Retail-Led Urban Regeneration: The Case of Hyson Green, Nottingham

Following the success of the Harlem, Manhattan project in the early 1990s where retail investment was used as a catalyst for regeneration, the UK government has shown increasing interest in promoting similar schemes in partnership with the private sector. Preliminary findings of the Under-served Markets Project set up in 2002 to investigate opportunities for business investment in deprived areas as a strategy for regeneration suggests strong potential. Retail investment is increasingly recognised as one of the leading strategies for renewing deprived areas. Major food superstores, in particular, are widely believed to have the potential to stimulate wider regeneration through improving the physical environment, providing employment opportunities, increasing shopper catchments and improving choice and price of food. The success of this strategy remains subject of debate among academics, planners, policy makers and other professionals. Within this context, this paper explores and evaluates the effectiveness of retail investment as a stimulant for the regeneration of a deprived area in Nottingham. The evaluation of urban regeneration is a conceptually and methodologically complex task. This study, therefore, adopts a methodological pluralist approach to allow for detailed research activity in a variety of areas, and yet remain sensitive to important strands of diversity that exists in method of enquiry, empirical verification and explanatory models. The approach uses performance indicators and qualitative methods. It tries to overcome some of the rigidities imposed by common approaches. Preliminary findings, while generally confirming positive effects of retail on regeneration also highlight the importance of area specific factors in the process.