RENEW NEWCASTLE: GENTRIFICATION AND URBAN RENEWAL

This paper interprets the development of residential accommodation in Newcastle upon Tyne's city centre as a complex, layered phenomenon. Provision of such accommodation has a longer history than is usually recognised. We trace the evolution of residential development schemes and illustrate the wide range of initiatives and actor groups involved. It is demonstrated that public support (including the third sector) has been the principal driver over a considerable period of time. Furthermore, the strategic role of the local authority has been central to the process. Without its policy commitment and strategic overview, partnerships and funding would not have been as fully developed. This calls into question the concept of re-urbanisation as some kind of 'natural' phase in an urban development cycle. However, the current financial climate does not bode well for the continuation of this role. Whilst the gradual emergence of private sector initiatives is demonstrated, it is clear that this has been somewhat slow and reluctant and its sustainable future remains questionable.

The following chapter introduces and analyzes the regenerated projects of Grainger Town Newcastle Quayside and Gatheshead Quays through the theoretical paradigms introduced in Chaper 1. The historical background deeply discussed in Chapter 5 described Newcastle and Gateshead as a declining industrial region seeking for new alternatives towards development.

The city of Newcastle is a complex and changing landscape. Once regarded as Australia's 'problem city', Newcastle's identity is being significantly transformed. This identity transformation draws significantly upon the emergence of more cosmopolitan landscapes within inner Newcastle associated with the gentrification of these areas. The discourse of gentrification is inherently post-industrial, providing a cleaner and more positive identity as Newcastle seeks to erase the stigma of its' industrial heritage. However, as landscapes are the amalgam of multiple identities, Newcastle's industrial heritage periodically re-emerges to problematise the city's newly adopted cosmopolitan identity.

Urban Design International, 1996

This research is based on a review of the theories and concepts of 19th and 20th Century pioneers, from which appropriate Urban Design Principles and Urban Typologies, are deduced. The development and change in Newcastle upon Tyne are examined, and two Study Areas established to represent 19th and 20th Century intervention. In addition, two European cities are selected as Exemplar Study Areas. All four Areas are tested against the Urban Design Principles and Urban Typologies. This creates the basis of the Possibilities for Urban Restoration, which include suggestions for future development of the city. The essence of the thesis is that in elemental terms, the city is composed of solids and voids. Every part of city volume is either one Authority in each city.

IDEA Journal: Design Activism: Developing Models, Modes and Methodologies of Practice , 2015

Developing models, modes and methodologies of pr actice Current members:

2017

Governments are busily rezoning our cities for high-rise apartments. The New South Wales government, for example, plans to rezone a 20-kilometre corridor in Sydney, from Sydenham to Bankstown, for urban density, in concert with a new metro rail line. Residents and community groups have reacted vociferously to the prospects of high-rise buildings in previously low-density suburbs. But there is another, overlooked dimension to the redevelopment. Much of it is on industrial land: pockets of old factories and workshops, portrayed as decrepit and in need of renewal. Our new project documents enterprises that actually use urban industrial lands. It's a story of surprising and largely hidden vibrancy at the interface between creative industries and small manufacturing. Planners and economic developers tend to assume manufacturing has left central cities and that manufacturing enterprises can simply locate to city-fringe greenfield sites. In reality, manufacturing is changing form, and ...

Graphic artist Javier de Isusi engaged with the issue of crisis and renewal for 1 week in Newcastle upon Tyne. He displayed a series of sketches as part of an exhibition on crisis and renewal in Hune 2015. Subsequently, the edited book based on the Isusi’s exhibition was published in a bilingual edition Spanish-English by Astiberri, one of the leading publishers in the Spanish comics industry. This book represents an effort to engage with local NGOs at Newcastle who help refugees to settle in the region (Project Comfrey) or that bypass monetary practices in favour of skill based exchanges (Time Exchange). Montse Ferres was instrumental through her links with local NGOs and her expertise on urban planning. Angel Uribe, who directs the Real Translation Project, coordinated the bilingual translation. Jorge Catala-Carrasco organised the exhibition, the artist in residence stay and the subsequent publication with Astiberri.

2016

Summary. The landscape of the north-east of England, both urban and rural, is perhaps most notable as a deindustrialised landscape. Indeed, the world in which we live is determined as much by what it was as by what it is. Perhaps this is no more evident than in the case of NewcastleGateshead which is often portrayed as an exemplar of the revitalising benefits of culture-led regeneration. The, as yet unproven, success of NewcastleGateshead Quayside is founded upon a massive financial investment in iconic projects. But under what conditions is, if at all, such iconography succeeding? This article addresses the impact of flagship regeneration projects and their role in radically rearticulating the meaning of place and space in a so-called post-industrial world. It is suggested that the success of investment in iconic cultural projects depends above all upon people’s sense of belonging in a place and the degree to which culture-led regeneration can engage with that sense of belonging, w...

Urban Studies, 2005

The landscape of the north-east of England, both urban and rural, is perhaps most notable as a deindustrialised landscape. Indeed, the world in which we live is determined as much by what it was as by what it is. Perhaps this is no more evident than in the case of NewcastleGateshead which is often portrayed as an exemplar of the revitalising benefits of culture-led regeneration. The, as yet unproven, success of NewcastleGateshead Quayside is founded upon a massive financial investment in iconic projects. But under what conditions is, if at all, such iconography succeeding? This article addresses the impact of flagship regeneration projects and their role in radically rearticulating the meaning of place and space in a so-called post-industrial world. It is suggested that the success of investment in iconic cultural projects depends above all upon people's sense of belonging in a place and the degree to which culture-led regeneration can engage with that sense of belonging, whilst...

[email protected] creativecity.ca For more information and other Making the Case features, profiles and resources, visit: creativecity.ca C ulture-based initiatives have been essential to urban revitalization and urban renewal programs in Canada. The arts ensure a community's habitat reflects who residents are and how they live. Key arguments for renewal and revitalization through culture-based initiatives LOCAL INTERESTS AND OBJECTIVES Arts and culture can help regenerate a city's core. Main street revitalization programs that include arts and culture programming increase community vitality. (Alberta Main Street Program, AB) Regeneration initiatives such as street façade improvement contribute to economic regeneration for ailing commercial streets. (Chilliwack Business Association) The construction of new public squares creates new "spaces" for community activity and interaction. (Art City, Edmonton, AB) Greening initiatives and landscape art improves the sense of place of urban streets and blocks. Urban regeneration through the arts can spur local economic growth and development. (Custard Factory, UK) Arts and culture can re-identify negatively stereotyped communities. Cultural branding and community identity building, through commonly designed or characterized infrastructure, can create a new character in a typecast community. (Drummondsville, PQ) © 2005 Creative City Network of Canada |