Countering decline of industrial sites: Do local economic development policies target the neediest places?

Abstract

Local economic development is a much used tool for the regeneration of urban areas. Although the designation and effectiveness of local economic development policies has been studied extensively in existing literature, the question as to whether these policies are aimed at the areas that are most in need of these policies remains relatively understudied. This question has been answered using the case of industrial sites in the Netherlands. This particular type of urban area in the Netherlands has experienced problems with rapid urban area decline and has therefore been targeted by various area-based regeneration initiatives for many years. The economic performance is the main justification for the designation of industrial sites that are in greater need of regeneration. However, another pertinent and unanswered question is: are the industrial sites targeted for regeneration really the ones that underperform economically? (Multinomial) logistic regression analysis is used to answer this question. Differences in economic performance, measured by the growth in employment figures, the number of companies and property values, between industrial sites that are targeted for regeneration in two different rounds of regeneration initiatives and non-targeted sites are studied. The analysis shows that the differences in economic performance are negligible between these groups. It indicates that other criteria, such as political and strategic decision making influence policymakers' decisions to target industrial sites for regeneration, thus making it at least doubtful that public money for the regeneration of industrial sites is being spent on what it is meant for.

Between Industrialism and Postindustrialism—the Case of Small Towns in a Large Urban Region: The Katowice Conurbation, Poland

“…The scale of these challenges in small postmining towns, which have not yet completely left behind post-transformation trauma, will always be greater than in larger towns. Also, the phenomenon of inadequateness of regional support, which has been well demonstrated by Beekmans et al [86] does not help in this. Factors fostering activation in such towns are creative local governments and endogenous initiatives often based on 'local patriotism' with respect to location or relocation of companies [87].…”

A Methodological Approach for Evaluating Brownfield Redevelopment Projects

“…The groups of traditional public actors, (elected officials, urban planners, community activists) who have the most competence in the management of local areas, seek to optimize the use of urban spaces to enhance city neighborhoods (preserving built and landscaped heritage), promote economic and social development, limit or even reverse the increasing needs for energy, ensure the health and safety of populations, and finally create a local dynamic around rehabilitation projects [6,33,34]. As plans move forward according to these priorities and thepossibly conflicting priorities of developers, academicians and traditional public actors can play the role of attracting and influencing investors (groups of private actors) to create favorable conditions for economic and urban development [35][36][37].…”

Efetividade de projetos de desenvolvimento local na perspectiva da avaliação de impacto social: estudos de caso no litoral do Piauí

“…Tais evidências reforçam as pesquisas dedicadas a avaliar a efetividade de políticas e projetos de desenvolvimento e como as metas de prosperidade econômica para o território são atingidas se concentrando em metodologias que permitam resultados eficazes. O uso de parâmetros como abatimentos e arrecadação de impostos, desempenho financeiro, criação de zonas empresariais e assim por diante, não considerando o padrão de desigualdade e assimetria de poder das nações consideradas desenvolvidas e em desenvolvimento, não é suficiente e fundamental para explicar, ou até mesmo viabilizar benefícios (BEEKMANS et al, 2016). Tão importante quanto desenvolver projetos que possibilitem o desenvolvimento de uma nação, de um território é desenvolver metodologias que possam assegurar que no planejamento e operacionalização destes, seja possível maximizar benefícios e reduzir impactos negativos, de modo que se alcance crescimento com desenvolvimento.…”