Localisation or mainstream bending in urban regeneration? European experience

Abstract

Major uncertainties surround the appropriate response to unemployment and social polarisation within European cities. This paper discusses the rhetoric and reality of efforts to promote urban regeneration through local partnerships of various kinds. It focuses on the experience of cities facing some of the greatest challenges‐ Glasgow, Dublin and Duisburg. There are broad lessons to be learnt about the circumstances in which mainstream bending and localised initiatives are appropriate; how to establish effective local capacity; and the strengths and limitations of a purely “bottom‐up” approach. Sam Aaronovitch was very interested in the problems facing European cities, in practical policies to overcome them and in comparative policy research of this kind. His use of the term multi‐level regeneration helped to inspire this paper.