Regeneration exam questions Flashcards
EQ2
Evaluate the reasons why some regions are more successful than others (20)
Places tend to be considered successful if they are self-sustaining, where people and investment are drawn from opportunities provided. Success therefore has many dimensions, economic such as income and employment, and social such as deprivation and quality of living environment
Job opportunities
Employment opportunities can explain the reasons why some players are more successful than others become successful places will have a range of job opportunities which have good pay and and reliable, as they attract investment. This can explain why San Fransisco bay is considered successful, where it has become highly competitive in high-tech industries and some of the largest technology and media companies including Apple and Netflix base their headquarters in Sillicon valley. Silicon valley also employs over 6 million people, and therefore people are attracted to live there from the benefits of a range of jobs which are stable and of high pay. Contrastingly, somewhere considered unsuccessful may be Detroit rust belt, where deindustrialisation has led to a lack of employment opportunities through people moving way and a lack of investment.
Education
Education opportunities may be able to explain why some places are more successful because good education attracts young families, as well as businesses if there is a large community of qualified young people to be employed, and this can then lead to high salaries and a good quality of life. For example, in San Fransisco, there is the prestigious Stanford university, which ranks a top 5 university globally in the QS rankings. Alumni include Elon Musk, and the university shows that San Fransisco is successful because it provides young adults with good qualifications that are respected by employers. At Stanford, the average salary 10 years post-grad is $88,000. Contrastingly, Detroit public schools ranked last in the country in 2018. As well as this, high school graduation ratings for public schools are approximately 70%, nearly 20% lower than the US average. This can lead to a lack of success in the area as a lack of young people are qualified and so it doesn’t receive much investment, making employment opportunities limited and pay low.
Quality of living environment
Quality of living environment includes factors like access to housing, amount of green space and derelict land. A place with good housing, green space and a lack of derelict land is considered more successful because it makes places nicer to live in and contributes to reduced deprivation. In San Fransisco, there isn’t much derelict land due to much of the city being very developed. Although, lack of affordability of homes means that it is estimated that around 15% of homes are empty. This is because of the extreme costs, whereby average house price is $1.25 million. This suggests although San Fransisco is mainly successful, it lacks quality of living environment making it somewhat deprived. Some regions within San Fransisco are therefore more successful than others, depending on housing prices. Alternatively, in Detroit, quality of living environment is much more serve because of deindustrialization, where there are huge amounts of brownfield and derelict land from old industrial sites and where people moved out from a lack of opportunities. However, Detroit can be seen as less successful because this then may have health implications from contamination (life expectancy is 69 years)
Explain the reasons for economic success in one place you have studied (6)
San Fransisco has a large economically active population where 71.5% are aged 18-65. This means there are lots of people to work and so a thriving economy
Many people in San Fransisco have high qualification levels because of good colleges in the area such as Stanford university, leaving highly skilled workers that can work high-paying jobs
It is a global technology hub and attracts some of the largest TNC companies such as Apple and Netflix
Explain the consequences of a loss in manufacturing in urban areas (6)
Skilled populations move away leaving people who are unskilled and lack qualifications, therefore leading to a lack of business investment and job opportunities
Buildings are left derelict, particularly industrial waste and this can contaminate soil and water and have health implication, reducing life expectancy
There are a lack of opportunities for work after school and so less people graduate and get qualifications
Evaluate the reasons why regeneration strategies are often controversial (20)
There are significant variations in the lived experiences of places, which can lead to differing opinions
Different views based on length of residency:
Students are likely to feel less attached to a place and so less likely to care about regeneration. For example, as a largely student city, Leeds regeneration may be less controversial for a large percentage of residents as students who only live there a few years.
However, longer-term residents may feel more attached and be more resistant to change. This may be particularly true for places that have gone through gentrification such as notting hill, if long-term residents cannot afford to stay, whilst students are less impacted and only live there for a few years anyways
Different views based on age:
Younger people who are economically active are much more likely to welcome regeneration due to job creation. whereas, older residents may want a slower pace of life, and so be against change if it brings in large influxes of people and makes areas more busy. For example, in Cornwall, many people move there to retire as it is known for secludedness and being a more peaceful coastal county and 35% of people are over 65. Therefore, there may be controversy in its rural regeneration schemes like the eden project
How environmentally friendly schemes are:
If regeneration strategies are environmentally conscious and provision of wildlife is included, then environmentalists are likely to approve it. for example, the Stratford games. However if environmental negatives weigh out positives such as congestion made by increased tourism and migration, then environmentalists may disprove of regeneration. For example, in Cornwall, the Eden project led to a very large increase in congestion
Different views based on income/deprivation of residents:
Regeneration could lead to the gentrification of places. If things get more expensive, such as new independent coffee shops, lower income and more deprived residents are likely to disprove of the regeneration. Whereas, residents who are wealthier may see regeneration in a more positive light as increasing prices doesn’t have such a large impact
Conclusion- once complete, residents may see the benefits more than during the regeneration
Evaluate the reasons why peoples lived experience and levels of engagement with them varies (20)
Age
Age can impact lived experience as many children have no other experiences of living in a different location to that they grew up in and so may see things as more positive. Whereas, someone who is older may have more experiences of living in locations leading to different perceptions. Additionally, their greater amount of free time lends itself to greater levels of engagement in communities, and this can be similarly said for elderly people who are in retirement and therefore have more time to devote to community engagement. This then suggests the majority of economically active individuals to lack engagement due to a lack of free time. Although, there are instances where despite lack of free time, as economically active people enter the labour economy, they become more engaged as are acutely aware of deprivation and lack of opportunities and wish to change this
Length of residency
In terms of lived experience, long-term residents of places are likely to feel much more attached to places, and are likely to have stronger opinions and view them in a much more dynamic way if they have seen places both in decline and regeneration (such as Stratford long-term residents). Long-term stratford residents may see it in a negative light if regenerstion led to them being pushed out from prices rising e.g, clay lane housing cooperative residents. In contrast, newer residents or less permanent residents such as students will have a less varied opinion of a place as have only seen it in its current state e.g., people who moved to Stratford after the regeneration, and therefore have the money to live there will view it more positively. In terms of engagement, length of residency has a significant impact on attachment. Longer-term residents may be more engaged as they know that they will be impacted by any change. Whereas, shorter-term residents like students may lack engagement in university cities e.g., Leeds, where over half the population are uni students. This is because they aren’t permanent and so are unlikely to be impacted by any future action.
Level of deprivation
In severely deprived areas such as Redruth in Cornwall, lived experience can be expected to be very negative due to poor education, employment opportunities, high crime rates etc. For example, residents at close hill estate in Redruth are likely to have one of the most negative lived experiences due to high crime rates leading to a 6 week 9pm curfew of the estate for under 18s. In contrast, areas which lack much deprivation such as harrow on the hill may have more positive lived experiences. This is because education is very good (the prestigious harrow school), crime rates are relatively low and there is good employment opportunities with connectivity to London. Moreover, generally, areas with more deprivation have less engagement due to a sense of ‘hopelessness’, that nothing will ever change. Although, this isn’t always the case and in deprived areas, communities may be actively seeking change to better themselves.
Explain factors leading to variations in political engagement (6)
Age
Age can impact political engagement because younger people are less likely to vote as are often less politically engaged. Younger people are also more likely to vote labour (under 40s), whilst older ages are much more inclined to vote conservative
Income
People of a higher income were more likely to vote to remain in the EU, whilst those of lower income were more likely to vote to leave in the UK EU referendum
Education
Residents of higher education voted to remain whilst those with lower education voted to leave the EU
EQ3
Evaluate the extent to which national governments play a role in regeneration (20)
Regeneration is the long-term upgrading of existing places to bring about social and economic change. Key players involved include national and local governments, private investors and TNCs. National governments can be suggested to play the biggest role because of their investment into large-scale schemes and policies, which impact the whole nation, whereas local governments only impact towns or cities. Although, they may not play such a significant role as can have negative impacts including local disruptions and environmental damage
Large role- investment in projects
National governments play a large role because they invest into projects which are to expensive for private companies to invest in, and so can provide the large required finances needed for big change, such as HS2, which had an original cots of £37.5 billion (2009). HS2 is a high-speed rail project in the UK which was created due to high car congestion and the UK reaching road and rail capacity. It is funded by the national government and aimed to connect London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds through a new rail system. This would help in the regeneration of UK cities by allowing for faster travel between major cities, helping boost economies of those further north of London. This is because many high paying quaternary businesses may require fast travel to London, and it it makes them more likely to invest. As well as this, it could create jobs in construction, and has currently made over 30,000, helping boost northern economies further. Although, Rishi Sunak cancelled the northern leg of the scheme between Birmingham and Manchester, meaning up to 157,000 potential jobs are lost. this suggests national governments may not be prioritising funding for regeneration and so don’t play such a large role
Small role- housing laws
Demand for housing is very high, particularly in south east England and London with a high influx of migrants internationally and rural-urban migrants. However, housing is limited and housing that exists is very expensive, with the average house price in London being nearly £530,000. It is estimated that 240,000 homes would need to be built each years in order to reach growing demand. However, government laws prevent the building of new housing, such as greenbelt policy, which makes releasing of new land for building of houses very difficult. This therefore can prevent regeneration and economic growth by limiting the opportunity for more people to move to cities.
Large role- deregulation
National governments are major decision-makers and can bring about large-scale regeneration and change. This is evident in national government decisions to deregulate financial markets in 1986. This allowed for the removal of barriers where foreign investors could now invest in the UK without government approval. As a result, the UKs finance, banking and business sectors grew massively, now representing 30% of the UKs GDP. This brings long-term economic and social change as these sectors are high-paying and tax is increased leading to a better quality of life with more social spending.
Small role- environmental damage
As well as local disruptions caused by national governments, they invest into huge environmental risks in places and this could then lead to more harm than good. This is evident in the fracking debate. Fracking is the process of drilling down into deep shale and injecting it with sand, water and chemicals to release gas trapped in the rock. Whilst this could improve the UKs energy mix by diversifying it and help the UK become more energy secure, which may be helpful in regeneration, this is at very high risk. This is because fracking can harm the environment such as by water contamination, thus damaging the environment and human health, not helping to regenerate areas. Furthermore, in lancashire, fracking led to reports of small earthquakes, ad therefore national governments may not help in regenerating places as decisions may pose more risks than benefits.
Explain why infrastructure regeneration is often opposed (6)
It can create conflict in areas as development of infrastructure e.g., Heathrows third runway development, can misplace and break up communities due to housing being disrupted in order to make space.
It can created environmental issues where development of new infrastructure such as HS2 can lead to noise and air pollution in construction. This could lead to it being opposed to locals as it is loud and can pose health risks
It could be opposed due to high costs of many infrastructure schemes such as in the development of a new runway at Heathrow. This is estimated to cost £14 billion, and so people may believe this money could be better spent socially e.g., in education
Evaluate the success of local government policies which aim to attract inward investment to rural areas (20)
Local governments are responsible for a range of vital services for people and businesses in areas, such as social care, schools and housing. Local government policies include science parks and enterprise zones, which aim to attract local investment by making rural areas seem more attractive.
Very successful- enterprise zones
Local enterprise zones can be considered very succesful at attracting investment to rural areas. They do this by offering incentives to businesses such as discounts on business rates and tax relief, which can enable businesses to choose rural areas over urban ones. For example, new-quay Aero hub in Cornwall offers incentives such as tax discounts, and it attracts aviation businesses including Skybus. As a result, 450 jobs which aren’t seasonal have been created. Therefore, through local enterprise zones very successfully attract inward investment to rural areas.
However, enterprise zones don’t guarantee investment into rural areas, whereby many businesses would still prefer to invest into major cities like London which are more profitable. For example, although Newquay Aero hub generated 450 jobs, its aim was 700 and so it hasn’t been as successful as some may perceive it to be.
Unsuccessful- science parks- isolation
Science parks are a key planning mechanism which are designated areas to promote research and business. They attract business and start-ups by creating a good environment for business growth e.g., being near universities, near major cities, areas of low costs etc. As connectivity is a major attraction of businesses to science parks, rural areas that are isolated may prevent investment, such as Cornwall which is a 5 hour drive to London. This is because many businesses particularly in quaternary require travel to big cities, and this would be inefficient if set up in a rural area. For example, one reason why Cambridge science park is sos successful is its connectedness to London (45 mins train), and the rest of the UK and world (near Stansted airport). Many rural areas severely lack this, and so are likely to be unsuccessful in attracting inward investment. Although, lower costs of living and prices of land could be a positive incentive which attracts businesses to science parks in rural areas rather than near global city hubs.
Successful- Superfast broadband?
Superfast broadband rural fibre networks can help in encouraging businesses and creating jobs, particularly in the IT field where superfast broadband is a necessity. by 2016, 95% of Cornwall has access to fibre broadband, being the first in the country to achieve this. Main costs came from BT, and this BT partnership helps developing knowledge and information sectors in the economy, attracting more business
Explain different local interest groups that could play a role in regeneration (6)
Chambers of commerce
They try and persuade local and national governments to invest in infrastructure, education and skills to promote business
Local preservation societies
They aim to ensure that regeneration and development doesn’t lead to negative local consequences
Trade unions
They work to ensure that employers consider the rights and needs of workers in regeneration plans
Explain the impact that rebranding can have on a place (6)
Increased TNC investment
Changing the perspective of a place can increase FDI and investment as they appear more attractive. For example, Glasgow rebranding led to long-term investment from the BBC into Glasgow where the HQ for Scotlands BBC TV and Radio is now located there on a former shipyard
Locations can be placed on the international map, where they become known and influential globally. For example, Glasgows second rebranding ‘People make Glasgow’ in 2013 led to in 2014 them hosting the commonwealth games
Another impact is increased tourism. This is because to rebrand, many places increase tourist attractions which are then advertised. In Glasgow, tourist attractions highly revolve around its history as a shipbuilding location, such as Titan crane heritage site
Evaluate the importance of rebranding to the success of rural regeneration (20)
Rebranding is the ‘marketing’ aspect of regeneration, designed to change the perceived image of a place to outsiders including businesses, residents and businesses.
Very important
Rebranding is very important as it can change the perceived image of places and boost rural areas economies, which may have previously relied heavily on primary farming sectors. For example, Kielder forests is a remote town in Northumberland, and has a diverse wildlife and is naturally attractive. Therefore, in order to attract more visitors, it rebranded through promoting activities there like walking, fishing and archery. It now attracts 350,000 visitors annually.
Not important
Rebranding alone is unlikely to lead to significant change. This is because regeneration and long-term upgrading of places is often required to attract visitors, rather than advertising a location. For example, rural areas will need locations for visitors to stay overnight due to long distances, and so investment is likely to be required in building of hotels and places to stay.
Important
Using a locations historical importance can be very important in attracting visitors to rural areas which may otherwise lack many qualities. For example, Bronte country, a moorland in west Yorkshire, inspired works of the Bronte sisters such as withering heights. It has capitalised on its rich literacy and historical heritage in rebranding. Rebranding included outdoor adventure activities such as clay pigeon shooting and axe throwing, hosting themed events, and farm diversification. Bronte county now has over 75,000 visitors annually
Not important
Rural rebranding could actually create problems for many smaller rural areas. This is because if rebranding makes areas more attractive for second home owners, inward migration may have negative impacts on availability of housing for locals. This could lead to rural-urban migration and a loss of a sense of community
Evaluate whether rebranding approaches create more winners or losers (20)
Rebranding is the ‘marketing’ aspect of regeneration, designed to change the perceived image of a place to outsiders including investors, tourists, residents and businesses.
Winners- job creation
In urban ares, rebranding can lead to investment in new businesses which can create higher managerial jobs and economically boost cities. For example, in Glasgow, the ‘People make Glasgow’ rebranding scheme in. 2013 led to long-term investment from the BBC. BBC opened their HQ for Scotlands TV and Radio in Glasgow, building this upon an area of former shipyard at the Pacific quay. This can then lead to the multiplier effect where many businesses are now at the pacific quay, providing many job opportunities and boosting the local economy greatly.
Losers- locals
In rural areas particularly, whilst rebranding benefits the economy by diversifying it, it can push communities out. This is because an increase in tourism in places like kielder forests from promotion of activities (350,000 visitors a year) can lead to more people becoming second home owners and buying property here. This may lead to property prices rising and less being available, and as a result there may be more rural-urban migration, with a breakup of communities.
Winners- governments/locals
More in-migration to places such as Glasgow can increase tax revenue, so the government has increased spending. Residential development occurred in Glasgow whereby investment from private property developers has allowed more homes to be built along the river. There are local facilities near these homes like shops and residents, attracting people to purchase homes and in-migrate. This in-turn benefits locals with larger social spending, leading to long-term social improvements and regeneration
Losers- locals
Rebranding leading to in-migration can increase congestion in areas that weren’t originally built for major traffic. There are only a few bridging points to cross the river Clyde in Glasgow and so an increase in population size and tourism creates a lot of congestion. This can make locals losers, with longer travel times, as well as the environment from pollution
Evaluate the view that successful regeneration always relies on changing the perception of an area (20)
Agree- crucial in attracting business investment for economic success. For example, Glasgow led to BBC investment
Disagree- perceptions of an area are often shaped by its history. Successful regeneration should acknowledge and incorporate it rather than trying to erase it. In Redruth, only major influence is historical mining history. Shouldn’t change perception, but build on history
Agree- changing perceptions can lead to in-migration. For example, Glasgow ‘People make Glasgow’ meant mire in-migration which means more tax revenue and social spending. However, also need infrastructure investment to make space for migrants, which Glasgow had. Risks of communties being broken up without housing investment e.g., increasing second home owners in rural areas
Disagree- sustainable regeneration should consider careful planning. If an area has in-migration from improved attractiveness, it needs to invest to cope with this. There are only a few bridging points to cross the river Clyde in Glasgow, and in-migration has led to congestion
EQ4
Evaluate the extent to which national influences are more significant than global and international influences in creating regeneration
Agree- rural regeneration
Many rural areas can lack a strong international influence, and so rely on national influences in regeneration.This is because rural areas are often more isolated from major cities which international tourists visit. One way rural areas can do this is with post-production countryside, where they increase tourist attractions so that people in towns nearby may visit for the day or stay for the weekend. For example, farm diversification is where farms find new income to replace farming as a main source, such as in leisure. This could include opening up petting zoos or farm shops, with a well-known example being Lobbs farm shop in Cornwall
Disagree- international influences important in boosting tourism, and can boost economies a lot more. For example, in Stratford, they have the international influence of hosting the 2012 olympics, and so have created other activities to tourists to do in the 560 acre queen Victoria park including play areas for children, and the swimming pool can be used by the public. Just a couple minutes away from the park, Westfield shopping centre opened as well, all increasingly likelihood of tourists visting for a day out to ensure a reliable economy and increase jobs for locals.
Agree- transport hub
National influences such as being a transport hub can lead to high in-migration nationally where individuals may move due to connections such as into the city. Stratford station went under significant expansion and modernisation to increase passenger capacity for the olympics, such as additions of new platforms. This improved connectivity, making statford more attractive for long-term investment of businesses as well as in-migration of individuals due to easy commute into central London. This then increases tax revenue in Stratford and creates additional social spending. Although, it may not be positive for Stratford due to its high homelessness rates (1 in 22 are homeless in Newham), so new people moving in could up housing costs further and push communities out.
