With reference to examples, discuss the overall effectiveness of urban regeneration schemes

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With reference to examples, discuss the overall effectiveness of urban regeneration schemes

Many inner cities have suffered from urban decline in the past 30 years due to many reasons. In response to this urban decline many local governments have introduced urban regeneration schemes. The effectiveness of these schemes depends on the location, the type of scheme and the way it helps the community.

One city that has a substantial amount of urban decline is Liverpool. This is mainly due to the de-industrialisation of the area due to the decline of shipbuilding and general industry such as the sugar making company 'Tate and Lyle'.  Between 1971 and 1983 manufacturing jobs were cut by one third meaning the unemployment rate was high in this area of the city. With the decline of manufacturing, the city had many abandoned docks, warehouses and industrial areas/material leading to general environmental degradation of the area.

Liverpool is the only urban area in the UK which can claim to have been host to every major urban regeneration policy experiment introduced in the past 35 years.  One particular scheme was The Eldonians which was an attempt at creating a sustainable community. The Eldonians is a community run redevelopment situated on the site of an old sugar refinery in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool. The Eldonian village is a housing cooperative built in 1983 as a response by local residents to the news that their housing was to be demolished and the community was to be split up and moved to different areas of Liverpool.  They formed an action group, hired architects and were granted planning permission. They eventually built a mixture of small affordable housing with all housing looking over each other acting as a form of neighbourhood watch.

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In terms of the effectiveness of the Eldonians, many believe it is one of the most successful ‘bottom up’ redevelopments in Britain today. The Eldonian village has become a desirable place to live with 295 affordable homes having a five year waiting list. The transformation of this derelict site into a sustainable community can be said as being highly effective with the site owning £50 million of assets and has attracted £100 million of private investment. In terms of the site improving this area socially, the creation of social enterprises to run services has boosted job and training opportunities. ...

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The essay is clearly written with a logical, conventional structure. The introduction gives an overview of why urban generation schemes have been used, however I think it could be improved by adding a definition of what the schemes are. This is followed by the main body fo the argument. The paragraphs are separated clearly; each time a different scheme or different type of analysis is spoken about, a new paragraph begins. Finally, the conclusion concisely sums up the argument. Furthermore, there are no problems in spelling, grammar and punctuation.

The analysis in this essay is good as the student explores each example in depth and discusses the ways in which it provides for both the effectiveness and the ineffectiveness of urban regeneration. Considering both sides of the argument is vital as it shows deep understanding and suggests a more balanced, unbiased argument.

This is a very good response as it discusses the effectiveness of several different examples with lots of detail. This shows that the student has researched and learnt about each place in depth, rather than simply learning the location. Hence, this strengthens the argument as each point is supported by examples. The facts and figures included also add to the essay and show extra effort taken by the student to learn these. Additionally, the writer comes to a clear conclusion after considering both sides of the argument; they clearly state that urban regeneration schemes can be effective in some ways and ineffective in others. This is necessary as many essay answers do not tailor themselves to the question enough, and hence do not gain high marks.