Urban Centre Redevelopment

Urban decline ::

Decline of an urban centre is influenced by many factors. City councils are often determined to attract new industry and inward investment and may even offer greenfield sites for development. Planning policies can encourage urban expansion and provide development 'out of town'. Companies find peripheral locations cheaper and nearer more affluent customers and staff in the leafy suburbs. Investors and businesses are attracted by peripheral sites because they have good access and pleasant environments surrounding. 

Since the cost and upkeep of developments of CBDs (central business district) such as rents and land costs, it is much more attractive to develop out of town. Congestion in CBDs means that accessibility is reduced for customers and companies certainly do not want that. Progressive suburbanisation leads to urban sprawl and edge cities where the city centre may be many miles away. Many city centres are perceived as dirty, unsafe, aesthetically unpleasant and with a poor infrastructure.

Solutions ::

1. establish management and marketing teams to coordinate overall management of CBDs and run special events.

2. Pedestrianisation helps with safety issues and pollution levels in city centres therefore improving the shopping environment.

3. Constructing all-weather shopping malls in the centre that are air-conditioned and heated depending on the season. However space and rent may be an issue here.

4. Encourage specialist areas such as attractive open street markets, cultural quarters and arcades.

5. Improving public transport links to the heart of the CBD. This includes park and ride schemes, shopper buses and bus lanes. 

6. Install a CCTV system to help deter crime and improve safety levels.

7. Make the CBD safer for women by improving street lighting, registering taxi vehicles, having lots of public place seating, maintaining hedges at shoulder height and placing help points in the city with alarms and phones.

Offering other services ::

1. Encouraging a wider range of leisure facilities including cafes, bars, restaurants, music venues, cinemas and theaters to entice people.
2. Promoting street entertainment to attract people like in Covent Garden in London.
3. Developing the nightlife scene like in Leeds
4. Developing flagship attractions such as the Photographic Museum in Bradford.
5. Constructing office blocks, apartments, hotels and conference centres to attract business people.

Case Study: Birmingham

The city of Birmingham grew rapidly in size during the Indutrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th century. It's main industries were guns, jewellery, toys and metalworking. Factories were built int he city centre and along canals and railway lines for access. By 1960, housing had deteriorated and so many were replaces with blocks of flats. By 1970, the council had decided to reinvest into the city centre and redevelop it.

1960's Improvements:

The first stage of which was to improve road links. The increase in car ownership meant there was a need for structures such as ring roads to reduce congestion. In the most central ring road a shopping centre named the Bull Ring was built over several floors. A large bus station and covered market were also constructed.

1960's Issues:

Because of the vast amount of ring roads, pedestrian access became a problem quickly. Underpasses had to be built which left many women feeling unsafe and prime targets in the CBD. Shopping precincts became dingy and run down so people were attracted to out of town retail centre Merryhill in Dudley instead.

Recent redevelopment ::

The new Bull Ring was opened in 2003 over three floors and was home to 140 shops and 3000 car parking spaces. Saint Martin's Square was linked to the site and hosts music concerts and stages other events. 8000 jobs had been created and further development as planned. By the end of 2004 the complex had become so successful that it entered the top three shopping centres in the UK.

The Bird's Custard Factory in Digbeth built in 1900 was derelict by 1980. The council wanted to encourage creative industries and so in its first stage of development, 500 artists and small enterprises accommodated the factories small studios and workshops. Development continued and attracted cafes and antiques shops to the site along with the refurbishment of rooms into dance studios, art galleries and bars.