Touching upon urban regeneration, president of Iran Urban Economics Scientific Association Dr. Hossein Mohammadpour Zarandi said, in the path of development, cities experience many changes and evolutions. If all economic and cultural aspects and infrastructures are not regarded, final progress will not be achieved even with the beginning of development process.
Emphasizing that sustainable development has been considered as the core of all the global guidelines and agreements, the president of IUESA said, “Urban regeneration is a comprehensive and integrated approach to solve urban issues and challenges, resulting in sustainable progress in all economic, cultural, social, and environmental aspects”.
Mentioning that some superficial views can change the identity of a city in development processes, he said, “Any development plan should be based on the principle of urban regeneration particularly in countries with long-standing cultures and civilizations, such as Iran”.
Considering urban regeneration far beyond the processes and achievements of urban renewal and development, he added, “It is not true that urban problems and challenges are the result of a factor according to the urban recreation idea; internal capacities and capabilities of cities should be noted in the path of urban regeneration”.
Noting that social capital is one of the other pillars of urban regeneration, he said, “Public partnership should be the central axis of change toward urban development and any plan and program that ignore public partnership will be failed certainly”.
Stating that one of the most important aspects of urban regeneration is to pay attention to economic infrastructures of cities, he further said, “Urban economy cannot be summarized only in municipal economy; therefore, this question should be answered as to what impact the economic aspect of this process will have on the quality of life of the people in any change process”.
Accentuating that accurate definition of cities’ position should be presented in development process following general policies of resistance economy, he said, “Any city should have a strategic plan based on its opportunities and strengths in order to be in the path of urban regeneration”.
Referring to the global experiences, the president of IUESA further said, “For example, Paradise Project was implemented in the center of Liverpool, by taking into account the principles of urban regeneration, it became one of the largest shopping centers in the UK which it was isolated for many years, in such a way that after implementing this plan, Liverpool ranked among commercial cities in this country and accordingly 5000 jobs were created”.
Touching upon South Africa as another world experience in the field of urban regeneration, he said, “The small town of Stellenbosch, which has suffered from racial discrimination for many years, has become a place for global tourism through marketing and branding methods, and today it is a brand, and ultimately the project has resulted in full employment in this small town and this city is one of the safest places in South Africa”.
Referring to the second international conference on urban economy, Dr. Pourzarandi said, “Urban regeneration will be regarded at this event in order to formulate urban regeneration planning in accordance with cities’ advantages in the country in the path of progress”.
“The cities’ structure and identity should be kept in the path of progress and we require a serious revision in urban planning,” he highlighted.
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