Urban Regeneration and Local Development

In recent years, we have been recording an increasing number of strategic urban regeneration interventions. In metropolitan areas, as well as in small and medium-sized cities, plans and projects have determined interesting changes in dismissed areas (such as waterfront, dismissed railyards, brown- and greyfields, declining public housing neighbourhoods, and so on). Interesting contemporary architectures (redefining the image of the modern cities), new solutions for urban organization (renovating planning patterns), new models of intervention (achieving urban resilience and climate change adaptation), support for innovative activities to settle down in the regenerated neighbourhood (improving jobs but also favouring mixed uses), and new public-private and also non-profit partnerships (with interesting solution for financial support to the urban renewal strategies) are the common lines of most of the recurring regeneration programs. However, the most innovative side of the recent regeneration processes is the goal for social integration, citizenship involvement, and social capacity building, asking for the innovation of new (sometimes very exploratory) approaches. It is time for a first assessment of some of these processes to understand how they really affect local development; do they really impact local communities? In midterm, can we really recognize an improvement of quality of life in these regenerated neighbourhoods? Are gentrification, real estate market trends, and eviction dynamics really under control? What about social relations: Have they truly improved to a better cohesion? Have they been a real trigger for insurgent economies? Behind glassed façades reflecting glittering promenades and attractive public places, can we find a more integrated community and a more just urban organization? Recalling the strategic purpose of urban regeneration to be a strategy for improving urban life conditions, supporting local development, and improving community empowerment, this Special Issue would like to explore and assess regeneration attempts across the world, to analyse their tendencies and suggest some recommendations for correcting and readdressing regeneration approaches to a better social and economic impact, far beyond the recovering of built-up and declining parts of the city.