Urban revitalization from an economic perspective theoretical reflections and their practical implications for revitalization projects

Abstract

The economic perspective in the field of planning and governing cities has a tradition stretching back over two hundred years. This long period of time has allowed for the elaboration of a set of theses, assumptions and analytical perspectives, while at the same time enabling researchers to join them with other points of view concerning cities. The inclusion of this perspective remains particularly important in contemporary urban revitalization processes, which are characterized by the far-reaching diversity of urban users and urban ownership structures.
The paper identifies the key challenges for the professionals designing changes in urban spaces aimed at their renewal, while at the same time incorporating the economic perspective. Among them, one can mention primarily the necessity to identify the needs of the urban space users as a starting point for any actions taken; the ability to reach relevant target groups and to open up dialogue with them; and last but not least identification of both the functional and ownership urban structures. These challenges should be perceived as the prerequisite conditions to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of urban revitalization projects. Moreover, in a wider sense this paper indicates the need to incorporate revitalization projects in the overall context of the urban economy, which involves strengthening of the economic base of towns and cities as well as the search for effective sources of financing urban development.