Welfare Reform on the Web (February 2010): Community regeneration and development - overseas

Building 'community' in mixed-income developments: assumptions, approaches and early experiences

R.J. Chaskin and M.L. Joseph

Urban Affairs Review, vol. 45, 2010, p. 299-335

In the US and Western Europe policy makers are turning to mixed-income developments - the construction of estates with a mix of subsidised and market-rate homes - as a means of deconcentrating urban poverty. The goals of mixed income developments are often talked about in terms of building community, i.e. the shaping of environments, opportunities and social arrangements that promote healthy neighbourhood life. This article explores the strategies engaged, expectations for, and early responses to efforts to build community in three mixed income developments being built on former public housing estates in Chicago.

Local economic development in area-based urban regeneration in Germany

S. Weck

Local Economy, vol. 24, 2009, p. 523-535

In Germany, area-based policy solutions to improve social and economic conditions in disadvantaged urban areas emerged in the 1990s. This paper focuses on the economic regeneration aspects of these initiatives. Depending on the character of local challenges and opportunities, area-based economic regeneration in Germany covers a range of measures, including business development, human resources development, land development and institutional capacity building in the local business community. The problems of disadvantaged communities are tackled through the generation of local employment, increasing of income opportunities, and revival of the social and economic fabric of distressed areas. The state of the art of local economic development is illustrated using the example of the city of Gelsenkirchen, showing how national and state level funding streams are combined locally, and how they help to formulate an integrated urban renewal approach.