Salford Uni leads £3m study into effective regeneration
Urban development expert Professor Steve Curwell believes a £3m project being led by the University of Salford could change the way regeneration professionals operate.
Speaking at the Northern Urban Regeneration Exhibition and Conference in Liverpool today, Prof Curwell explained how the project will question the slow progress of regeneration schemes.
The University of Salford is spearheading SURegen, an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council-funded four-year web-based scheme, in collaboration with five other universities and ten partners including local authorities, architects, engineers and construction companies.
The project's aim is to provide an online information system for organisations about to embark on regeneration projects.
Prof Curwell said: "It will help decision makers in urban regeneration programmes to collaborate more effectively and to learn key lessons from past mistakes by using case studies of best practice."
The EPSRC has awarded the project £2.5m-worth of funding from its £38m Sustainable Urban Environment research programme. Industrial partners have contributed an additional £500,000.
Speaking at NUREC, Chris Woods, research director for Wates Construction, added: "Each regeneration project involves a few key issues such as land assembly, how to mix public and private finance, and minimising negative social effects.
"However, we still don't seem to be able to get all of them right, in the same place and at the same time."
