URBAN RENEWAL

Abstract:
Urban renewal is not a new phenomenon. If it were, the centres of London, Paris
or Cologne would be the same as they were in the Middle Ages. Change takes place
when individual buildings are redeveloped or modernised, when new streets are built,
when whole districts are demolished in war or when public urban renewal programmes
are initiated. Perhaps it is worth remembering that cities were renewed — not always
without success — before ‘urban renewal’ or ‘town planning’ was invented.
Nevertheless, the renewal of urban districts poses two technical (among other)
problems. Firstly, the existing property boun daries may not be suitable; e.g. larger sites
may be needed. Secondly, there is a need for some co-ordination at a level above that
of the individual site. The London squares of the early 19th century required planning of
the terraces, roads and the central garden; a comparable type of small-scale planning is
needed today.

Introduction:
Is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities.
Urban renewal is the clearing out of blighted areas in inner cities to clear out slums and
create opportunities for higher class housing, businesses, and more.

Modern attempts at renewal began in the late 19th century in developed nations, and
experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s under the rubric of reconstruction. The
process has had a major impact on many urban landscapes and has played an
important role in the history and demographics of cities around the world.

Urban renewal is a process where privately owned properties within a designated

renewal area are purchased or taken by eminent domain by a municipal redevelopment
authority, razed and then reconveyed to selected developers who devote them to other
uses.
The concept of urban renewal as a method for social reform emerged in England as a
reaction to the increasingly cramped and unsanitary conditions of the urban poor in the
rapidly industrializing cities of the 19th century. The agenda that emerged was a
progressive doctrine that assumed better housing conditions would reform its residents
morally and economically. Another style of reform – imposed by the state for reasons of
aesthetics and efficiency – could be said to have begun in 1853, with the recruitment
of Baron Haussmann by Louis Napoleon for the redevelopment of Paris.

This process is also carried out in rural areas, referred to as village renewal, though it
may not be exactly the same in practice.

In some cases, renewal may result in urban sprawl when city infrastructure begins to
include freeways and expressways.

Urban renewal has been seen by proponents as an economic engine and a reform
mechanism, and by critics as a mechanism for control. Though it may bring more wealth
to communities, it may also edge out its preexisting residents. Some redevelopment
projects have been failures, including the Kelo case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court
upheld the taking by a 5 to 4 vote, but where nothing was built on the taken property.

Many cities link the revitalization of the central business district and gentrification of
residential neighborhoods to earlier urban renewal programs. The goal of urban renewal
evolved into a policy based less on destruction and more on renovation and investment,
and today is an integral part of many local governments, often combined
with small and big business incentives.

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 Architecture Standards for Urban Renewal Area

In addition to any other architectural and design standards used throughout the
City, the following standards shall be used to review all site plans required in accordance
with Section 26-16-7.1 for properties in the Old Town Urban Renewal District. The
document “Vision Statement Design Standards and Guidelines” dated August 24, 2000,
is adopted by reference for use to help illustrate the intent of the subsections below.

(a) Commercial developments must be linked with surrounding areas by extending city
streets, sidewalks, and/or paths directly into and through the development, thereby
providing convenient, direct pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle access to and from the
development.

(b) Developments must be accessible to pedestrians, pedestrians with impaired mobility,

and bicyclists as well as motorists. Site plans shall emphasize the following: pedestrian
access to the site and buildings; gathering areas for people; and auto access and
parking lots.

(c) Walkways must be located and aligned to directly and continuously connect areas or
points of pedestrian origin and destination, and not be located and aligned solely based
on the outline of a parking lot configuration that does not provide such direct pedestrian
access.

(d) Driveway crossings must place priority on the pedestrian access and the material
and layout of the pedestrian access must be continuous as it crosses the driveways, with
a break in the continuity of the driveway paving and not in the pedestrian access way.
Continuous driveway aisles located directly in front of a building are discouraged. Where
possible, shared driveways will be encouraged to reduce disruption of pedestrian
passage.

(e) The design emphasis must not be placed solely on parking and drive-through
functions.
(f) The establishment of buildings on isolated “pad sites” surrounded by parking lots and
driveways, and that offer mainly auto-oriented signage to define entrances, is
discouraged. Even relatively massive development can be configured into “blocks” or
other spaces, proportioned on a human scale and city block scale; and need not be
proportioned on a monolithic, auto-oriented scale.

(g) Required parking shall be provided to the greatest extent possible by spaces at the
rear or sides of the building.

(h) Where possible, buildings shall be located to front on and relate primarily to streets.
Building setbacks from local and collector streets should be minimized in order to
establish a visually continuous, pedestrian-oriented streetfront. If a minimized setback is
not maintained, the larger setback area shall have landscaping, low walls or fencing, a
tree canopy and/or other site improvements along the sidewalk designed for pedestrian
interest, scale and comfort.

(i) Building facades may be recessed if an arcade, awnings, or similar structure(s) abuts
the front setback.

(j) Awnings or canopies, which provide a generally consistent cover along the pedestrian
walk are strongly encouraged. Canvas is the preferred material, although other water
proofed fabrics may be used; metal or aluminum awnings shall not be used unless
otherwise approved by the City. Structural overhangs are desired to maintain a more
continuous weather protected walk.

(k) All materials, colors, and architectural details used on the exterior of a building shall
be compatible with the building’s style, with other properties in the general business
area, and with each other. This standard shall not be interpreted to preclude any unique
architectural styles deemed appropriate to the use.

(l) Standardized “corporate” or strongly thematic architectural styles associated with

chain-type restaurants and service stores are strongly discouraged unless they
accommodate the desired image for the City and are compatible with adjacent structures
and uses.
(m) Blank, windowless walls are discouraged. Where the construction of a blank wall is
necessary, the wall shall be articulated with recesses and projections in order to break-
up the image of the wall’s mass.

(n) Buildings having single walls exceeding fifty (50) feet in length shall incorporate one
or more of the following for every fifty (50) feet: changes in color, graphical patterning,
changes in texture, or changes in material; projections, recesses and reveals; windows
and fenestration; arcades and pergolas; towers; gable projections; horizontal/vertical
breaks; or other similar techniques.

(o) The architectural treatment of the front facade shall be continued, in its major
features, around all visibly exposed sides of a building. Blank wall or service area
treatment of side and/or rear elevations visible from the public viewshed is discouraged.

(p) Windows shall be vertically proportioned wherever possible. Street-level storefront

windows are strongly encouraged. Office and residential windows organized in a
generally regular pattern are encouraged.

(q) Transparent entries and large store front windows are strongly encouraged.
Recessed and other styles of window openings are desired.

(r) As far as practicable, all air conditioning units, HVAC systems, major exhaust pipes or
stacks, elevator housing and satellite dishes and other telecommunications receiving
devices shall be thoroughly screened from view from the public right-of-way and from
adjacent properties by using walls, fencing, roof elements, and landscaping. In addition,
all trash facilities and loading areas shall be properly screened.

(s) Intense, bright or fluorescent colors shall not be used as the predominant color on
any wall or roof of any primary or accessory structure. These colors may be used as
building accent colors.
(t) All sloping roof areas with a pitch of three in twelve (3 in12) or greater, and visible
from any public or private right-of-way, shall be surfaced with attractive and durable
materials. All roofs with a slope of less than 3/12 shall have attractive parapets to
provide screening of roof and systems described in (r).

(u) Avoid large expanses of continuous concrete paving. (v) Encourage outdoor dining
and other people-oriented places.

COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING REQUIREMENT IN -URBAN RENEWAL

The impact of urban renewal on racial patterns in the housing supply, so

important in cities like St. Louis and Nashville, was likewise ignored. For example, a
comprehensive plan might assist in the setting of project priorities by deciding which
neighborhoods have the social and ethnic characteristics to best withstand
displacement. 40 But the early concentration of city planning and housing reform on
physical concerns prevented an orientation which might have given prominence to
nonphysical issues, in spite of occasional lip service to social and economic problems."'
Although urban renewal would displace racial and other minorities, urban renewal
proponents opposed 42 the relocation requirement,43 finally added to the federal law,
that displaced site residents be afforded decent housing. This requirement was added at
the insistence of spokesmen for the housing movement.

Structuring urban renewal in project form creates the legally significant physical
setting in which urban renewal must be carried out. Legally important criteria center on
two stages in the renewal process, the qualification and selection of project areas and
their redevelopment" 3 following clearance. At the redevelopment stage, the character of
the project is shaped by the project plan, known either as the "urban renewal" or
"redevelopment" plan. Land in the project is to be sold at its "fair value for uses"
specified in the project plan, which must in turn conform to the general plan for the
community. The need to relate individual projects to the community plan was frequently
asserted, and the early proponents of urban renewal apparently intended that the
planning objectives implicit in redevelopment should also dictate project selection.
 Despite one attempt to include such a provision, however, the federal statute has
never based project qualification on the satisfaction of community planning objectives.
Slum clearance projects qualify for federal aid (and are authorized by state law) on the
basis of what they remove from a city, and a project must qualify as a slum or blighted
area before it can receive federal assistance or be acquired under state statutes.

The importance of the urban renewal agency's role in carrying out the project
plan was but dimly seen when urban renewal legislation was first considered, and little if
any thought was given to the legal framework within which the sale of project land would
be conducted. Yet the legal controls governing this step in the redevelopment process
directly influence the possibility that the urban renewal plan will be followed faithfully.
Implementation of project objectives must depend for its success on the response of the
private market and, if the market responds poorly, the project plan might be distorted to
get a better market reaction. Statutory insistence in some states on competitive bidding
procedures in urban renewal land disposition hides this important reality. Nor were St.
Louis and Nashville entirely successful in handling the sale of project land in the
absence of a competitive bidding requirement.
Architecture renewal in relationship to public space as a catalyst
for urban regeneration.

Stimulating urban regeneration focusing in an increasement of human activity and in a

reduction of energy, water and resources consumption and a renewal of architecture in
relationship to public space may produce an urban stimuli that improve the urban
ecosystem.

The processes of urban obsolescence will be increasingly common in an urbanized

world, especially in some territories with a long urban history such as Europe.
To promote urban regeneration, the key idea is that architecture renewal in relationship
to public spapce can become an urban catalyst, under certain conditions of design. The
desired urban stimulus may be produced: the improvement of the urban ecosystem and
the environment.

The future involves an architecture that acts together the public space that can produce
reactions that diminish the environmental impact and promote urban revitalization.
Urban regeneration processes must consider architecture, which includes the
architectural heritage and the new architecture, so that integrated, they can generate city
in the city.

Architecture and public space, when work together, multiplies urban vitality effects. It is
intended to foster neighborhoods with activity at the local level, with endowments on the
edges that are shared with adjacent areas, but also at the urban and metropolitan level,
because it will have uses that will attract people.

It will be a combination of uses, tipologies and architectural heritage and the new
architecture that will generate its great value. Moreover, it is also intended to dilute the
barrier between public and private activities, fostering places where employment,
facilities and residence are combined. Places of synergies, exchanges and
interconnections.
Architecture, under certain conditions of urban design, promotes public space as a
relationship space, in an intergenerational “plaza”.

Architecture may promote activity and passive surveillance of public space. Then, future
architecture vision promote an urban development in which the private vehicle is not the
protagonist, but only another mean of transport.

The association between architecture and public space, especially green areas, allows a
mobility mainly pedestrian and cyclist, and where mobility and public transport are
organized in the perimeter in a hierarchical manner, allowing a large green heart, quiet
and sure. Future green city from the urban cells, the urban tissues.

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

If modernisation or redevelopment took place as and when necessary, there would be

no problem. The fact that there is so much discussion of the problem of 'urban decay' is
a reasonable indication that there is in fact a problem, although one which varies
enormously from country to country, and city to city. If there is a problem of'urban
decay'- and one not caused by uncertainty about local authority policy- this implies that
redevelopment or modernisation which is desirable on broad social grounds is not taking
place because it is unprofitable. In the terminology of cost-benefit analysis, the 'private'
return is less the 'social' return. One type of renewal strategy is to bridge this gap by
subsidies, e.g. modernisation grants; in districts where decay has not gone too far, and
the basic layout is suitable for modern housing, this can have a marked effect. In more
decayed or obsolete districts, a more organised renewal strategy may be necessary.
Any scheme embracing more than a single site- whether carried out commercially, on
some local cooperative basis, by a non-profit 'trustee' in the German manner, or even by
the 'municipal bulldozer', should have the advantage of 'internalising the externality'. In
most cases, however, some public expenditure will be involved, ranging from simple
alterations to access and parking arrangements to massive expenditure on
redevelopment. But there are always alternative uses for a limited supply of public
finance.
 Puerto Madero, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is an urban renewal project, a
transformation of a large disused dock into a new luxuryresidential and
commercial district. It is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Latin America.

Aerial view of downtown Fairbanks, Alaska in the early 1960s, showing the area cleared
in Alaska's first urban renewal project.

A portion of downtown Fairbanks, Alaska in 1960 or 1961. The first urban renewal zone
in Alaska had been planned, stretching from Third to Seventh avenues in the block
between Barnette and Cushman streets, and in limited places stretching slightly beyond
those streets. A number of houses and small commercial buildings were demolished and
replaced with larger commercial buildings and parking lots.