Urban Policies

• Urban development corporations (UDCs)


  Established to regenerate derelict areas
• 4 UDCs ran from 1979-1993
• The first UDC was established in 1981 in the London Docklands
• Aims of the London UDC

  • Attract new businesses
  • Create new jobs
  • Improve the local environment
  • Build new houses
• Between 1981 and 1998, the London UDC had built 24,000 new homes, created 85,000 new jobs, and built new schools, parks & community facilities
• Enterprise Zones


  Small areas of land opened up to attract new growth industries
• Enterprise Zones have been running from 1981-present
• Enterprise Zones were mostly established in areas with high unemployment
• By 1990, Enterprise Zones housed over 5,000 companies and employed more than 125,000 people
• Negatives of Enterprise Zones: tax reductions encouraged many companies to move their staff to the EZs, limiting the number of new jobs created
• City Challenge


  A programme that ran from 1991-1997 where deprived areas competed for government funding to regenerate their areas
• Negatives of City Challenge: some deprived areas did not receive any funding
• Benefits of City Challenge: it worked with local community and private companies to improve the physical, economic & social environment, significantly improving housing and creating jobs for local people
• By 1997, City Challenge had created 50,000 jobs and improved 40,000 homes
• Partnership schemes


  Government works with private companies to provide financial support for urban regeneration
• Partnership schemes have been running from 2010-present
• Aims of partnership schemes

  • Improving physical, economic & social conditions in deprived areas (e.g. building new homes, reducing unemployment)