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Click to edit Master title styleEuropean Regeneration:Importance of knowledge networks

Ewan Willars

European Policy Officer

RICS Europe

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Click to edit Master title styleUrban Regeneration: a European challenge

Why is regeneration such a hot topic?• The problems are increasingly visible• Unequal social and economic development• Unequal opportunities – employment, housing, leisure• Negative economic impact

Highly complex causal relationships:• Local• Regional• National• International

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Click to edit Master title styleComplex problems = complex solutions

Case by case solutions

• Different mix of social / economic / environmental objectives• Different causes / influences• Different planning systems• Therefore difficult to develop a standard ‘top-down’ approach

However…• Huge range of local knowledge in each city• Shared principles of sustainable regeneration and urban

development• Acknowledgement of regeneration as a ‘European issue’

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Click to edit Master title styleRegeneration in the EU

Difficulties addressing regeneration at the EU level…• Lack of direct EU competence:

• No planning / development control / land-use responsibility• No housing competence

• Therefore requires a horizontal approach:• Environment, competition, regional, construction,

fiscal and transport policy

But also opportunities:• Multi-national approach – range of URBAN cities• Multi-disciplinary approach• Focus on knowledge networks

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Click to edit Master title styleCreating a knowledge network:the URBACT programme

What is URBACT?• Creating a flow / exchange of good practice between cities• Accumulating and disseminating the knowledge base• Improve the ‘action capacity’ of urban professionals

Thematic Network: PPPs• 30 month programme• Amsterdam, Brussels, Chemnitz, Copenhagen, Gera, Lille,

Nottingham, Porto, San Sebastian, Riga, Budapest,

Nicosia, Dublin, Liverpool• RICS, OPS – specialist partners

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Click to edit Master title styleURBACT thematic network: Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)

Purpose of the study• Examine the role that PPPs play in urban renewal• Explore and identify good and bad practice• To produce and disseminate “transferable knowledge” –

a framework to support private sector involvement

Rationale• Increasingly a pan-European methodology

for regeneration• Brings better commercial awareness to projects• Private ownership of land requiring regeneration• Transfer of risk to the private sector

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Click to edit Master title styleTopics

Topic areas:

• Different types / scale of PPPs and their impact at national,

regional, city, local, neighbourhood level• Structure of partnerships and the need for formalisation• Impact of national and EU policy and fiscal measures• The need and means to create viable local markets• Practical examples of cross funding via commercial

elements (housing, retail, commercial office space)• Importance of balanced (re)development – functional

diversity and a social mix.

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Click to edit Master title styleGet involved!

www.urbact.org

www.rics.org

Ewan Willars

ewillars@rics.org

+32 (0) 2733 1019