Environment - Urban Regeneration

1. Urban decay happens when parts of a city become run down and people no longer wish to live or work there.

2. In these areas, there may be slum housing, with poorly-built houses with leaking roofs and crumbling brickwork.

3. Many properties may be vandalised, or boarded up and there is wasteland where buildings have been knocked down.

4. There is often high unemployment and high levels of crime.

5. In the 1970s and 1980s many large cities in Britain experienced urban decay.

6. Some places tried to regenerate areas by knocking down old buildings and replacing them with houses and flats.

7. Not all people liked this approach because they no longer knew their neighbours and they lost their sense of community.

8. A more popular solution has been to renovate the existing buildings and landscape the environment.

9. Facilities such as health centres and social clubs may be provided.

10. New businesses are encouraged to set up in the area in order to provide employment opportunities.

11. Many different grants are provided for regeneration.

12. Often events, such as the hosting of the Olympic or Commonwealth Games, have led to widespread regeneration.

13. Waterfront locations are particularly popular for redevelopment with many bars, cafes, restaurants being built.

14. Mills and warehouses may be converted into high-quality apartments or offices.

15. In the UK a brownfield site is previously-developed land that could be redeveloped.

16. It is often land that has been used for industrial and commercial purposes, but has been left derelict.

17. Brownfield sites are popular for development, especially in areas where demand for homes and commercial property is high.

18. Brownfield sites may also be used as open spaces for recreation, conservation, woodland and community areas.

19. Brownfield sites can provide affordable housing and promote conservation and wildlife.

20. Green belts protect the countryside by stopping towns and cities from spreading too far and joining up with each other.

21. Green belts are areas of land around large urban areas, where the building of houses and other buildings is prevented.

22. The land in these areas is kept for farming, leisure or recreation.

23. Town and country planning is the process used to make decisions on the development and use of land.

24. It helps to make sure that the best features of the environment are kept.

25. It identifies where residential areas, workplaces, park and garden areas and traffic will be placed.

26. Urban parks and green spaces are an important part of the urban development.

27. Developers are encouraged to provide these alongside building developments to improve the quality of people’s lives.