Lecture 6: Creative and retail-led regeneration
Neoliberalism + Globalisation = competition.
Urban entrepreneurialism sees shift from urban government to governance where state powers play facilitating roles creating enabling strategies of private-public partnerships.
"Regeneration" premised as competitive advantage, but for whom is this regeneration aimed for? and does it fall under other synonymous terms such as social cleansing and gentrification in contemporary urban development?
Who are the winners and losers?
Florida's "Creative Class Theory" - 2002
2015 - 2 Million employed in creative industries (HMRC)
Shoreditch, East London's new digital economy. The "tech city"
Attracted yuppies. instigators of 43% property prices rising near Old St.
Croydon, fastest growing economy in 2016 UK, Westfield influencing?
Creates income disparities and widening inequalities?
Retail-led regeneration
Retail industry worth 5% of UK GDP, accounting for 1/12 every company
Bromley-by-Bow "Tesco Town" sees the chain undertaking non-retail development , too.
Proposals of primary school, district centre, library, 454 new homes. Approved by Tower Hamlets in 2010.
Yet Booth, 2010 reports of local community concerns of whom these spaces will be for. The rent gap theory enhanced after the London 2012 Olympics has given Tesco and incentive to undertake a private led regeneration of an area.
Tower Hamlets was ranked the 3rd most deprived local authority district in loD in 2011.
30% in social housing.
25,000 on the housing waiting list.
43% income deprived, 80% of which are Bangladeshi or Somali
Irme and Dolton, 2014 look into this stating that the affordable housing aspects of the portfolio by Tesco was heavily backed by the LBTH as they did not see any alternative ways of providing much needed public benefit attained minimal community development.
However, they critique that the process lacked a community participatory dynamic and the project was facilitated by stakeholders in the lens of common interest between powerful state and corporate agents. Leading to concerns of how much commitment there would be the more social-welfare aspects of the plans and who this private space would be really for.
Thus Neron, 2010 observes that whilst Tesco aimed to be apolitical in this, actually played the role of a political actor in shaping places, instigating a politics of economic and political advantage for the corporate rather than a genuine interest for the sustainability of regeneration.
Business Improvement Districts
Local businesses voting to invest in improving environment, ranging from safety to cleaning.
Stratford Original recently won bid, being granted £1.2 million.
Aims were to make it easier to do business and make the town centre more welcoming.
However, whilst Minton, 2012 states that BIDs have been improving trade enviornments
Critique has also noted how policy action is decided by a small majority of business elites on behalf of the town. Lacking accountability or democratic legitimacy.
Minton acknowledges how BIDs have been harsher on homeless people who congregate around retail stores, such as Westfield where private security guards are able to "excersicse police powers by persons who are not police offers" - Minton, 2012
Therefore, the question comes to "what are cities for? Who gets the right to these spaces?" - Jones, 2016
It seems that policy elites are exhibiting more revanchist behaviours for their vision of what regeneration is and who should be part of it.
Westfield Stratford FACTS
Australian owned private company.
2000 Jobs to local unemployed
£141 million turnover in 2012
Yet only paid corporate tax rate of 0.5%