Partnership schemes: Hulme City Challenge

What are partnership schemes?
These are funding mechanisms in which partnerships between inner city areas and the private sectors are formed to regenerate an area.
-It is competitive in nature as areas bid against each other by presenting 5 year plans to central government

Note: should funding be allocated according to competitive advantage or according to need?

E.g. City Challenge 1990s

Hulme City Challenge
Hulme, an inner city of Manchester faced many characteristic problems associated with urban decline.

The background to the decline:
-In the mid 19th century Hulme was one of the most deprived slums in UK with its population density being about four times that of the rest of the city
-The terrace housing was unfit for human inhabitation and was designated a clearance area
-Many communities were moved to periphery estates- 'overspill estates'

In the 1960s plans were put forth to regenerate the area (part of the 1960s slum clearance programme)
-The flagship part of the plans were 4 crescent shaped apartments as modelled on the terraces of Bath
-They wished to develop more open spaces and pedestrianize large areas
-The population was reduced from 130,000 to 12,000

These plans proved disastrous
-The crescents were poorly constructed and residents faced problems like pest infestation and damp
-The deck access flats were hard to police and crime rates were high
-By the 1980s the area had degenerated and the flats were largely home to single people or couples, it deemed unfit for children
The 80s also saw the development of a bohemian counter culture which sought to make Hulme 'acceptable'

Thus the plans which were proposed in the 90s to again regenerate the area had to be sensitive to the existing population
-The Hulme area was provided with £37 million worth of funding
-Partnerships were formed with the a local civil engineering company, the City Council and Bellway homes
-It was vital that the residents felt consulted

The redevelopment plans saw the building of new homes (3000)
-These were more traditional in style with balconies and courtyards
-They were designed to be more energy efficient
-Open spaces were maintained but were better landscaped and provided with new pitches and play areas
-A new community centre was established
-The new developments encouraged investment, e.g. a new Asda, providing 350 new jobs
-There were new office developments in partnership with Manchester University
 -The Hulme Arch is a landmark of the areas development
-The areas reputation has greatly improved and is now an attractive settlement for students, being only 10 mins from the city centre

Have there been failures?
-Students have moved into the area but are seen as not contributing to the community
-There is still a level of crime and gang networks
-House prices have risen
-The area now requires a more complex management system

Suburbanisation MEDCs

Suburbanisation in MEDCs has been a historical process

Suburbanisation - Mumbai

The population of Mumbai has recently reached 23 million.

Mumbai has been effected by the process of suburbanisation to large degree.

What is suburbanisation?
The outward movement of a city. The periphery extending, increasing the size of the urban sprawl

In LEDCS like India the urban sprawl is not kept in check by policies such as 'green belts', the process is more unplanned/out of control.

-The first movement of suburbanisation was Northwards along traffic corridors
-Now it is spreading eastward in direction with the building of the Vashi bridge across Thane Creek - the number of lanes the bridge has is set to double to 12 lanes of traffic

Now less than a third of the population lives in the 'island' city.
The centre of population has now shifted to suburban area of Salsette
-Commuter traffic is now less 'one directional', it not only flows into the CBD, movement in the opposite direction is substantial
-Few suburban residents seek the markets at the South of the city and Southern universities and schools are facing dropping numbers of students
-The suburbs are becoming 'edge cities', increasingly self supporting

 

Management strategies: How can we reverse the detrimental effects of 'hyperurbanisation'?

In Mumbai, a US trained architect Mukesh Mehta has proposed a £2 billion redevelopment programme for Dharavi slum which would entail the building of parks, gardens and new apartment blocks.

This rehousing project has faced major criticism.
-The envisioned apartments would be 14 storeys high and offer only 25m2 of space per family.
-There are concerns that the plans to only rehouse citizens who had settled pre-2000 will displace many families.
-The community spirit and informal sector would be threatened. There is little hope that the small pottery and textile workshops would be catered for.

Surely there are alternatives?
-There are proposals for local scale development
-For example the extension of existing buildings is a possibility: an extra floor with a 14ft window would ease overcrowding in households and reduces dependency on ventilation (reducing electricity needs)
-Surveys have suggested that small scale developments like improvements to drainage would be favoured
-Young Architects have proposed the idea of having 'spaceways in the sky' these are wide corridors connecting homes, replicating the streets. These would provide space for traditional crafts and maintain community spirit

-Many say the approach in Brazil is far more sustainable, with their site and service schemes provided in the favelas - there is provision of breeze blocks and materials for plumbing