Thought, Policy and Practice with Regard to Urban Revitalization in the UK

Abstract

In British urban policy, sustainability has been viewed as the basic idea since the latter half of the 1990s, in addition to maintaining diversity. Based on these perspectives, various developments, including large-scale shopping centers, have been regulated by a planning system centered on development permission. The concept of a sequential approach based on the premise of the “vitality and survival” of the Town Center or Town Center First is inherent in this policy. On the other hand, in terms of urban revitalization, large-scale redevelopment, including retail, service, entertainment, and housing in the town center and renewal of neighboring town blocks in the inner city have been carried out simultaneously. In this paper, we examine the above circumstances from the three dimensions of thought, policy and practice. In addition, we explore suggestions of relevance to Japan from the three viewpoints of regulation of suburban development by urban planning, a compact city as a future vision, and diversity and homogenization in the town center and high street.

Keywords

• urban revitalization
• town center
• high street
• diversity and sustainability
• clone city