Urban renewal

Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in British English) is a process of land re-development in areas of previous moderate to high density urban land use. In Europe and the United States this process began an intense phase in the late 1940s and continued at least through the 1980s. It has had a major impact on the urban landscape of many world cities and continues to do so in the present day. It has also played an important role in cities worldwide, and examples include; as Beijing, China, Melbourne, Victoria; Saint John, New Brunswick; Glasgow, Scotland; San Francisco, California; and Bilbao, Spain. Commonly cited examples include Canary Wharf, in London, and Cardiff in Wales.

Urban renewal is often controversial and sometimes involves the use of eminent domain (known as Compulsory Purchase in the UK), a legal instrument to reclaim private property for civic projects. The redevelopment process is envisioned as a way to redevelop residential slums, blighted commercial and industrial areas..

In the second half of the 20th century, renewal often resulted in the creation of urban sprawl and vast areas of cities being demolished and replaced by freeways and expressways, housing projects, and vacant lots, some of which still remain vacant at the beginning of the 21st century.

While renewal projects have revitalised many cities, it has often been at a high cost to existing communities, and in many cases simply resulted in the destruction of vibrant—if run-down —neighborhoods.Queen's Market, Upton Park in the UK has been as a case where so-called regneration might actually result in degeneration of London's most ethnically diverse market. Friends of Queen's Market Urban renewal in its original form has been called a failure by many urban planners and civic leaders, and has since been reformulated with a focus on redevelopment of existing communities. However, many cities link the revitalization of the central business district and gentrification of residential neighborhoods to earlier urban renewal programs. Over time, urban renewal evolved into a policy based less on destruction and more on renovation and investment, and today is an integral part of many local governments, often combined with small and big business incentives.