Volume 17 (2023-24)

Each volume of Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal consists of four 100-page issues published both in print and online.

The Articles scheduled for publication in Volume 17 will be listed at https://www.henrystewartpublications.com/jurr/forthcoming

Volume 17 Number 1

Editorial
Andrew Tallon, Senior Lecturer in Urban Policy, University of the West of England
More than housing: The critical role of housing and homelessness NGOs in responding to the conflict in Ukraine
Patrick Duce, Programme Lead (Homelessness), World Habitat

The war in Ukraine presents Europe with one of the largest housing emergencies that it has ever faced. European Union (EU) member states have acted swiftly to trigger temporary protection measures which have been successful, but on a local level the gaps in provision are felt by civil society. In neighbouring countries to Ukraine, much of the role of supporting refugees has fallen on housing and homelessness organisations already struggling in the face of a regional housing crisis and lack of affordable social housing. The author discusses the implications of this, and shares experiences from frontline organisations being forced to offer a full range of social services to refugees and respond to the crisis in real time.
Keywords: Ukraine; refugee; housing; homelessness; mass influx; Poland; Hungary; Romania; Slovakia
Seeking a sustainable future for US business districts
Haila R. Maze, Principal Urban Planner, Bolton & Menk, Inc.

This paper explores the current disconnect that exists between how US business districts are staffed and funded, and the increasingly complex way they interact with the surrounding community. It looks at the issues and challenges that have led to this point and explores a range of potential action items for countering this with proactive and holistic approaches. This includes consideration of the expansion of mixed-uses, post-COVID-19 evolution of live-work arrangements, the value of placemaking in the public realm, public–private partnerships, strategic investments and equity considerations.
Keywords: business districts; mixed-use; multifamily; public realm; placemaking; assessments
Metrics of success: Measuring the effectiveness of BIDs and downtown district organisations
Gary Ferguson, Former Executive Director and Practitioner, Downtown Ithaca Alliance; Co-Founder, Community Revitalization & Rejuvenation Consultants, Ithaca

Business improvement district (BID) research has historically been light on measuring organisation success and effectiveness. Many authors have focused on describing the novelty of BID programmes, as well as chronicling the evolution and expansion of BIDs around the globe. Some works offer critiques of the philosophy of BIDs, casting them as shadow governments, free to pursue undemocratic principles. Only a limited number of researchers have tackled the question of how to measure success and effectiveness of BIDs. This paper suggests that for most BIDs there will be no single metric of success. Rather, BIDs represent the amalgam of multiple stakeholder groups, each with different sets of success preferences. Using Ithaca, New York as a case example, the author details a survey of stakeholder groups in Ithaca that documents a broad array of success metrics. It is recommended that researchers as well as practitioners seek to utilise a scorecard/dashboard of the various key metrics that are deemed most important by the key stakeholder groups represented in a downtown district as a more accurate and comprehensive methodology for assessing BID success and effectiveness.
Keywords: BIDs; downtown districts; metrics; effectiveness; evaluation; dashboard
Requiem for the spiritual experience: Reconceptualising ‘quality of the environment’ by looking at the renovation process of the Samen district in Mashhad, Iran
Iman Ghalandarian, Assistant Professor, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, and Hamed Goharipour, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies, The College of Wooster

Imam Reza’s holy shrine in the Samen area in Mashhad and its impact on the urban fabric of the area has always been of interest to residents and pilgrims. In addition to being an area where people live and businesses are based, the district has continuously supported the sacred act of pilgrimage. Although mainstream sources have defined the quality of Samen’s environment mostly from a physical and psychological perspective, this neighbourhood fabric also has spiritual values. This paper aims to reconceptualise the quality of the environment by looking at the renovation process that the district has experienced to date. The research approach is qualitative, and grounded theory, including descriptive techniques, frames the methodology. The philosophical position of the study is interpretivism, and the research strategy is abductive. We collected data through libraries (documents) and survey techniques (observation and interview). The statistical population surveyed was people who are well informed about the plan and the district. We then conducted theoretical sampling through 28 semi-structured interviews. The number of interviews continued until data saturation. Using MAXQDA, we coded the interviews in three phases: open, axial, selective. The findings show that the quality of the environment is a multilayered concept and includes management, physical, economic, sociocultural and environmental dimensions, helping planners and policymakers respond to physical, psychological and spiritual spheres needs. In the case of the Samen district, decision makers must develop all aspects of the environment’s quality, including those related to the pilgrimage culture.
Keywords: quality of the environment; regeneration; spiritual sphere; grounded theory; Mashhad
Mapping the urban heritage environment: An explorative case study of the entrepreneurial culture of Hyderabad Sindh, Pakistan
Fahmida Shaikh, Assistant Professor and PhD Candidate, NED University of Engineering and Technology

This paper delves into a location’s historiography to learn more about communities and practices that have contributed to the heritage environment, some of which has been degraded as a result of rapid expansion, megacity migration and failure to conserve the built and cultural heritage. Because of its deep and rich urban historical background, the city of Hyderabad, located in the southern province of Pakistan, was chosen as a case study. The professional communities of Sindh, which once played a vital role in the city’s splendour, as well as the region’s rich culture and economy, are of particular interest in this paper. The analysis adopted an exploratory approach to explore historicity to achieve and preserve its long-term viability, which included engaging with the people who live in those areas. This research explored the rich connections between geography, history and emotions associated with any location, and explains how mapping aids in understanding different elements through their various dimensions. According to the findings of this paper, history as an exploratory tool has the potential to play a transformative role in Hyderabad city, boosting economic development, creativity and improving the efficiency of the historic built environment. The findings of this study inform that in view of its historicity, the socioeconomic aspect of Hyderabad city has significantly generated unique trading trends, society and spaces that provide a ‘sense of place’. Five key elements of the historicity framework developed in this paper include: offshoots of old patterns with revised strategies; designing user-friendly spaces that denote true, authentic and factual claims about the past; regenerating the place using its local products as heritage environments; adopting the historic urban landscapes (HUL) approach as a tool to explore for revitalising heritage; and developing integrated planning.
Keywords: historiography; sense of place; historic urban landscapes (HUL); entrepreneurial culture; community
Changing the image of cities through the eyes of its users: A comparison of two neighbourhoods in close proximity in Istanbul
Irem Tekin Yücesoy, Assistant Professor, Yeditepe University, and Emine Ümran Topçu, Professor of Architecture, Bahcesehir University

Increasing concern for the future of cities and for the well-being of their citizens has led in recent years to a greater emphasis on the study of cities from different perspectives. Central to this development has been the growth of research into the relationship between people and their everyday urban environments. Understanding the nature of person–environment relationship is a core part of planning activities. The social, political and economic changes taking place in cities reflect the image of cities. The changes affect the urban environment and have the capacity to transform social and cultural environments. This study aims to investigate how the users of urban environments evaluate changes in two different areas in Istanbul, namely Kozyatağı and Ataşehir, which both have different patterns of development. Although they have common characteristics, Ataşehir has been experiencing a process of planned change and Kozyatağı has been going through a less planned but parcel-based urban transformation process. As for the methodology of this research, quantitative data was collected to reach individuals’ subjective evaluations of their environment, by using face-to-face and Internet questionnaires utilising Likert-type questions. The survey questionnaire was administered to 387 individuals, after a pilot study was conducted in the research area to check the appropriateness of the research methods and questions. The collected data related to the demographic profile of the respondents and their preferences was analysed with SPSS software through descriptive and chi-square analysis. According to the findings of the study, respondents from the planned area Ataşehir care more about their existing environment. Any attempt towards amending the existing plan, in particular new building constructions and new policies, were found to be not welcome, whereas respondents from the organically developed area Kozyatağı seemed to care less about the ongoing changes. Moreover, demographic indicators such as education level, income level and length of stay were found to have an impact on their responses. The results of this study indicated that besides the demographic indicators, satisfaction or dissatisfaction with ongoing changes in the immediate environment depended on the users’ reasons and preference for choosing these areas in which to live or work.
Keywords: Istanbul; change; user evaluation; Kozyatağı; Ataşehir
Promoting temporary reuse of brownfield sites for triggering urban transformation
Stefania Tonin, Professor, University Iuav in Venice, and Gianluca Zanatta, Urban Planner, Municipality of Venice

The last economic crisis imposed structural changes on many former industrial areas, leading public and private stakeholders to reconsider the urgency of issues related to the environmental remediation and requalification of areas. Nevertheless, while the remediation and reuse of industrial brownfield sites present an important opportunity for the improvement of urban quality, sustaining the costs of these operations is currently an economic burden for owners or local authorities. For this reason, temporary uses and temporary activities could be a successful way of finding opportunities in periods of uncertainty and crisis, financial market volatility, deindustrialisation and political change. This paper explores the possibility of pursuing temporary reuse in a specific brownfield site in Italy, where urban redevelopment has been halted for far too long. The main positive effects attributed in the literature to temporary reuse are: economic benefits to the owner, users and the broader urban context; social and economic benefits to the local community; increased democratic participation in urban development; adaptability and innovation in the process of urban change; and low costs of implementation.
Keywords: temporary reuse; urban redevelopment and regeneration; brownfield; economic benefits; contaminated land
The challenges of urban conservation in the historic city of Puri
Shradha Chandan, PhD Scholar, Satish Pipralia, Associate Professor and Ashwani Kumar, Assistant Professor, Malaviya National Institute of Technology

Since antiquity, Puri, known for excellence in the field of art and architecture, has been one of the Char Dhams (holy places) of the Hindu Pilgrimage of India. India is rich in temples and historical settlements from the ancient Kashi to Char Dhams. The abode of Shree Jagannath, Puri, is one of the cardinal centres of pilgrimage for Hinduism. Puri, the cultural capital of Odisha, connects thousands of pilgrims to spirituality through its art, culture, heritage and Jagannath traditions. In the eastern state of India, Odisha is an uncharted gem of cultures and traditions with literature and architecture, picturesque beaches and wilderness, with Puri as its focal point. Puri has a distinctive blend of ethnicity, culture and tradition with an eclectic flair. The city accounts for about half of the tourist inflow to the state while tripling it during the Rath Yatra — the annual chariot festival. Situated on the Bay of Bengal, Puri, a high disaster risk zone, often encounters natural catastrophes such as heavy rainfall, floods, thunderstorms and severe cyclonic storms. Despite its importance and numerous governmental schemes, cultural heritage is always vulnerable to damage and destruction. This makes the documentation and sensitive planning approach to the conservation of the pilgrim city of the utmost importance. Based on secondary data and extensive surveys, this paper construes the multifaceted challenges of Puri with emphasis on its sociocultural identities, critically exploring the city in its contemporary form with the urban conservation initiatives undertaken by authorities. It summarises that modification in the planning approach is mandated to achieve its optimum potential to be revered as a world-class heritage city.
Keywords: cultural heritage; pilgrimage; tourism; core city; India; Puri; conservation; settlement