Negative Impacts of Regeneration

Regeneration is the long-term upgrading of existing urban, rural, industrial and commercial areas to bring about social and economic change. It can take many forms and can be achieved through the implementation of several different strategies. The purpose of regeneration is to improve the areas people live and prevent them from falling into disrepair.

Fig. 1 - Urban renewal shown by new and old buildings together.

While regeneration can be argued to benefit the areas and communities in which it occurs, there are undeniably several negative impacts of regeneration. Let’s take a look at these in more detail.

As a place is upgraded via regeneration, it is typical for products and services offered within the area to get more expensive. Whether this is the price of a house, bills, or a haircut, rising expenses can contribute to economic inequality.

Why? One of the main ways that regeneration happens is through the process of gentrification. This occurs when wealthy people move into an area and ‘improve’ it. As things become more expensive to accommodate the demands of wealthier people moving into an area, it becomes more difficult for less wealthy people (often people who originally lived in the pre-gentrified area) to afford to live there. In turn, this makes it harder for less wealthy people to access the same provisions and resources as wealthier people and can reinforce divides between people of different incomes and reduces social mobility. Research by Prof. Henry Overman has shown that most of the benefits of regeneration projects in Manchester city centre and the London Docklands did not help those originally living in those places.¹

As long as regeneration projects keep local people in mind, regeneration tends to be more beneficial to an area than gentrification.

Fig. 2 - Gentrified building in Mexico City's Roma neighbourhood.

If prices associated with the cost of living rise too much, many locals in a regenerated area may be forced to relocate elsewhere. This displacement of locals is an extremely negative impact of regeneration. Not only does this displacement affect the individuals, but it also impacts the place itself. A loss of culture may occur.

Forced relocation can impact individuals' well-being (having to leave their homes behind can cause adverse mental health effects) and lifestyle (e.g. potentially long commute times).

On a much larger scale, the character of the place is likely to change dramatically. This is because one of the factors that make up a place (its locale and culture) will be altered as its economic and social makeup is changed. This can be viewed as a negative impact of regeneration because it is argued by some that it is stripping places of their unique and historical characters. It is important to note, however, that some argue that some alterations of places are beneficial to the population by improving infrastructure and services available.

As regeneration occurs, threats to local businesses can sometimes increase. This can happen for a few reasons:

Regeneration and its various negative impacts often cause conflict in society. This is due to community tension that arises in response to increased inequalities and forced displacement of locals. Many locals in areas undergoing regeneration feel that the gentrifiers (people regenerating the place) are a threat to the place that they have a strong connection. Furthermore, they often feel resentment towards or frustration with the people who are causing them to suffer socially and economically. On the other hand, some gentrifying people regard locals as a barrier to regeneration and thus can create tension on the flip side of the coin. What does this mean? This means that, if left unchecked, conflict can appear in society.

Conflict in the community can manifest itself in many different ways. For instance:

Types of Community Conflicts

There are different types of conflict that can occur in communities. These include:

When considering types of conflict in the context of regenerating places, the two ‘groups’ mentioned in the above example are often made up of ‘locals’ (people originally from the place being regenerated) and ‘newcomers’ (people moving into and changing the area through regeneration).