Urban regeneration is a key focus for public policy throughout Europe. This book examines social sustainability and analyses its meaning. The authors offer a comprehensive European perspective to identify best practices in sustainable urban regeneration in five major cities in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, and the UK. This authoritative overview of the scholarly literature makes the book essential reading for researchers and post-graduate students in sustainable development, real estate, geography, urban studies, and urban planning, as well as consultants and policy advisors in urban regeneration and the built environment.

This book provides a deep insight into urban regeneration schemes and explores the parameters of what is deemed a sustainable development, before appraising existing schemes’ evaluation models for the sustainable return on investment. The authors present a new practical evaluation tool that suggests quantifiable benefits for all urban regeneration stakeholders. This new method enables the gauging of the full sustainable impact, from a given outlay of money invested in a housing-led urban regeneration scheme, through an evidence-based proof and can be used to: Better fulfil sustainability criteria in terms of all three aspects of the triple bottom line and contribute in a more sustainable way to address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 11 Reduce financial waste and plug the gap created by the recent economic shortfall which is impacting on housing associations, tenants and communities alike Evaluate historical housing-led urban regeneration schemes and model future schemes. The method can be used as a strategic decision making or management tool, with schemes being able to be planned in, prioritised or carried out in a targeted and strategic manner; and it can be used for modelling purposes, for publicity purposes and alongside existing tools. This book provides a unique method of fully and sustainably evaluating housing-led urban regeneration schemes, useful for planners, strategic management, local authorities, housing associations, the construction industry and built environment students alike.

Containing the proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability this book addresses the multi-disciplinary aspects of urban planning; a result of the increasing size of cities; the amount of resources and services required and the complexity of modern society. Most of earth’s population now lives in cities and the process of urbanisation still continues generating many problems deriving from the drift of the population towards them. These problems can be resolved by cities becoming efficient habitats, saving resources in a way that improves the quality and standard of living. The process however, faces a number of major challenges, related to reducing pollution, improving main transportation and infrastructure systems. New urban solutions are required to optimise the use of space and energy resources leading to improvements in the environment, i.e. reduction in air, water and soil pollution as well as efficient ways to deal with waste generation. These challenges contribute to the development of social and economic imbalances and require the development of new solutions. Large cities are probably the most complex mechanisms to manage. However, despite such complexity they represent a fertile ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists, and other professionals able to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements. The challenge of planning sustainable cities lies in considering their dynamics, the exchange of energy and matter, and the function and maintenance of ordered structures directly or indirectly, supplied and maintained by natural systems. Topics covered include: Urban strategies; Planning, development and management; Urban conservation and regeneration; The community and the city; Eco-town planning; Landscape planning and design; Environmental management; Sustainable energy and the city; Transportation; Quality of life; Waterfront development; Case studies; Architectural issues; Cultural heritage issues; Intelligent environment and emerging technologies; Planning for risk; Disaster and emergency response; Safety and security; Waste management; Infrastructure and society; Urban metabolism.

For the first time in human history, more than half the world’s population is urban. A fundamental aspect of this transformation has been the emergence of giant cities, or megacities, that present major new challenges. This book examines how issues of megacity development, urban form, sustainability, and unsustainability are conceived, how governance processes are influenced by these ideas, and how these processes have in turn influenced outcomes on the ground, in some cases in transformative ways. Through 15 in-depth case studies by prominent researchers from around the world, this book examines the major challenges facing megacities today. The studies are organized around a shared set of concerns and questions about issues of sustainability, land development, urban governance, and urban form. Some of the main questions addressed are: What are the most pressing issues of sustainability and urban form in each megacity? How are major issues of sustainability understood and framed by policymakers? Is urban form considered a significant component of sustainability issues in public debates and public policy? Who are the key actors framing urban sustainability challenges and shaping urban change? How is unsustainability, risk, or disaster imagined, and how are those concerns reflected in policy approaches? What has been achieved so far, and what challenges remain? The publication of this book is a step toward answering these and other crucial questions.

How should regional cities develop regional development strategies for their sustainable future? How can such strategies work effectively? Regional cities are now at a crossroads: will they decline or be regenerated under the impacts of globalization? Their sustainable regeneration as creative regional centers will play a decisive role in their sustainable development as a whole, but only with viable regional spatial strategies that strengthen the network of cities and their hinterlands. The concern here lies in urban regeneration and strategic spatial planning at the city-region level. This book records observations of 12 dynamically changing regional cities in Asia, Europe and the United States. The form of the city region, urban regeneration and strategic spatial planning as well as the local and regional governance of each city are examined. Through this empirical and comparative analysis, essential lessons are drawn, which will add a new perspective to discussions on the sustainable future of regional cities in an age of globalization.

The book reflects on how intelligent urban regeneration can be an extraordinary driver of sustainable social and economic progress. It provides a friendly, evergreen and flexible thinking methodology that can serve as a reference guide to address a wide range of initiatives creating the conditions to thrive in an increasingly selective, rapidly changing and unpredictable market context. The book throws light on the importance of adopting an open approach based on collaboration, crafting strong visions, developing appealing value propositions, embracing a modern leadership style and setting-up highly effective multi-disciplinary team for the execution. It illustrates how standard approaches should be re-designed, business models innovated and processes re-engineered to guarantee better alignment between supply and demand of real estate as markets shift and new differentiators emerge among competitors. The book makes clear that creating a vibrant urban ecosystem requires a gradual shift of focus from built-environment investment to socio-economic output. It targets a wide audience of private and public sector professionals active in urban regeneration and real estate development.

Addresses the multi-disciplinary aspects of urban planning, a result of the increasing size of cities, the amount of resources and services required and the complexity of modern society. Innovative tools are required for identifying the high complexity of contemporary cities. It is necessary to provide a more scientific approach to urban studies, inspired by Prigogine's theories of dissipative structures, and to highlight relations between different systems and between systems and the environment. The challenge of placing sustainable contemporary cities lies in considering the dynamics of urban systems, exchange of energy and matter and the function and maintenance of ordered structures directly or indirectly supplied and maintained by natural systems. The task of researchers, aware of the complexity of the contemporary city, is to increase the capacity to manage human activities pursuing welfare and prosperity in sustainable cities.