New Urbanism, Old Neighborhoods, Planning for All

Urban renewal projects are nothing new.  Neighborhood regeneration dates back to the 1960's and evokes thoughts of Robert Moses and public housing.  However, the urban renewal projects of today are cloaked as "urban renaissance" and are being pushed by global cities hoping to attract new investment and compete in the 21st Century global economy.

Neil Smith argues that reurbanization is a precursor for gentrification--the driving out of the working class from the urban center.  Urban regeneration is often carried out through publicly subsidized real estate projects that attract new settlers and vistors--typically those of greater means than existing residents.

While gentrification certainly has perverse effects, the return of the middle class to the urban center has many benefits.  The literature on sustainability suggests that we should welcome reurbanization with open arms.  It is not clear whether Smith believes these programs can produce successful outcomes and minimize the gentrification effect.  

The challenge is to accommodate a certain degree of neighborhood regeneration, while preserving affordability for the residents at risk of being displaced.  In the past, urban redevelopment has often had perverse results.  The challenge for today's planners is to guide today's "urban renaissance" without repeating the mistakes of the past.

Shrinking Cities: Process versus Outcome

Detroit—the mecca for shrinking city theorists—has produced some interesting ideas for how to revision cities in decline.  One popular idea involves the relocation of residents in mostly abandoned neighborhoods to neighborhoods of concentrated development.

The relocation concept jibes with smart growth theory and makes a lot of sense from a public finance theory, but whom does it benefit?  There is no obvious answer to this question because it would likely depend on how the perceived savings—reductions in the city budget from cutting off service to low-density neighborhoods—are spent.

Mallach (2011) raises concerns about the relocation idea and its implications for social justice.   From a planner’s perspective, it makes sense to assume that relocated residents would benefit from gaining access to broader opportunities that exist in pockets of concentrated population.  But Mallach contends that the process of relocation might result in unjust outcomes--thus he argues that planners should focus on producing equitable outcomes as opposed to equitable processes.  While inclusive processes do not guarantee equitable results, this should not diminish the importance of process as an indicator of progressive planning.

Shenzhen Speed Bumps

China's efforts to develop Shenzhen into a global city have been impressive if nothing else.  In merely a few decades, the formerly small manufacturing center has been transformed into a major city and the lynchpin of China's globalization strategy.

As a visitor in Shenzhen, the first impression might be of awe in witnessing how new the built environment seems and how much development is pushing outward along the city's edge.  Development has taken place at a furious pace--known as Shenzhen speed--as the State has implemented its meticulous plans for a global city.  These plans have taken an international approach, borrowing best practices in design and planning from around the world.

But the image of a perfectly planned global city starts to stray as one journeys out toward the city edge. The formal top-down development that has transformed the city center is meeting resistance as the informal built environment persists in areas where the State continues to push for redevelopment.

China's strategy assumes that the built environment is one of the most important factors in developing a legitimate global city.  Thus, they are adamant in squashing the resistance of informal development to protect the continuous form of the new city.  However, could it be that the persistence of the informal spaces signals their role as important assets in these communities?  Global cities are just as much about function and linkage as they are about form.