
1b. New style (since the 1990’s):
Public-private partnerships; residents
either relocate in a place they select
or wait for the redevelopment of a
new “mixed-income”/”mixed tenure”
neighborhood with ”human-size”
residential buildings
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New Style: HOPE IV in USA
Hope VI program transforms public housing:
Instead of huge blocks of poverty concentrations
it strives to create mixed-income neighborhoods
Like these 520 new homes in buffalo
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New Style: HOPE IV in USA
Hope VI project of a mixed-income neighborhood
in two & three story garden apartments
Charlotte, North Carolina
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Mixed Tenure Estate in London
Oyster Court
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New Style: Redevelopment in Londonhousing units for sale and for rent, different sizes
half market price half subsidized
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Strategy 2
Working with the existing fabric
2a. Physical fabric (buildings) alone
2b. Physical and human fabric
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2a. Improvement of housing only
2b. Improvement of housing & social services
In both, working with existing population and
existing housing stock
In both, the government (central/local)
initiates, funds and manages, often with
resident participation
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2a: Housing improvement only
Housing refurbishment project in Dresden
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2a: Housing improvement only
Social housing refurbishment in Liverpool
Structural repairs, improvements to common parts,
new entrances, landscaping (2004)
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2a: Housing improvement only
Birmingham
Six tower blocks of social housing
internally and externally refurbished
The towers were occupied whilst work was undertaken
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2a: Housing improvement only
Low-carbon refurbishment in private
houses in Oxford, UK (2004)
Walls and loft insulation, double glazing,
rainwater and greywater collection for garden use
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2b: Improvement of housing
and social services
Project Renewal in 160 neighborhoods in Israel
Housing Social services
50% of budget
Education: Programs for all
age groups
Community: New and
renovated community
centers, sport facilities etc.
Resident participation in
steering committee and
more
50% of budget
28% of units expanded
52% externally renovated
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2b: Improvement of housing
and social services
• Model Cities in the US (1966 +): ~150
neighborhoods
• Neighborhood Improvement Program in
Canada (1973 +): ~480 neighborhoods
• Neighborhood Social Development in
France (1981 +):
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2b: Improvement of housing
and social services
Parts of Choice Neighborhoods, US (2010+)
Preservation of affordable housing together with
improvement of critical community services
Jersey City, NJ
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Strategy 3
Incentives for mainly private
urban regeneration
3a. User-controlled upgrading
3b. Entrepreneurial housing upgrading
and intensification
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Strategy 3a
Incentives for user-controlled updating
The government (central/local) facilitates and
encourages, by providing generous housing permits
and possibly financial benefits to incumbent
regeneration: residents expand and update their units
in low and medium-rise buildings
Requirements
• High rate of owner-occupiers
• Moderate income and above
• Cooperation among neighbors
• The lower the number of units in a building the easier
Special: Can be used as a preventive strategy
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Moderate-income, ethnically-mixed
neighborhood of Jews and Arabs in Acre
4 stories
16 families
constructed 1976
upgraded 1996
Before: 52 sq. mtrs.
After: 86 + a balcony
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Extending units and updating themoriginally, the building was inhabited by young couples
Families continued living in their apartments
While the extensions were constructed
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User-controlled extensions
in middle-income neighborhood
Floor plan of 6 unitsEach extended from ~60 to ~100 sq. mtrs.
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User-controlled extensions
in Tel Aviv middle-income neighborhood
Before: 65 s.m.
2 bedrooms
1 bathroomAfter: 100 s.m.
3 bedrooms
2 bathrooms + elevator
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Strategy 3a
Incentives for user-controlled updating
Good examples in various countries
• Bouzarovski, S, et al. 2011. A socially resilient urban transition? The contested landscape of apartment buildings extensions in two post-communist cities. Urban Studies, 48(13): 2689-2714.
• Moudon, A. V. 1986. Built for Change: Neighborhood Architecture in San Francisco. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Tipple, G. A. 1996. Housing extensions as sustainable development. Habitat International, 20(3): 367-376.
• Carmon, N. 2002. user-controlled construction and renovation of housing. European Planning Studies, 10(3): 285 – 303.
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Strategy 3b
Incentives for Housing intensification
(without demolition), mainly by developers
The government (central/local) facilitates and encourages, by providing generous housing permits and possibly financial benefits (tax reduction etc.) to private developers
• Buildings intensification: adding units to existing buildings, possibly with expanding existing units
• Urban fabric intensification: infill buildings among the existing ones, possibly + the above
Requirements
“Hot demand” areas
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Building intensification: add-ons
98 affordable housing units above an old garage
in San Francisco (2009)
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Building intensification in Israel (NOF 38)
Rooms and balconies were added to the old apartments,
while 2.5 additional floors with new housing units were
built on the roofs
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Urban fabric intensification: side buildings
Architects Carmi Bee and Peter Bafitis in Upper Manhattan say:
by creatively developing urban infill sites you can provide
quality housing design at affordable prices
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Lessons from decades of experience
in developed economies
Slow processes of upgrading and intensification of theexisting urban fabric, which avoid resident
displacement, are usually more beneficial to most stakeholders than demolition and redevelopment
Huge residential blocks are not a sustainable housing solution for low-income households
In the long run, working with the local residents, in accordance with their needs and preferences,
is economically efficient and socially effective more than implementing impressive transport plans or other
grand urban plans
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Lessons from decades of experience
in developed economies
Slow processes of upgrading and intensification of theexisting urban fabric, which avoid resident
displacement, are usually more beneficial to most stakeholders than demolition and redevelopment
Huge residential blocks are not a sustainable housing solution for low-income households
In the long run, working with the local residents, in accordance with their needs and preferences,
is economically efficient and socially effective more than implementing impressive transport plans or other
grand urban plans
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Oyster Court, Mixed Tenure Estate
in London
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Silverado Creek in Sacramento, CA
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The Clubhouse in La Quinta, CA
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לכל אסטרטגיה להכין רשימה חבויה של מראי מקום
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Criteria for a typology
of HLUR strategies
• The level of physical change in residential buildings and housing units
• The level of social change in the selected area, defined by deliberate change in the number and characteristics of the residents
The strategies will be presented in rising order, from low levels to high levels of
deliberate change
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דוגמא מלונדוןלמכירה ולהשכרה, דירות בגדלים שונים
מחציתן במחירי שוק ומחציתן מסובסדות
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• Sureuro (Sustainable Refurbishment in Europe) - Danish activity
• Research results
• Oneliner
• Sustainable renovation in a deprived residential building implemented with resident participation
• Summary
• Seven building associations from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, England, France and Belgium took the initiative for the project SUREURO (Sustainable Refurbishment in Europe) with the wish to promote sustainable development of the renovation of industrialised housing constructions. The aim of the project was to develop and test methods, tools etc. to give the residents influence on the implementation of renovations and promote sustainable solutions in social housing associations. The SUREURO partners jointly develop a 'tool kit' aimed at strategic management, building process and technical solutions. The tool kit will be testet in each country in connection to a national pilot project. In Denmark the national pilot project is carried out in the housing estate called 'Taastrupgaard' in Høje Taastrup, near Copenhagen. The Danish results have been published in three articles in the journal 'Boligen'.
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• Over the past several years, cities have worked hard to reestablish themselves as places where people want to live, work, and play. Increased investment and a focus on urban revitalization are paying off as interest in downtown living rises.
• Developers, including many who historically have developed in the suburbs, have responded by rehabilitating or converting older buildings, constructing new mixed-use projects, and developing new infill projects in existing neighborhoods
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The 4 strategies constitute a
planner’s tool box
Main considerations in selecting an “appropriate
strategy” are all local (not metropolitan):
* Characteristics and preferences of the residents
* Type and condition of residential buildings
* Surrounding housing market (high/low demand)
Frequently, a neighborhood needs a “bundle of
strategies”, each “appropriate” for a specific area
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• Curtis Park Hope VI Housing Redevelopment
• In 1998, Denver’s visionary commitment to revitalizing existing communities through the dispersal and renewal of public housing projects came to fruition. The Denver Housing Authority and Integral Properties, L.L.C. succeeded in obtaining a $25.7 million HOPE VI Grant from HUD. The grant recognized the city’s commitment to bringing new life to one of Denver’s oldest traditional neighborhoods: Curtis Park. the abo group teamed with the master planning firm of Calthorpe Associates to design a community of homes to revitalize the inner city neighborhood of Curtis Park by dispersing public housing tenants in a market rate development project. The eight blocks of HUD-compliant new housing is intended to provide affordable market rate rental properties and affordable home ownership opportunities within the historic Curtis Park neighborhood. The new units reflect the Victorian character of the neighborhood through scale, material selections, and detailing. the abo group headed the design that earned the 2002 Congress of New Urbanism National Award of Merit.
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