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Sustainable Participatory Approaches in Urban Regeneration Processes: Lessons from Portsmouth Harbour and Inner-City Hulme, Manchester (3049)

Isaac Boateng and Cletus Moobela (United Kingdom)
Mr Isaac Boateng
Chair of Working Group 8.4
FIG
School of Environmental Design and Management
University of Portsmouth
Portsmouth
PO1 3AH
United Kingdom
 
Corresponding author Mr Isaac Boateng (email: isaac.boateng[at]port.ac.uk, tel.: 00447984164259)
 

[ abstract ] [ handouts ] [ handouts ]

Published on the web 2008-03-21
Received 2008-01-31 / Accepted 2008-03-14
This paper is one of selection of papers published for the FIG Working Week 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden and has undergone the FIG Peer Review Process.

FIG Working Week 2008
ISBN 978-87-90907-67-9 ISSN 2307-4086
http://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/fig2008/index.htm

Abstract

The problem of slums is one area that has continued to haunt experts and bureaucrats for some time now, particularly in cities of the developing countries. With statistics showing an upward trend, if measures are not taken to address the problem, more than half of the world’s population will live in slum settlements by the middle of the 21st Century. A series of programmes and initiatives have been conceived over the years by many governments although their net impacts have not been very effective. This paper does not seek to replicate these efforts, but rather looks for solutions that have worked elsewhere, particularly in the application of the concept of urban regeneration in cities of the United Kingdom. Two case studies are systematically analysed so as to draw lessons for slum redevelopment in developing countries. What emerges from the analyses of the two examples is an approach that thrives on the virtues of modern democratic institutions in the decision-making processes, a substantial amount of departure from the old order of things whereby decisions were mainly made by the planning authorities for the recipient communities. The paper concludes by suggesting that in order to achieve the target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on slum improvement, there is a need to champion the role of democratic institutions, favourable policy frameworks, and attention to issues of restitution of property rights in the target slum settlements.
 
Keywords: Spatial planning; Urban renewal; Informal settlements; Slum improvement, Urban regeneration, Planning policy, Millennium Development Goals

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