Urban Regeneration

Urban regeneration brings back underutilized assets and redistributes opportunities, increasing urban prosperity and quality of life. Urban regeneration initiatives are complex, lengthy and run the risk of gentrifying private space or privatize public one. At UN-Habitat we work for urban regeneration that ensures affordability, access to services and involvement of local residents to promote local economic development, where public space is a key element of interventions, and cities reduce environmental impact and GHG emissions. The preservation and valorization of historic and cultural heritage is a key opportunity for urban regeneration as well.

The shift of economic activities towards the outskirts of cities have left many inner-city areas blighted by unemployment, poor quality services, housing and decaying streets and public spaces. This has excluded residents from the opportunities of more prosperous districts and undermined the potential of urban centers to contribute to the prosperity of cities. Urban regeneration requires a diversity of approaches, such as redevelopment of brownfields, densification and intensification strategies, the diversification of economic activities, heritage preservation and reuse, public space reactivation and strengthening of service delivery.