Regenerative city-regions: a new conceptual framework

Abstract

The city-regional scale is increasingly being considered the most suitable level for planning and development, yet city-regions have often been established for purely economic reasons in the UK. This paper argues that city-regions are not mere socioeconomic units through which competitiveness can be achieved, but also rich, socioecological spaces. Although the progressive regionalist literature has taken significant steps in this direction, concerns remain that critical contemporary issues such as environmental sustainability, cultural viability, social exclusion or political (dis)empowerment have not been addressed in a holistic way. We attempt to advance the debate and overcome some of the shortcomings by connecting progressive regionalism with two other literature strands: collaborative governance and regenerative development. Based on the synergies found, we design a conceptual framework that can be used to study, understand and improve policy processes and practice, paving pathways towards regenerative city-regions.

Transformative roles of people and places: learning, experiencing, and regenerative action through social innovation

“…Regeneration in a place-based perspective intends to reverse the adverse human impact on the environment and create conditions for all life systems to thrive (Axinte et al 2019). Regenerative undertakings have two main roles: to acquire a whole-systems understanding and (co-)design actions in harmony with place; and, to create platforms where stakeholders "can step up as co-creators and stewards of those actions" (Mang and Reed 2017: 18).…”

“…Shared transformative experiences can help to understand how place relationships are discerned and visualised, stimulate inclusive forms of identity building, and acknowledging the transformative agency of people to shape the respective places by means of values, ideas, and needs (Rebelo et al 2019). Regeneration in its place-based articulation facilitates contextualizing and identifying the distinctive character of society and place (Axinte et al 2019). The regeneration hypothesis helps to effectuate a worldview through which human and natural systems can form mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships (Cole 2012).…”

Regions in a time of pandemic

“…Regardless of whether the high levels of infections in cities are due to urban formincluding population density, their role as global transport nodes, their specialization in serviceoriented work (Economics Observatory, 2020)or other factors, questions have been raised about how we value our present highly urbanized way of life. This has implications too for the conceptualization of city-regions, which are increasingly recognized as an important scale for planning and development (Axinte et al, 2019). This is made even more complex by the forced changes in how city work gets conducted.…”

Circular Economy Strategies in Eight Historic Port Cities: Criteria and Indicators Towards a Circular City Assessment Framework

“…Finally, the scientific literature on circular cities is varied and constantly growing. The concepts of eco-cities [48,49], (low-to-) zero carbon cities [12,50,51], zero waste cities [52], resource-efficient cities [53][54][55], regenerative cities [4,[56][57][58][59], resilient cities [60][61][62][63][64], sharing cities [65][66][67][68], and smart cities [15,[69][70][71][72][73], as well as food and food waste management in city-regions [58,[74][75][76][77], can be all linked and integrated in the broader concept of the "circular city".…”