An Overview of Urban Regeneration free essay sample

These two themes of urban regeneration are, indeed, complementary; insofar they allow a work in the fields of social development and improvement of environment. The first aims at making the inhabitants reach training and employment and the second tends to support their maintenance on the spot and attract new residents, by improving the quality of urban life. 1. 1Introduction of the Study As the world massively moving into modernization and world without boundaries, urban tourism has become an important economic source for city areas. Either in developed countries or developing countries, tourism has been allowed to be placed as an important urban function. This study will emphasize on the urban regeneration in sense of designing an urban tourism. The study will show how the post-industrial city being transferred into major attraction among tourists. We will analyze how the social mobilization will impact the city to be regenerated. Last but not least, how the preservation and function of heritage resources in the city affects urban regeneration. We will write a custom essay sample on An Overview of Urban Regeneration or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 1. 2Problem Statement The growth of tourism industry increase tremendously after 1970’s in urban areas. Ironically for industrial city, tourism industry is alienated or neglected from being part of the urban function. However, as the industry growth bigger and successfully attract major income for certain countries, the city area was facing stage of renewal or redevelopment in order to generate urban tourism. While urban regeneration projects and programs are by definition implemented in the existing city, it is a question of acting in-depth on the existing city and of reducing its dysfunctions. In Malaysia, urban regeneration is not a bombastic thing that ever happened. It does not even exist in Malaysia. That is the major problem facing by cities in Malaysia especially those that been developed during colonial era. And for this study, it is purposely focus on Taiping, Perak due to the history track where it is the first city in Malaysia that been built. And now, it’s facing the decline stage where it needs to be re-branded and rejuvenate. 1. 3Research Objectives In view of the above deliberation, the following objectives are being considered: a. To identify the needs of urban regeneration as the urban tourism push factor. b. To examine the impact of social mobilization towards urban regeneration c. To examine the needs of heritage towards urban regeneration 1. 4 Research Questions a. What are the needs of urban regeneration to become as the urban tourism push factor? b. Does the social mobilization incorporating with urban regeneration? c. How we can analyze the needs of cultural and heritage towards urban regeneration? ANSWERS 2. Overview Following World War II, and continuing into the early 1970s, â€Å"urban regeneration† referred primarily to public efforts to revitalize aging and decaying inner cities, although some suburban communities undertook such projects as well. Including massive demolition, slum clearance, and rehabilitation, urban regeneration in America proceeded initially from local and state legislation, which in Illinois included the Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation Act of 1941 (amended in 1953), the Blighted Areas Redevelopment Act of 1947, the Relocation Act of 1947, and the Urban Community Conservation Act of 1953. The earliest emphasis was placed on slum clearance or â€Å"redevelopment,† which was followed by a focused effort to conserve threatened but not yet deteriorated neighborhoods (DCMS, 2004; Weaver, 2001). Urban regeneration means coordinated actions leading to improvement of the material state of the structures (modernization, revalorization) combined with the improvement of economic and social situation (Lorens, 2004). So, the new legislation had three primary functions. First, it expanded the citys power of eminent domain and enabled it to seize property for the new â€Å"public purposes† of slum clearance or prevention. Second, it pioneered the â€Å"write-down† formula which permitted the city to convey such property to private developers at its greatly reduced â€Å"use† value after the municipality subsidized its purchase and preparation. Last, the state provided assistance in relocating site residents — an absolute necessity in a time of severe housing shortages to enable the clearance of crowded, inner-city sites (Raco, 2002). The American Federal Housing Acts of 1949 and 1954, and their later amendments, mirrored the Illinois initiatives, providing a national framework and greater financial resources for the renewal effort. The clear intent was to offer public assistance to the private sector in the hope of heading off an urban crisis. 1. Social Mobilization While capacity-building usually refers to knowledge transfers to individuals or groups, social mobilization enables people to fuse what they themselves know with external information and techniques so as to carry out particular activities. For disadvantaged groups in particular (UN, 2004), this transformation increases their power relative to that of other groups in their socio-economic and political environments. Empowerment in this sense is thus an outcome of both the capacity-building of people and a reform of the rules and practices that oppress them (Wober, 1994). Social mobilization (Rapoport, 1977) reduces poverty because it is based on the premise that the poor are willing and able to carry out a number of functions themselves to improve their situations, given encouragement to form their own organizations for promoting their development through their own efforts and participating actively in decision-making that enhances their livelihoods. 1. Economic Restructuring Tourism development is often driven and rationalized by economic impacts (Law 1992; Judd 1995; Hall 1995; Law 1996; Department of National Heritage 1997; Cooper et. al. 1998). The type of partnership and its institutional framework utilized in the regeneration process depends upon the characteristics of the area, partnership objectives, activities and relationships between partners (Armstrong, 2000). It is argued that property developers – certain private commercial interests have gained legally massive advantages in the market place through the political means of state patronage (Brownill, 1990; Church, 1988). â€Å"†¦ stresses the capacity of community groups in development that is more sustainable and more appropriate to local socioeconomic and cultural conditions. Political economists tend to stress the resistance of economic, political, and bureaucratic interests in the state to community participation in planning and see the governance reforms as a victory of social movement for local community. † (Shatkin, 2000). Local people need to be more than consulted and involved: for regeneration to be owned by communities it must engage their hearts and minds. Ultimately, if regeneration is not owned by the community, its benefits will not endure (DETR, 1999). The initiative reflects the belief that the ‘bottom up’ approach to regeneration is the key, as opposed to the earlier ‘top down’ approach. Programs instigated by the communities to address their social, economic, and environmental needs are considered a priority (Beswick, 2000a) 2. Social Preferences People’s participation [in the community] is becoming the central issue of our time. The democratic transition in many developing countries, the collapse of many socialist regimes, and the worldwide emergence of people’s organizations: these are all part of an historical change, not just isolated events†¦ [Participation] can become a source of tremendous vitality and innovation for the creation of new and more just societies. — UN Development Program (1993) The recent interest in community participation throughout the world is premised on the perceived benefits that community participation brings to programs in terms of added efficiency, sustainability, and collective community power (Jones, 2003). By promoting community participation, community members can gain more local control and greater influence over their community (Cohen Uphoff, 1980). Researchers studying transformation processes in Central and Eastern Europe have emphasized the political and cultural aspects of the changes since the collapse of communism (Sztompka, 1996, 2006; Lewis, 1997; Elster et al. 1998). â€Å"†¦in ‘real’ places the experienced is conditioned by a range of services in independently provided within a physical, social and cultural environment shaped (in both intended and unintended ways) by past patterns of development, as well as by the presence of visitors arriving independently† (Gordon and Goodall, 2000). The UTF treated the city as a valuable asset and considered ‘urbanism’ as a positively rather than a negatively laden term. Planning for the Communities of the Future’ complemented it by emphasizing the prominent role PDL should have in housing production. Consequently the Urban White Paper ‘Our Towns and Cities: The Future. Delivering an Urban Renaissance’ (DETR, 2000a) and the subsequent Sustainable Communities Plan (ODPM, 2003) tried to grasp the multiplicity of urban problems and solve them through ‘joined-up thinking’ and a ‘holistic’ approach using sustainability as the underlying principle of the new approach. 2. Heritage Cities are cultural entities. The texture of social and economic life in them is defined by their cultural energy or lack of it, and cities all over the world – Glasgow, Barcelona, Seattle – have demonstrated that by changing the way their cultural life is perceived you can change everything about them (Jones, 2000). 1. Resources Conservation in Urban Areas ‘The old city exemplifies the human scale, individuality, care and craftsmanship, richness and diversity that are lacking in the modern plastic, machine-made city with its repetitive components and large scale projects’ (Appleyard, 1979). Historic cities remain familiar in changing environment and provide a sense of place, which Conzen refers to as genius loci. This is one reason for urban conservation, together with the aesthetic, cultural and historical values identified as heritage, and the educational, spatial and townscape values (Larkham, 1996), combined with environmental concerns and economic viability (Lichfield, 1988). Conservation is a reflection and accumulation of values placed upon our traditions and culture. Without it ‘we would all be much poorer, disadvantaged of roots, more uncertain about who we are and who we were’ (Fethi, 1993). Even lived in surroundings are not identified as heritage; ‘people attach considerable value aspects of their immediate environment†¦ which give them a sense of identity and place of pride’ (Butt, 1988). Urban conservation is a political, economic and social concern; and tourism -, image- or fashion-led conservation will only be superficial. Lichfield (1988) describes conservation as action to cope with actual or potential obsolescence. Historical environments serve a social purpose and their loss as irreparable cultural has been demonstrated in post-war rebuilding. Conservation is necessary for society both practically and in the academic sense of the historic knowledge (Whitehand, 1981). 2. 2. 2Culture as the Key to Urban Regeneration In the new millennium, mega cities leaders and opinion-makers have continually emphasized that the future of their metropolis is tied to culture (Shaw and William, 2002). In the case of Montreal, it isn’t the only city to have recognized the value of culture. Toronto has decided to invest heavily in its cultural infrastructure, while New York City has opted to directly support creative endeavors in order to consolidate its reputation as a city of cultural excellence. More than ever before, culture is the beating heart of a city. In a world where cities rather than countries are the real players in a competitive global economy, culture is now widely recognized as a vehicle of economic and urban development (Cowan, 2007). By virtue of its ability to generate a creative environment that attracts the investors and talents of the new knowledge- and innovation-based economy, culture is destined to become increasingly ingrained in the urban fabric. While urban cultural tourism continues to be dominated by the great capitals of culture such as Paris and London, the current trend of improving the cultural offering means even cities previously lacking cultural interest can emerge as new tourist destinations (Doratli et al, 2004). Other cities have opted instead for urban renewal projects aimed at enhancing and improving access to the culture. According to Mershon (2000), Some of these projects are meant to re-energize a heritage district and others to change the vocation of an old quarter, as in the case of the revitalization of Quebec City’s Petit Champlain and Saint-Roch districts. The latter, site of workshops and stores since the founding of New France, is today a thriving mix of historic homes, restaurants, businesses and theatres. Saint-Roch, meanwhile, owes its new lease on life to one of the largest urban construction projects in the provincial capital. The city invested $5. 2 million in the landscaping of Jardin Saint-Roch, a veritable oasis of greenery amidst the greyness of the then-neglected neighborhood. Today the neighborhood is a hot new destination in the heart of the city, boasting trendy restaurants, fashionable watering holes, lovely avant-garde boutiques and more than 100 artists’ studios. Redevelopment can also help structure the urban cultural offering. In Montreal, municipal leaders have been working in partnership with local tourism and cultural sectors since 2003 on development of an arts and entertainment district to be called the â€Å"Quartier des spectacles. † A similar initiative was recently launched by Vancouver, which this past April (in collaboration with British Columbia’s Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Arts) announced a $10-million investment to support creation of a cultural precinct in the heart of downtown. It appears each city must adopt an approach to cultural development tailored to its specific circumstances, history and means. Urban and cultural tourism, for its part, is simply what flows from the existing and constantly evolving dynamics between the inhabitants of urban spaces and those who visit them. City planning, sociology, tourism and ultimately the economy itself appear to be but variables in the same equation: that of living well together (Timur, 2005). CONCLUSION In this study, a descriptive research had been chosen as a type of research. This is because the descriptive research is conducted with the objective to portray an accurate description of events, situations of person (Saunders et al. , 2003). Besides that, descriptive research is also based on some previous understanding of the nature of the problem which is different from exploratory research. As the purpose of descriptive study is to describe characteristics of the population or phenomenon, it does relate with the purpose of this study which is to determined factors influencing Malaysian’s perceptions towards e-ticketing. Furthermore, a collections of quantitative data will also being used to which involves gathering numerical data using structured questionnaires or observation guides to collect primary data from individuals (Hair et al,. 2007). Quantitative data is when measurements which are numbers are being used directly to represent the characteristics of something. Quantitative data collection is chosen because they are recorded through numbers and being form easily into a statistical analysis.