Evaluating urban regeneration: An assessment of the effectiveness of physical regeneration initiatives on run-down industrial sites in the Netherlands

Abstract

Despite the widespread use of physical improvements as a strategy to regenerate deprived and run-down urban areas, there is only limited evidence on the precise impact of these kinds of regeneration activities. A number of conceptual and methodological problems that impinge on all evaluations of regeneration policies have constrained the required evidence base. This paper evaluates the impact of publicly funded physical improvements of run-down industrial sites in the Netherlands and seeks to address several of these challenges; namely, selecting appropriate comparison areas, attributing change to specific interventions, access to small-scale, longitudinal data and selecting outcomes congruent with policy goals and rationales. Pooled data from various sources provide us with information on regeneration initiatives and other site characteristics for more than half of all sites in the country. Propensity score matching enables us to systematically compare economic outcomes related to regeneration policy goals between sites that have been subjected to regeneration and those that have not. The results of this study suggest that physical regeneration of industrial sites has a negligible effect on economic outcomes that are related to the most commonly articulated policy goals: the increase of employment, of firm numbers, of property values and of the intensity of land use on these sites. These findings add to a small but growing body of work that investigates the economic impact of regeneration programmes that fund physical investments on commercial and industrial areas.

A framework for path-dependent industrial land transition analysis using vector data

“…Most of the regeneration initiatives on industrial land are undertaken by municipalities whereas the majority of these initiatives do not involve redevelopment projects since policy officials responsible consider regeneration initiatives primarily as a means to promote local economic development. However, political motives might have driven the decisions to redevelopment schemes, just as in other countries (Ploegmakers & Beckers, 2015).…”

Exploring the Diverse Expectations of Stakeholders in Industrial Land Redevelopment Projects in China: The Case of Shanghai

“…Consequently, sustainable industrial land redevelopment has attracted substantial academic attention. With regard to the economic dimension, economic sustainability in industrial land redevelopment refers to more efficient land use, the attraction and retention of firms, the promotion of industrial competitiveness, and the stimulation of sustained economic growth [27,28]. In the narrow sense, economic sustainability in industrial land redevelopment also means the sustained growth of local governments finance, sustainable redevelopment benefits for original land users, and the sustainable increase of property values near industrial redevelopment projects, etc.…”

“…In sustainable industrial redevelopment, many studies have focused on social factors, such as job creation, public participation, the reduction of crime, equity, and reducing urban sprawl, etc. [27,28,30]. Maintaining social stability in industrial land redevelopment has rarely been mentioned.…”

The impact of planning intervention on business development: Evidence from the Netherlands

“…As a result, firms are expected to change their investment behaviour, by locating at the site, by expanding their operations or by maintaining and improving their premises. Regeneration initiatives are often explicitly justified on the basis of such economic arguments (see Ploegmakers and Beckers, 2015 ).…”