Urban regeneration

The course reviews different approaches and strategies of urban regeneration. The term ‘urban regeneration’ or ‘urban renewal’ has become a generic name for several global strategies that are being adopted worldwide, mostly regardless of their adequate fit to the specific locales. Those strategies aim to ignite physical, social and economic processes for benefiting, improving and developing different areas in the city. Promoters of urban regeneration argue that it is part of the city’s natural cycle – a cycle of desuetude and renewal. The critics, however, argue that urban regeneration is just a politically correct term for actual gentrification of neighborhoods and regions and the continuous peripheralization of poverty.

The goal of the course is to enable students to develop a critical understanding of urban regeneration processes and strategies. The course is divided into two units. The first unit aims to position different strategies and approaches for urban regeneration within the context of macro-level economic and political urban change. In the second unit of the course students are introduced with different strategies of urban regeneration, while given the tools to evaluate them. The course focuses on strategies of housing regeneration, city centers, commercial and industrial areas renewal, culture-led regeneration, and community-led renewal.

Planning for community engagement in urban regeneration research >>