A report (by an official advisory body) examined how design quality and related factors affected the experiences of residents of new housing developments. Residents were overwhelmingly satisfied with their homes, but much less so with the neighbourhood.
Source: Philippa Westbury, A Sense of Place: What residents think of their new homes, Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (web publication only)
Date: 2007-Dec
An article examined how police community support officers were operating in low-income areas with low-grade environments and above-average crime rates. PCSOs were contributing to policing, and to the areas more broadly, in ways which could be expected to aid renewal.
Source: Caroline Paskell, '"Plastic police" or "community support"? The role of police community support officers within low-income neighbourhoods', European Urban and Regional Studies, Volume 14 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Dec
A report examined the clearance of residential property and the relocation of displaced occupiers as a means of improving the health of occupiers and the overall quality of the housing stock. It said that the government's focus on building new housing, while reducing the amount of money made available for the renewal of older stock in some parts of the country, was 'unsustainable' and a threat to public health.
Source: Commission on Housing Renewal and Public Health: Final Report, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (020 7928 6006)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Dec
A report said that existing economic regeneration policies in England were not sufficiently focused on local economic strategies, with the result that other more locally specific and targeted solutions to social issues and economic problems were neglected. In addition, creativity and risk-taking were deterred, because there was too much at stake in terms of 'scaring off' inward investment.
Source: Neil McInroy, A New Wave of Place Renaissance: Shaping a fairer England, Centre for Local Economic Strategies (0131 650 9166)
Links: CLES press release
Date: 2007-Dec
An article examined the shift towards sustainable community building, and its implications for the policing and 'securitization' of places. 'Sustainability' was being used as a cover for a series of potentially repressive and counter-productive policy measures. Rather than increasing a sense of security within newly built and regenerated places, the new focus of policy might encourage insecurity and fear.
Source: Mike Raco, 'Securing sustainable communities: citizenship, safety and sustainability in the new urban planning', European Urban and Regional Studies, Volume 14 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Dec
An audit report examined the pathfinders housing market renewal programme. Low demand for housing was less severe in pathfinder areas, and the gap between these areas and surrounding regions had started to close. However, it was not possible to identify a causal link between pathfinder activity and these changes in housing markets, as any other factors were involved. While the programme had improved conditions for some neighbourhoods, for others it had led to heightened stress in the short term.
Source: Housing Market Renewal, HC 20 (Session 2006-07), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NAO press release | NHF press release | FT report | BBC report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2007-Nov
An article examined the rationale for setting up the housing market renewal pathfinders, and their progress since 2003. Positive signs of change were apparent throughout pathfinder areas, although whether this could be ascribed to programme activity was unclear. The programme might appear incongruous in the light of the new focus on housing supply: but there was insufficient evidence that lasting change in low-demand markets had yet been brought about, and the premature scaling back of the programme would be ill-advised.
Source: Ed Ferrari, 'Housing market renewal in an era of new housing supply', People, Place & Policy, Volume 1 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2007-Nov
The government announced a new £1.5 billion Working Neighbourhoods Fund, replacing both the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and also the Deprived Areas Fund (the latter administered by the Department for Work and Pensions). It published a paper setting out the rationale for the change. The new fund would support councils and communities in England to develop more 'concentrated, concerted, community-led approaches' to getting people in the most deprived areas back to work.
Source: Press release 30 November 2007, Department for Communities and Local Government (020 7944 3000) | The Working Neighbourhoods Fund, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236) and Department for Work and Pensions
Links: DCLG press release | Paper
Date: 2007-Nov
A new book summarized the results of the national evaluation of Sure Start programmes. It examined the nature of the communities in which the programmes were situated, and how they changed over time; the early effects on children and families; and identified the specific features that helped to determine whether or not individual programmes benefited children and families.
Source: Jay Belsky, Jacqueline Barnes and Edward Melhuish (eds.), The National Evaluation of Sure Start: Does area-based early intervention work?, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Nov
A paper examined the transformation of 'community' into 'area-based initiatives', using the national childcare strategy of the 1990s as one example. It reviewed the definition and use of 'community' as both the locus of the problem and the target for intervention.
Source: Teresa Smith, From Educational Priority Areas to Area-Based Interventions: Community, neighbourhood and preschool, Barnett Paper 2007/07, Department of Social Policy and Social Work/University of Oxford (01865 270325)
Links: Paper
Date: 2007-Nov
A study examined how far the economic and social aspects of regeneration were being effectively linked, and the extent to which political devolution in Scotland, Wales, and London was bringing greater strategic attention to the needs of deprived areas. New and emerging governance structures needed a more integrated approach to tackling worklessness and other economic problems facing deprived areas.
Source: David North, Stephen Syrett and David Etherington, Devolution and Regional Governance: Tackling the economic needs of deprived areas, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings | JRF press release
Date: 2007-Oct
A paper examined progress in the housing market renewal programme, and set out emerging issues. There had been significant house price growth in the pathfinder areas in recent years, which had brought increased private investment and higher values for public and private assets. The rationale for the programme remained as strong as ever, and its strategy was consistent with the policy direction set out in the housing Green Paper.
Source: Brendan Nevin and Philip Leather, Transition to Transformation: One Year On, Nevin Leather Associates (brendan.nevin@nevinleather.co.uk)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Oct
A report said that cities should be given more control over local transport, planning, and training in return for involving local businesses in making decisions.
Source: A Tale of the Cities: The best of times?, British Chambers of Commerce (020 7654 5808)
Links: Report | BCC press release | FT report
Date: 2007-Sep
A report examined best practice in the setting up and early operation of urban regeneration companies in Scotland.
Source: Liz Shiel and David Smith-Milne, Best Practice in Establishing Urban Regeneration Companies in Scotland, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Date: 2007-Sep
A report said that Sure Start children's centres could be effective in delivering child and family services in England: but they needed to gear up their efforts to help parents overcome practical and other barriers to employment, and to bring about lasting change in their communities.
Source: Margaret Lochrie, Children's Centres: Ensuring that families most in need benefit, Capacity (020 8977 1688) and Esm?e Fairbairn Foundation
Links: Report | Summary | Capacity press release
Date: 2007-Sep
The race equality watchdog said that organizations involved in regeneration projects in England, Scotland and Wales often failed to consider which groups would benefit, and what the impact would be on community relations. New buildings and public spaces should allow for interaction between different communities: but often schemes created further divisions between these groups.
Source: Regeneration and the Race Equality Duty: Report of a formal investigation in England, Scotland and Wales, Commission for Racial Equality (020 7939 0000)
Links: Report | Summary | CRE press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2007-Sep
A report presented the headline findings of the two waves of household surveys conducted in the 15 round 2 neighbourhood management pathfinder areas in 2004 and again in 2007 (at the end of their second full year of operation) showing how these areas had changed over that time. The general picture of change was largely positive, with residents identifying many aspects of their areas that had, in their view, improved.
Source: SQW Consulting, Neighbourhood Management: An Overview of the 2004 and 2007 Round 2 Pathfinder Household Surveys – Key findings, Research Report 38, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit/Department for Communities and Local Government (020 7944 8383)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Sep
A survey found that total investment returns for property in regeneration areas had outperformed property in the country as a whole over the five years to 2006.
Source: IPD Regeneration Index, IPD (020 7336 9200)
Links: Report | English Partnerships press release | FT report
Date: 2007-Aug
A report examined the role of neighbourhood management in developing social capital at the neighbourhood level. It discussed the meaning of social capital and how it was used in policy; described the range of activities that could be seen as contributing to social capital at neighbourhood level; explored how their impact could be assessed; and concluded by identifying key lessons and recommendations from three case studies.
Source: Marilyn Taylor, Neighbourhood Management and Social Capital, Research Report 35, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Aug
A report examined the contribution that neighbourhood management pathfinders made to improving community safety and environmental conditions. The evidence suggested a positive association between pathfinders? spend/activity levels and improvements in environmental conditions and services: but this was not the case with regard to improved community safety conditions and services, where there was no relationship with pathfinders? spend levels.
Source: SQW Ltd & Partners, The Contribution of Neighbourhood Management to Cleaner and Safer Neighbourhoods, Research Report 36, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Aug
A report examined the progress of neighbourhood management pathfinders during 2006-07, how they were changing, the lessons to be learned, and the wider policy implications of their work for local government and public service delivery. It presented overviews about activity and progress on crime and environment, economic development, community engagement, and social capital.
Source: SQW Ltd & Partners, Neighbourhood Management: Empowering Communities, Shaping Places – Review 2006/7, Research Report 37, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Aug
A report examined the role of housing associations in neighbourhood governance. It called on housing associations to work much more closely with local authorities to give their residents a voice in local communities. In many areas, housing associations and local authorities were the richest and strongest institutions: but they often failed to communicate with one another, let alone collaborate.
Source: Nicola Bacon, Liz Bartlett and Anne Marie Brady, Good Neighbours: Housing associations? involvement in neighbourhood governance, Young Foundation (020 8980 6263)
Links: Report | Young Foundation press release
Date: 2007-Jul
An article examined social mixing and design within new urban housing developments, and in particular the concept of 'tenure blind' development.
Source: Marion Roberts, 'Sharing space: urban design and social mixing in mixed income new communities', Planning Theory & Practice, Volume 8 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jul
An article examined the effectiveness of the New Deal for Communities programme in England. Change data indicated that there had been continuing progress in NDC areas. But change had been more evident in relation to place-based indicators (such as fear of crime) than people-based outcomes (such as fewer jobs, and better health). Regenerating deprived areas was a complex process, not least because of continuing demographic 'churn' in these neighbourhoods.
Source: Paul Lawless, 'Continuing dilemmas for area based urban regeneration: evidence from the New Deal for Communities Programme in England', People, Place & Policy, Volume 1 Issue 1
Links: Article
Date: 2007-Jul
The government announced that it planned to introduce a Housing and Regeneration Bill. The Bill would be designed to merge the Housing Corporation (responsible for distributing funds to housing associations to build new social housing) and English Partnerships (responsible for planning housing projects in new growth areas). It would also implement the recommendations of the Cave Review of social housing regulation.
Source: The Governance of Britain: The Government?s Draft Legislative Programme, Cm 7175, Leader of the House of Commons, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Statement | Hansard | BPF press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2007-Jul
A report said that collaboration between Sure Start local programmes and social services departments over the safeguarding of children posed challenges for many local authorities: these reflected longstanding tensions between services designed to support families and those designed to protect children.
Source: Jane Tunstill and Debra Allnock, Understanding the Contribution of Sure Start Local Programmes to the Task of Safeguarding Children?s Welfare, Research Report NESS/2007/FR/026, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Brief | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Jul
A report by an all-party group of MPs called for a radical overhaul of regeneration policy to tackle investment in deprived areas. The government?s enterprise-led regeneration initiatives did not offer a 'quick fix' for tackling deprivation.
Source: Business Matters: Understanding the role of business in regeneration, All Party Parliamentary Urban Development Group c/o British Property Federation (020 7828 0111)
Links: Report | BPF press release
Date: 2007-Jul
The Prime Minister said that the government would consider whether regeneration spending might be a better way of meeting local economic and social needs than the creation of super-casinos.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 11 July 2007, column 1438, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard (1) | Hansard (2) | Conservative Party press release | CofE press release | Church Action on Poverty press release | Christian Institute press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jul
A report said that creating mixed neighbourhoods treated a symptom of inequality, not its cause. The problem was poverty – what made people poor and what kept them poor – not the type of neighbourhood in which people lived.
Source: Paul Cheshire, Segregated Neighbourhoods and Mixed Communities: A critical analysis, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings
Date: 2007-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs said that government plans for a network of Sure Start children's centres in every community in England by 2010 might be at risk, because of a shortage of trained staff and doubts over local authorities' capacity to deliver them. Only one-third of Sure Start centres were pro-actively seeking out 'hard-to-reach' families.
Source: Sure Start Children's Centres, Thirty-eighth Report (Session 2006-07), HC 261, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jul
The government began consultation on the role of Communities England, a new housing and regeneration body combining (from April 2009) the work of English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation, and the delivery work of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Source: Delivering Housing and Regeneration: Communities England and the future of social housing regulation, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Consultation document | DCLG press release | Inside Housing report | Regeneration & Renewal report
Date: 2007-Jun
A report examined changes in the characteristics of Sure Start local programme areas in rounds 1 to 4. Over the five-year period, improvements in SSLP areas were detected, and often the level of change was significantly greater than that seen in England as a whole. However, few of these changes could be linked in a straightforward way to Sure Start activities.
Source: Jacqueline Barnes et al., Changes in the Characteristics of SSLP Areas Between 2000/01 and 2004/05, Research Report NESS/2007/FR/021, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Jun
A report examined how far the regeneration of coalfield areas relied on their links with neighbouring cities. A 'one-size-fits-all' approach to reviving former coalfield communities on the back of city growth would be inappropriate, as relationships between the coalfields and their neighbouring cities varied, and some former coalfield areas remained major economic zones in their own right.
Source: Tony Gore et al., Coalfields and Neighbouring Cities: Economic regeneration, labour markets and governance, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings | Regeneration & Renewal report
Date: 2007-Jun
An article examined the perceptions of statutory-service providers about their experience of working with Sure Start professionals. Although interviewees welcomed the additional input provided by Sure Start for the most vulnerable families, a number of tensions arose over key divergences between the philosophical positions of statutory providers and Sure Start. The most important tension was over Sure Start's philosophy of targeting resources on an entire geographical area. This was seen as antithetical to statutory providers? case-by-case approach, and raised questions about access and equity for families living outside Sure Start's boundaries. Sure Start's concentration on young children, and the time-limited nature of their services and activities, frustrated statutory providers who had a broader family focus and a longer-term perspective. The perceived under-resourcing of statutory services in comparison to Sure Start, and statutory providers? responsibility for 'selling' Sure Start services, strained a sense of equality between agencies and professionals, and undermined a sense of a shared agenda.
Source: Alison Edgley and Mark Avis, 'The perceptions of statutory service providers of a local Sure Start programme: a shared agenda?', Health and Social Care in the Community,Volume 15 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jun
A report examined the policy and practice issues that arose from the operation of Sure Start local programmes in areas where there were significant black and minority ethnic populations. Experiences and practice varied widely. SSLPs that were successful understood and worked closely with local community organizations. Some SSLPs had been discouraged from pursuing relationships with certain minority groups and abandoned the attempt, effectively excluding some already very marginalized communities.
Source: Gary Craig et al., Sure Start and Black and Minority Ethnic Populations, Research Report NESS/2007/FR/020, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Jun
An article said that a social enterprise approach to formalizing the informal economy would be of benefit to tackling joblessness and social exclusion, as well as generating further social economic activity in deprived neighbourhoods.
Source: Mel Evans, 'Mutualising cash-in-hand? Social enterprise, informal economic activity and deprived neighbourhoods', Local Government Studies, Volume 33 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jun
A report examined variations in the way Sure Start local programmes were implemented (their proficiency) and in their impact on the children and parents (their effectiveness). Proficient and effective SSLPs took a holistic approach to implementing the Sure Start vision: they built on the strengths of inherited provision, and were creative in improving and setting up services.
Source: Angela Anning, Jane Stuart, Michelle Nicholls, Joanna Goldthorpe and Anita Morley, Understanding Variations in Effectiveness amongst Sure Start Local Programmes, Research Report NESS/2007/FR/024, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Jun
A report for the race equality watchdog examined participation in local strategic partnerships by people from ethnic minorities, and the extent to which Neighbourhood Renewal Fund money was distributed to people from ethnic minorities. It concluded that the LSP performance management framework was not adequate for assessing these issues.
Source: Black Training and Enterprise Group, Participation and Local Strategic Partnerships, Commission for Racial Equality (020 7939 0000)
Date: 2007-Jun
A report said that the level of satisfaction by parents with the services provided by Sure Start children's centres was 'very high'. Learning and socializing were seen as the main benefits to children of attending the centres. Suggestions for improvement frequently related to: changing or extending the times when provision was available (particularly at ?non-core? times such as evenings and weekends), and requests for more courses and training opportunities. More childcare was also requested, especially for a broader range of age groups.
Source: Kate Ridley-Moy, Sure Start Children?s Centres Parental Satisfaction Survey: Report and Annexes 2007, Research Report RW108, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Jun
A think-tank report said that poorer communities in Glasgow (the largest city in Scotland) had failed to benefit from the regeneration of the city, and feel left behind by its progress. City leaders had put architecture and the tourist industry above improvements to residents' quality of life.
Source: Gerry Hassan, Melissa Mean and Charlie Tims, The Dreaming City: Glasgow 2020 and the power of mass imagination, Demos, available from Central Books (020 8986 5488)
Date: 2007-May
A report said that disadvantaged people were rarely represented in the running of regeneration projects. A perceived lack of skills, qualifications, and experience created a barrier to such groups becoming involved. It was almost impossible to find any instances where disabled people were involved with regeneration employment, leadership, or governance.
Source: Ladders to Regeneration, RENEW Northwest (0151 703 0135)
Links: Report | Summary | Regeneration & Renewal report
Date: 2007-May
A new book presented findings from studies evaluating Sure Start programmes in north-east England.
Source: Nigel Malin and Gillian Morrow, Evaluating Sure Start, Whiting and Birch (020 8244 2421)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-May
A report examined the role of neighbourhood management pathfinders in promoting economic development in their areas. There was a need to recognize the multiple aspects of deeply entrenched neighbourhood deprivation; and to adopt a seamless approach towards education and training and work-related issues.
Source: Hilary Russell, Neighbourhood Management and Neighbourhood Economic Development, Research Report 34, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit/Department for Communities and Local Government (020 7944 8383)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-May
A report said that overcrowding and inter-ethnic competition for regeneration funds built up resentment which led to riots in Birmingham in 2005.
Source: Peter Latchford, Lozells Disturbances, Black Radley Ltd (0845 2260363)
Links: Summary | Regeneration & Renewal report | Birmingham Post report
Date: 2007-May
A report examined what had been done to tackle worklessness in deprived neighbourhoods, and what was needed for projects to succeed.
Source: What Works in Economic Development for Deprived Neighbourhoods?, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-May
The Prime Minister said that Labour government policies since 1997 had been 'misguided' in presuming that public investment in poor neighbourhoods would rid society of 'dysfunctional' families which were responsible for a high proportion of offending. In addition to public investment, policies were needed 'that target failing and dysfunctional families early and place those families within a proper, structured, disciplined framework of help and insistence on proper behaviour'.
Source: Article by Tony Blair MP (Prime Minister), Daily Telegraph 28 April 2007
Links: Article | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Apr
An article examined what constituted the best funding-distribution structures and funding-allocation principles in relation to regeneration, focusing on the role of National Lottery funding. Issues of governance and power were neglected in conventional discussions of how to assess funding need. There was also value in having a variety of funding streams (structures and distribution principles), albeit with consideration being given to how to make this work better.
Source: Sophie Donaldson, 'Contested governance and definitions of need in the distribution of funding: investigating the regeneration-funding paradox and the role of UK National Lottery funding in regeneration', Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Volume 25 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Apr
An article examined the relationship between well-being and participation in disadvantaged areas, drawing on primary research in two New Deal for Communities areas. Poor experiences of participation in areas of neighbourhood renewal threatened levels of well-being in the very areas where it was most needed.
Source: Adam Dinham, 'Raising expectations or dashing hopes? Well-being and participation in disadvantaged areas', Community Development Journal, Volume 42 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Mar
A guide explored how to create attractive and well-managed places that met the needs of all sections of the community in Scotland.
Source: Nick Bailey, Anna Haworth, Tony Manzi and Marion Robert, Creating and Sustaining Mixed Income Communities in Scotland, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Mar
Researchers evaluated (in a series of linked reports) the neighbourhood nurseries initiative, launched in 2001 to provide high-quality childcare in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods of England. Neighbourhood nurseries had successfully reached some of the most disadvantaged groups - low-income families, lone parents, ethnic minority parents, and parents with low qualifications. Half of the parents using neighbourhood nurseries had not used any childcare before. Neighbourhood nurseries were providing integrated childcare and early education, and developing a wider range of services.
Source: Teresa Smith et al., National Evaluation of the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative (NNI): Integrated Report, Report SSU/2007/FR/024, Sure Start Unit/Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288) | Ivana La Valle et al., National Evaluation of the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative: Impact Report, Report SSU/2007/FR/020, Sure Start Unit/Department for Education and Skills | Teresa Smith, Kate Coxon and Maria Sigala, National Evaluation of the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative: Implementation Study, Report SSU/2007/FR/021, Sure Start Unit/Department for Education and Skills | Sandra Mathers and Kathy Sylva, National Evaluation of the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative: The Relationship between Quality and Children's Behavioural Development, Report SSU/2007/FR/022, Sure Start Unit/Department for Education and Skills | Maria Sigala and George Smith, National Evaluation of the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative: Tracking and Neighbourhood Change, Report SSU/2007/FR/023, Sure Start Unit/Department for Education and Skills
Links: Integrated Report | Integrated Report summary | Impact Report | Implementation Study | Behavioural Development | Change Report | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report examined ways of ensuring that the 2012 Olympic Games led to the sustainable regeneration of east London - rather than leading to the break-up of existing communities.
Source: London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games: The Employment and Skills Legacy, Greater London Authority (020 7983 4100)
Links: Report | GLA press release
Date: 2007-Mar
A report said that coalfields-specific schemes had been more efficient at regeneration in affected areas than their mainstream equivalents.
Source: SQW Ltd et al., Regenerating the English Coalfields: Interim evaluation of the coalfield regeneration programmes, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report | Summary | DCLG press release | Regeneration & Renewal report
Date: 2007-Mar
An assessment of the housing market renewal pathfinder scheme concluded that there was a fall in rates of population reduction within the areas concerned, and a rise in some areas. It also found that house prices had risen, vacancies had fallen, and demand for social housing had risen.
Source: Philip Leather et al., National Evaluation of the HMR Pathfinder Programme - Baseline Report, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report | Summary | DCLG press release | Regeneration & Renewal report
Date: 2007-Mar
An article examined the extent to which policies aimed at improving the quality of 'council-built' neighbourhoods achieved their objectives in the period 1975-2000, and the relevance of the experience for existing policy. Policies and programmes had not resolved the complex problems of these estates, nor raised council-built estates from the bottom of the residential hierarchy - partly because the macro-economic climate and other government policies were countervailing, but also because the policy lacked both clear goals and a good understanding of the problems to be faced.
Source: Keith Kintrea, 'Policies and programmes for disadvantaged neighbourhoods: recent English experience', Housing Studies, Volume 22 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Mar
A new book said that a community-oriented and environmentally sensitive approach to urban regeneration was needed - rather than the government's 'top-down' sustainable communities plan, which drove large-scale building and minimal renovation. It identified five key factors to make cities work: 'smart' growth and 'compact urban forms'; neighbourhood renewal and local management; sustainable development within cities; mixed communities within existing neighbourhoods; and citizen involvement in new ways of organizing cities.
Source: Anne Power and John Houghton, Jigsaw Cities: Big places, small spaces, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary | LSE press release
Date: 2007-Mar
A report provided a final evaluation of the Single Regeneration Budget. It considered how the SRB had worked in practice, and assessed its achievements against the original programme objectives. It also considered how the SRB related to existing policy, and the lessons that should be incorporated into new programmes. If a depressed area were to turn its fortunes around, the core competencies or attributes of the place and its residents had to be enhanced so that the area became a relatively attractive place for people to live and for business to invest. This meant bringing together the relevant agents of change from across all sectors - including government, business, the voluntary sector, stakeholders, and the community - so that they addressed the problems of that locality in a strategic manner.
Source: John Rhodes, Peter Tyler and Angela Brennan, The Single Regeneration Budget: Final Evaluation, Department of Land Economy/University of Cambridge (01223 337138)
Links: Report part 1 | Report part 2 | Report part 3 | Summary | Regeneration & Renewal report
Date: 2007-Mar
Evidence from the first stage of an investigation into race equality in physical regeneration highlighted a number of concerns - including poor housing conditions, the shortage of affordable homes, and lack of choice, particularly for ethnic minority communities.
Source: Press release 12 March 2007, Commission for Racial Equality (020 7939 0000)
Links: CRE press release | Regeneration & Renewal report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report examined how Sure Start local programmes delivered services to families where there were children with specials needs and disabilities.
Source: Anne Pinney, A Better Start: Children and families with special needs and disabilities in Sure Start local programmes, Report 019, Sure Start Unit/Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Date: 2007-Mar
A new book described the process leading up to the demolition of a small council estate in the north of England and its subsequent regeneration. It examined the ways in which the community engaged with attempts to improve the quality of life of its residents and to attract wealthier new residents. It put forward an alternative vision for participatory urban governance, bringing together notions of justice, rights, inclusion, and sustainability.
Source: Jacqui Karn, Narratives of Neglect: Community, regeneration and the governance of security, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Mar
Researchers evaluated an initiative designed to promote community involvement in regeneration projects in Scotland.
Source: Beverley Oakman and Smart Consultancy (Scotland) Ltd, Interim Evaluation of the Community Voices Network, Report 88, Communities Scotland (0131 313 0044)
Date: 2007-Mar
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the funding of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. It said that the Games offered an unrivalled opportunity to catalyze the most ambitious regeneration programme in recent history, leaving a lasting legacy for London - as well as creating economic, social, health, environmental, and sporting benefits across the United Kingdom.
Source: Government Response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Report on 'London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games: Funding and Legacy', Cm 7071, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report examined a programme designed to bring together and support community-based organizations tackling regeneration in 20 neighbourhoods. It said that empowering people through continuous yet low-cost 'light touch' support could make a real difference to closing the gap between the most disadvantaged communities and the rest of society.
Source: Marilyn Taylor, Mandy Wilson, Derrick Purdue and Pete Wilde, Changing Neighbourhoods: Lessons from the JRF Neighbourhood Programme, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | Summary | JRF Findings | JRF press release
Date: 2007-Mar
Researchers examined the value of information systems in the regeneration process.
Source: Paul Foley, Ximena Alfonso and Ian Wiseman, Local Information Systems: A review of their role, characteristics and benefits, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Date: 2007-Mar
A study found that aspects of the government's housing market renewal pathfinder scheme (to renew failing housing markets in the Midlands and North of England) could be improved. There was a need to provide better financial and social support to residents affected by demolition.
Source: Ian Cole and John Flint, Demolition, Relocation and Affordable Rehousing: Lessons from the housing market renewal pathfinders, Chartered Institute of Housing (024 7685 1700) for Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | JRF Findings | JRF press release
Date: 2007-Feb
An all-party parliamentary group said that central government regeneration initiatives would fail to provide enough cash to meet vital infrastructure needs. It called for more radical action to allow local authorities to fund infrastructure schemes.
Source: Loosening the Leash: How local government can deliver infrastructure with private sector money, All Party Urban Development Group (020 7470 6119)
Links: Report | APUDG press release | LGA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Feb
An article examined three key concepts underpinning the New Deal for Communities programme ? community, agency, and exclusion. It questioned whether New Labour's desire to implement a ?community? project, shaped by theoretical precepts, constrained the ability of the NDC to deliver lasting change to excluded areas.
Source: Andrew Wallace, '"We have had nothing for so long that we don't know what to ask for": New Deal for Communities and the regeneration of socially excluded terrain', Social Policy and Society, Volume 6 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jan
A study examined how New Deal for Communities areas were changing using a range of different indicators. NDCs had performed well in terms of increasing the proportion of local residents who knew of their existence, who thought NDCs had improved the neighbourhood, who trusted their local partnership, and who were actively engaged with it. Indicators assessing attitudes to the area also improved substantially, although the rate of change tended to be more marked during the 2002 to 2004 period, rather than in the following two years.
Source: Christina Beatty, Mike Foden, Paul Lawless and Ian Wilson, New Deal for Communities National Evaluation: An Overview of Change Data – 2006, Research Report 33, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit/Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Jan
An article said that the early recognition given by the Sure Start programme to the evidence base, and to the interconnected nature of social problems, had given way to a more targeted approach - arguably marginalizing those aspects that had been key to success.
Source: Joyce Halliday and Sheena Asthana, 'From evidence to practice: addressing health inequalities through Sure Start', Evidence & Policy, Volume 3 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jan
The government announced proposals for a new agency to deliver regeneration and housing in England. The proposed agency, to be called 'Communities England', would bring together the functions of English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation, and a range of work carried out by the Department for Communities and Local Government - including delivery of decent homes, housing market renewal, housing private finance initiatives, housing growth, and urban regeneration.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 17 January 2006, columns 35-36WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | DCLG press release | English Partnerships press release | Housing Corporation press release | CIH press release | YJB press release | YMCA press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jan
A study examined the motivations of, and outcomes for, residents who moved out of New Deal for Communities areas between 2002 and 2004. When compared with 'inmovers', those leaving the neighbourhoods were more likely to be older, in employment, and to move into owner-occupied accommodation. Inmovers nevertheless provided a potential resource on which to build longer-term sustainable change, in that they were younger, healthier, and better educated than those who had stayed.
Source: Ian Cole, Paul Lawless, Julie Manning and Ian Wilson, The Moving Escalator? Patterns of residential mobility in New Deal for Communities areas, Research Report 32, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit/Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Jan