Regeneration EQ3 Flashcards
What’s the role of government in regeneration and the implications of development (L13)
Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows gas to flow out the head of the well.
How does deregulation impact regeneration?
- Deregulation involved the following changes:
- Instead of the London stock exchange having a monopoly on all share dealings, any bank, or financial adviser could trade in shares.
- Barriers stopping overseas banks and other financial institutions from setting up offices in London were also removed.
Deregulation allowed foreign investors to invest in the UK without seeking UK government approval. The results transformed the UK’s economy to the extent that banking, finance and business services now account for 30% of the UK’s GDP.
What is the role of the national government in regeneration?
Is responsible for considering the level of inequality across the country as having disparity between places and regions.
What is HS2 and why did they build it?
The central government is planning a new high-speed rail network, from London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester. Some projects are just too expensive for private companies to invest so the central government is the only one left to provide sufficient capital. They want to build the HS2 to create job opportunities in the North by reducing the north/south divide. It will allow people to travel and work on their laptops.
Each project is subject to cost-benefit analysis where costs are weighed up against economic growth.
Who are the players involved with HS2 and what are their attitudes?
- Local residents’ homes need to be destroyed.
- Benefit those of the north.
- HS2 is opposed by Greenpeace, friends of the earth and the Green party.
In a 2018 survey, 34% said they would support it compared to 23% who wouldn’t.
What are the future uncertainties for HS2?
- The demand for low-cost social housing in Cornwall rose 40% between 2010 and 2011.
- Nationally, housing shortages have driven up house prices in relation to earnings.
What are the social costs and benefits of HS2?
+ Improved travel times between major cities.
+ Fast connections to central London.
- 16/216 homes on a housing estate will be demolished in Mexborough.
- Historical building are at risk of being demolished.
What are the economic costs and benefits of HS2?
+ An estimated 60,000 construction jobs.
+ Higher disposable income.
- There are more cheaper and effective ways to increase capacity such as digital signaling.
- First phase costs £56bn.
What are the environmental costs and benefits of HS2?
+ Reduced air pollution due to electric/hybrid train.
+ Planting of trees created new habitats for biodiversity.
- Noise pollution.
- Loss of biodiversity.
What are the planning policies involved in regeneration?
- The UK has a number of planning policies that are important in the context of regeneration:
- Greenbelt land, which surrounds most larger cities, cannot be built on. It is a protected green space, usually farmland.
- Conservation areas like National Parks have strict planning regulations that limit the development of all but small-scale residential and commercial schemes.
- Planning permission is often dependent on a scheme including ‘planning gain’ in other words a scheme for new private homes might be given permission if it includes a certain percentage of affordable homes or improvements to existing roads or parks, paid for by the developer.
- Planning laws allow for some developments that are ‘in the national interest’ such as fracking for shale gas, quarrying, or new road building, even when these would not normally be allowed.
- National house-building targets were set at 240,000 new homes per year in 2007 and revised to 200,000 per year for 2010-2015 (these targets are never met.)
What has the home shortage got to do with regeneration schemes?
A very important context for understanding regeneration is the UK’s shortage of homes and very high house prices. Demand for housing is very high in London, the South-East and East of England. This means house prices here are high - and in many locations unaffordable for most people. (The average house price in London is more than £450,000, and is about £300,000 in the South-East.)
- The housing shortage in the UK means:
- There was a shortage of about 500,000 new homes by 2016.
240,000 homes need to be built each year to meet current demand. - For the last ten years, only 100,000-150,000 new homes have been built each year.
How has the greenbelt policy made releasing new land for housing difficult?
However, planning laws like greenbelt policy make releasing new land for housing very hard to achieve. In addition, most demand is actually in the South and East, the areas with the least capacity to find new land for housing. Lack of ability to build new housing can prevent economic development and regeneration by limiting the opportunities for new people to move into an area.
What is deregulation?
Deregulation involved the following changes:
Instead of the London stock exchange having a monopoly on all share dealings, any bank, or financial adviser could trade in shares.
Barriers stopping overseas banks and other financial institutions from setting up offices in London were also removed.
Deregulation allowed foreign investors to invest in the UK without seeking UK government approval. The results transformed the UK’s economy to the extent that banking, finance and business services now account for 30% of the UK’s GDP.
How can other government policies have contributed to housing shortages?
It could be argued that other government policies have contributed to housing shortages:
- Immigration: large-scale immigration from the EU, especially since 2004, contributed to increasing the UK population from 59 million in 2001 to 63 million by 2011. An open-door immigration may have economic benefits but it also creates demand for new houses.
- Deregulation: the UK is very open to foreign investment, including allowing foreign people and companies to buy property. In 2016, the Guardian estimated that 40,000 London properties were owned by offshore tax havens. These properties may not be lived in or even rented.
- Second homes and holiday homes: there are few restrictions in the UK on people buying houses to rent out, e.g. as a holiday let or buying a second home. In some rural areas, a large percentage of houses may not be available to local people.
Most planning decisions are made by local councils at local level. Councils draw up plans, called Unitary Development Plans, which identify:
- Areas for new housing
- New roads and other major infrastructure
- Areas for commercial development, i.e. factories, offices and retail
What type of spaces does the planning create?
Such plans aim to create environments that are attractive to both people and businesses (UK-based or foreign investors) and therefore create a successful place. This means planning has to provide a range of spaces such as:
- Retail parks and shopping centres
- Business parks for office functions, and industrial parks for manufacturing and distribution
Increasingly a key goal is to attract high-value quaternary industry in fields such as ICT, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, nanotechnology, 3D printing and space research.
How do science parks encourage investment?
A science park is a business support and technology transfer that:
- Encourages the support of start-up businesses.
- Provides an environment where larger international businesses can form close interactions with a particular centre of knowledge.
Oxford science parks.
- Pleasant environment
- Established a community of people and companies of all types.
- Focus on science, technology and business services.
- Used the reputation of oxford university.
- 90 companies
- 3500 employees
- 75 acres
Cambridge science parks.
- Added new technologies and science
- Parkland and well-being, social services provided on site
-Entrepreneurial - 130 companies
- 7250 employees
- 30% foreign-owned companies
- 50% of start-ups
- 61% of companies started in Cambridge
What are the main players in regeneration?
- Chambers of Commerce: these organisations represent business and industry in a local area, and persuade local and national governments to invest in infrastructure, education and skills training.
- Trade unions: their job is to represent workers in particular industries over issues like pay and conditions; their support is important to many companies that want good worker-manager relationships.
- Education: schools, further and higher education establishments provide the skilled workers modern business need so they are key partners.
- Local groups: regeneration and development involves change, so local environmental groups, historical preservation societies and even wildlife groups need to be involved so that change does not lead to negative local consequences.
Regeneration plans can lead to conflict between different players. Inevitably, regeneration leads to change:
- In the physical fabric of an area in terms of buildings, street patterns and possibly historic landmark buildings.
- In to population of a place, as newcomers move into regenerated areas
What is the urban strategy case study?
Olympics 2012
What was the Olympics 2012 case study?
London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic games in 2005, with the proposal stating that it would create a sustainable and social legacy, unlike other Olympic games where the stadium has been left abandoned. The site for the stadium and infrastructure to be built was in the east and is spread across 6 boroughs, theses are Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest and Hackney.
Who were the key players before and after in the 2012 games?
UK central government agency
London government: the elected councils
Regional government: the London assembly
Shareholders in the local economy
Environmental stakeholders
Shareholders in people
