Re-urbanisation in the MEDC city

Overview

What re-urbanisation is, who moves back into an inner city and why, and the kinds of scheme that drive it.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is re-urbanisation?

   Model answer

   The movement of people and economic activity back into the inner city and city centre, reversing the earlier outward flows of suburbanisation and counterurbanisation. Population in the inner urban area, which had been falling for decades, begins to rise again, and derelict and underused land there is redeveloped for housing, offices, retail and leisure. The direction of movement is inwards, from suburbs, smaller towns and elsewhere, into the urban core.

2. 2

   Who moves into the inner city during re-urbanisation, and why?

   Model answer

   Chiefly young adults, students, young professionals and small childless households, along with some older people whose children have left home. They are attracted by proximity to city-centre jobs in offices, finance, health, education, media and the creative industries; by short commutes and the ability to live without a car; by the nightlife, restaurants, cultural venues and gyms of the centre; by new apartments requiring little maintenance; and by the character of converted warehouses and older buildings. Rising student numbers add a substantial concentrated demand.

3. 3

   What kinds of scheme drive re-urbanisation?

   Model answer

   Waterfront and dockland regeneration, where redundant port and industrial land is redeveloped for apartments, offices, hotels and leisure. Flagship projects such as arenas, conference centres, museums and stadiums that change an area's image. Conversion of redundant warehouses, mills and offices into apartments. New build on cleared brownfield sites. Public realm improvements to streets, squares and waterfronts. Investment in public transport and cycling. Development corporations, enterprise zones and other agencies given the funding and powers to assemble land and lever in private investment.

4. 4

   How does planning policy encourage re-urbanisation?

   Model answer

   By operating a sequential approach that requires brownfield land within the urban area to be considered before greenfield land on the edge is released, and by setting minimum densities so that inner sites are used intensively. By protecting green belt so outward growth is constrained. By restraining out-of-town retail permissions so the city centre remains the focus of shopping. By granting mixed-use permissions that put housing above shops and offices. And by using grants, gap funding and remediation money to make contaminated or awkward inner sites viable for developers.

5. 5

   What benefits does re-urbanisation bring to a city?

   Model answer

   Derelict land and buildings are brought back into use, removing blight and improving the environment. Greenfield land on the fringe is saved and sprawl slowed. Population and spending return to the centre, supporting shops, services and public transport and improving the local tax base. Shorter journeys reduce congestion and emissions. New jobs are created in construction and then in the services that follow. A city centre with residents is busier and safer in the evening rather than emptying at six o'clock, and the city's image improves, attracting further investment and tourism.

6. 6

   What problems can re-urbanisation create?

   Model answer

   Rising land values and rents can price out existing residents and long-standing small businesses. New development is often dominated by small, expensive apartments unsuitable for families, so the housing mix narrows and the social mix does with it. Benefits can be confined to a showpiece quarter while adjoining deprived streets are unchanged and their residents gain no jobs, producing resentment and a sharp contrast within a short distance. Pressure on schools, health services and open space rises. Heavy concentration of student housing can hollow out an area outside term time. And city-centre living can be noisy and short of green space.

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