European Regeneration: Importance of knowledge networks

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European RegenerationImportance of knowledge
networks

• Ewan Willars
• European Policy Officer
• RICS Europe

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Urban Regeneration a European challenge

• Why is regeneration such a hot topic?
• The problems are increasingly visible
• Unequal social and economic development
• Unequal opportunities employment, housing,
  leisure
• Negative economic impact
• Highly complex causal relationships
• Local
• Regional
• National
• International

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Complex problems complex solutions

• Case by case solutions
• Different mix of social / economic /
  environmental objectives
• Different causes / influences
• Different planning systems
• Therefore difficult to develop a standard
  top-down approach
• However
• Huge range of local knowledge in each city
• Shared principles of sustainable regeneration and
  urban
• development
• Acknowledgement of regeneration as a European
  issue

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Regeneration in the EU

• Difficulties addressing regeneration at the EU
  level
• Lack of direct EU competence
• No planning / development control / land-use
  responsibility
• No housing competence
• Therefore requires a horizontal approach
• Environment, competition, regional, construction,
  
• fiscal and transport policy
• But also opportunities
• Multi-national approach range of URBAN cities
• Multi-disciplinary approach
• Focus on knowledge networks

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Creating a knowledge networkthe URBACT programme

• What is URBACT?
• Creating a flow / exchange of good practice
  between cities
• Accumulating and disseminating the knowledge base
• Improve the action capacity of urban
  professionals
• Thematic Network PPPs
• 30 month programme
• Amsterdam, Brussels, Chemnitz, Copenhagen, Gera,
  Lille,
• Nottingham, Porto, San Sebastian, Riga,
  Budapest,
• Nicosia, Dublin, Liverpool
• RICS, OPS specialist partners

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URBACT thematic network Public Private
Partnerships (PPPs)

• Purpose of the study
• Examine the role that PPPs play in urban renewal
• Explore and identify good and bad practice
• To produce and disseminate transferable
  knowledge
• a framework to support private sector
  involvement
• Rationale
• Increasingly a pan-European methodology
• for regeneration
• Brings better commercial awareness to projects
• Private ownership of land requiring regeneration
• Transfer of risk to the private sector

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Topics

• Topic areas
• Different types / scale of PPPs and their impact
  at national,
• regional, city, local, neighbourhood level
• Structure of partnerships and the need for
  formalisation
• Impact of national and EU policy and fiscal
  measures
• The need and means to create viable local markets
• Practical examples of cross funding via
  commercial
• elements (housing, retail, commercial office
  space)
• Importance of balanced (re)development
  functional
• diversity and a social mix.

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Get involved!

• www.urbact.org
• www.rics.org
• Ewan Willars
• ewillars_at_rics.org
• 32 (0) 2733 1019