Public–Private Partnerships in Urban Regeneration Projects: A Review
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 149, Issue 1
Abstract
With the changing paradigm of the State’s functions and the increasing private sector participation in urban planning, public–private partnership (PPP) arrangements gain prominence in the development of cities, whether in the construction and operation of new infrastructures or in interventions in urbanized areas. Regarding urbanized areas, urban regeneration practices constitute an important response in the face of urban degradation observed in different cities, as well as an alternative to the consumption of new land. Despite their use in different contexts, the PPP option in urban regeneration projects encounters many obstacles related to high investment risk, low financial and social return, and the numerous sources of uncertainty generated by these projects. The present work consists of a systematic literature review of papers on PPP in urban regeneration projects, seeking to identify the main research topics addressed so far and what gaps can be identified. It uses a hybrid methodology considering a systematic quantitative review, a semantic analysis, and a narrative analysis. The findings show that the literature on the topic is recent and has been increasing in recent years, with emphasis on Europe, followed by North America and Asia. The literature presents a high variety in terms of journals, authors, and institutions. As for the methodology adopted in the articles, it highlights the use of quantitative methodologies. Five main topics were found: policy, projects, governance, financial and economic issues, and management and contract issues. The topics found show the complexity of PPPs in urban regeneration projects. The gaps observed refer mainly to financial and economic issues, as well as management and contract issues.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
A thank you for the comments made during the S&M Seminar realized in December 2021 by the CERIS—Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability team. This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the project (1801P.00996.1.01) CiTUA PROGRAM 20-23/UIDP/05703/2020.
References
Adams, D., and E. M. Hastings. 2001. “Urban renewal in Hong Kong: Transition from development corporation to renewal authority.” Land Use Policy 18 (3): 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-8377(01)00019-9.
Ahmad, N., Y. Zhu, Z. Shafait, U. F. Sahibzada, and A. Waheed. 2019. “Critical barriers to brownfield redevelopment in developing countries: The case of Pakistan.” J. Cleaner Prod. 212: 1193–1209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.061.
Aitchison, C., and T. Evans. 2003. “The cultural industries and a model of sustainable regeneration: Manufacturing “pop” in the Rhondda Valleys of South Wales.” Managing Leisure 8 (3): 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360671032000123663.
Allam, Z., and D. S. Jones. 2019. “Climate change and economic resilience through urban and cultural heritage: The case of emerging small island developing states economies.” Economies 7 (2): 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies7020062.
Alvanchi, A., M. A. Jafari, M. Shabanlou, and Z. Meghdadi. 2021. “A novel public–private–people partnership framework in regeneration of old urban neighborhoods in Iran.” Land Use Policy 109: 105728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105728.
Bailey, N. 1997. “Changing institutional responses to the regeneration of peripheral industrial locations in London: An evaluation of partnership and local capacity building.” Plann. Pract. Res. 12 (3): 263–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459716509.
Barata-Salgueiro, T., and P. Guimarães. 2020. “Public policy for sustainability and retail resilience in Lisbon city center.” Sustainability (Switzerland) 12 (22): 9433.
Bardos, R. P., S. Jones, I. Stephenson, P. Menger, V. Beumer, F. Neonato, L. Maring, U. Ferber, T. Track, and K. Wendler. 2016. “Optimising value from the soft re-use of Brownfield sites.” Sci. Total Environ. 563–564: 769–782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.002.
Blanco, I. 2009. “Does a ‘Barcelona Model’ really exist? Periods, territories and actors in the process of urban transformation.” Local Gov. Stud. 35 (3): 355–369. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930902854289.
Borst, A. 2008. “Regenerative French urbanism: Sustainable planning strategies in Lille, Lyon, and Montpellier.” J. Green Build. 3 (3): 79–87. https://doi.org/10.3992/jgb.3.3.79.
Calabrò, F., and L. Della Spina. 2019. “The public–private partnership for the enhancement of unused public buildings: An experimental model of economic feasibility project.” Sustainability (Switzerland) 11 (20): 5662. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205662.
Cantor, M. B., and M. S. Rosentraub. 2012. “A ballpark and neighborhood change: Economic integration, a recession, and the altered demography of San Diego’s Ballpark District after eight years.” City Cult. Soc. 3 (3): 219–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccs.2012.05.001.
Carmon, N. 1998. “Immigrants as carriers of urban regeneration: International evidence and an Israeli case study.” Int. Plann. Stud. 3 (2): 207–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563479808721709.
Carrière, J.-P., and C. Demazière. 2002. “Urban planning and flagship development projects: Lessons from EXPO 98, Lisbon.” Plann. Pract. Res. 17 (1): 69–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697450220125096.
Cerasoli, M., and G. Mattarocci. 2020. “The land rent as a tool for reuse of existing real estate (against the policy of unsustainable growth of ‘new’ real estate development).” Valori e Valutazioni 2020 (27): 101–110. https://doi.org/10.48264/VVSIEV-20202710.
Chen, Y. 2020. “Financialising urban redevelopment: Transforming Shanghai’s waterfront.” Land Use Policy 112: 105126.
Chronopoulos, T. 2017. “The rebuilding of the South Bronx after the fiscal crisis.” J. Urban Hist. 43 (6): 932–959. https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144217714764.
Davies, L., and B. Engels. 2021. “Counting the costs of public housing estate redevelopment in Melbourne: A comparison of delivery options.” Urban Policy Res. 39 (1): 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2021.1876652.
Della Spina, L., F. Calabrò, and A. Rugolo. 2020. “Social housing: An appraisal model of the economic benefits in urban regeneration programs.” Sustainability (Switzerland) 12 (2): 609. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020609.
Didier, S., E. Peyroux, and M. Morange. 2012. “The spreading of the City Improvement District model in Johannesburg and Cape Town: Urban regeneration and the neoliberal Agenda in South Africa.” Int. J. Urban Reg. Res. 36 (5): 915–935. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2012.01136.x.
Dupont, V., and M. M. S. Gowda. 2020. “Slum-free city planning versus durable slums. Insights from Delhi, India.” Int. J. Urban Sustainable Dev. 12 (1): 34–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2019.1666850.
Edwards, C. 2001. “Inclusion in regeneration: A place for disabled people?” Urban Stud. 38 (2): 267–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980125583.
Farhat, R. 2018. “Accountability in urban regeneration partnerships: A role for design centers.” Cities 72: 8–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2017.07.001.
Fraser, J. C., and E. L. Kick. 2014. “Governing urban restructuring with city-building nonprofits.” Environ. Plann. A 46 (6): 1445–1461. https://doi.org/10.1068/a46169.
Gloria Aparicio De Castro, M., and M. Pilar Zorrilla Calvo. 2012. “Experiences of public–private collaboration for stimulating urban retail environments in the Basque Country (Spain).” Eur. J. Sci. Res. 75 (3): 423–433.
Glumac, B., and A. Decoville. 2020. “Brownfield redevelopment challenges: A Luxembourg example.” J. Urban Plann. Dev. 146 (2): 05020001. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000565.
Glumac, B., Q. Han, and W. Schaefer. 2018. “A negotiation decision model for public–private partnerships in brownfield redevelopment.” Environ. Plann. B: Urban Anal. City Sci. 45 (1): 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265813516668854.
Glumac, B., Q. Han, W. Schaefer, and E. van der Krabben. 2015. “Negotiation issues in forming public–private partnerships for brownfield redevelopment: Applying a game theoretical experiment.” Land Use Policy 47: 66–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.03.018.
Guarneros-Meza, V. 2009. “Mexican urban governance: How old and new institutions coexist and interact.” Int. J. Urban Reg. Res. 33 (2): 463–482. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2009.00864.x.
Guimarães, P. 2021. “Business improvement districts: A systematic review of an urban governance model towards city center revitalization.” Land 10 (9): 922. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10090922.
Hagerman, C. 2007. “Shaping neighborhoods and nature: Urban political ecologies of urban waterfront transformations in Portland, Oregon.” Cities 24 (4): 285–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2006.12.003.
Hodkinson, S. 2011. “Housing regeneration and the private finance initiative in England: Unstitching the neoliberal urban straitjacket.” Antipode 43 (2): 358–383. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2010.00819.x.
Hospers, G.-J. 2017. “People, place and partnership: Exploring strategies to revitalise town centres.” Eur. Spatial Res. Policy 24 (1): 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1515/esrp-2017-0004.
Huang, W.-C., and S.-K. Kao. 2014. “Public–private partnerships during waterfront development process: The example of the world exposition.” Ocean Coastal Manage. 92: 28–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.02.007.
Johnson Ashley, A. 2014. “Negotiating risk in property-based arts economic development: Exploring the innovative but untimely development partnership between the Seattle Art Museum and Washington Mutual.” Cities 37: 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2013.11.003.
Jones, M. T. 2019. “Framing regeneration: Embracing the inhabitants.” Urban Stud. 56 (9): 1901–1917. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098018780935.
Jung, T. H., J. Lee, M. H. T. Yap, and E. M. Ineson. 2015. “The role of stakeholder collaboration in culture-led urban regeneration: A case study of the Gwangju project, Korea.” Cities 44: 29–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2014.12.003.
Kefford, A. 2021. “Actually existing managerialism: Planning, politics and property development in post-1945 Britain.” Urban Stud. 58 (12): 2441–2455. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098020949034.
Kim, J., and M. Cho. 2019. “Creating a sewing village in Seoul: Towards participatory village-making or post-political urban regeneration?” Community Dev. J. 54 (3): 406–426.
Kort, I. M., S. Verweij, and E.-H. Klijn. 2016. “In search for effective public–private partnerships: An assessment of the impact of organizational form and managerial strategies in urban regeneration partnerships using fsQCA.” Environ. Plann. C: Gov. Policy 34 (5): 777–794. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263774X15614674.
Kort, M., and E.-H. Klijn. 2011. “Public–private partnerships in urban regeneration projects: Organizational form or managerial capacity?” Public Administration Rev. 71 (4): 618–626. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02393.x.
Kort, M., and E.-H. Klijn. 2013. “Public–private partnerships in urban regeneration: Democratic legitimacy and its relation with performance and trust.” Local Gov. Stud. 39 (1): 89–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2012.683864.
Kotval, Z., J. Mullin, and Z. Karamchandani. 2008. “Partnerships and the fiscal implications of planning and development: A case study of Maynard, Massachusetts.” Plann. Pract. Res. 23 (4): 461–478. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697450802522749.
Kyvelou, S., and E. Karaiskou. 2006. “Urban development through PPPs in the Euro-Mediterranean region.” Manage. Environ. Qual. 17 (5): 599–610. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777830610684567.
Lee, I., and S. W. Hwang. 2018. “Urban Entertainment Center (UEC) as a redevelopment strategy for large-scale post-industrial sites in Seoul: Between public policy and privatization of planning.” Sustainability (Switzerland) 10 (10): 3535. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103535.
Lee, J.-W., and J.-S. Sung. 2017. “Conflicts of interest and change in original intent: A case study of vacant and abandoned homes repurposed as community gardens in a Shrinking City, Daegu, South Korea.” Sustainability (Switzerland) 9 (11): 2140. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112140.
Leung, B. Y. P., and E. C. M. Hui. 2005. “Evaluation approach on public–private partnership (PPP) urban redevelopments.” Int. J. Strategic Prop. Manage. 9 (1): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3846/1648715X.2005.9637522.
Li, J., X. Liu, J. Liu, and W. Li. 2016. “City profile: Taipei.” Cities 55: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.03.007.
Liddle, J. 2009. “Regeneration and economic development in Greece: De-industrialisation and uneven development.” Local Gov. Stud. 35 (3): 335–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930902999472.
Lima, S., A. Brochado, and R. C. Marques. 2021. “Public–private partnerships in the water sector: A review.” Util. Policy 69: 101182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2021.101182.
Lutafali, S., and F. Khoja. 2011. “Economic and ecological partnership revitalizing urban slums: A case study of Cairo.” Int. J. Ecol. Dev. 18 (W11): 29–45.
Machete, I., and R. Marques. 2021. “Financing the water and sanitation sectors: A hybrid literature review.” Infrastructures 6: 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures6010009.
Manganelli, B., and F. Tajani. 2014. “Optimised management for the development of extraordinary public properties.” J. Prop. Invest. Finance 32 (2): 187–201. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-05-2013-0034.
Martins, M. L. R., and A. L. D. Santos Pereira. 2019. “Urban regeneration in the Brazilian urban policy agenda.” Eur. Plann. Stud. 27 (6): 1129–1145. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2019.1598021.
McCarthy, J. 1999. “The redevelopment of Rotterdam since 1945.” Plann. Perspect. 14 (3): 291–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/026654399364247.
Medina-García, C., R. de la Fuente, and P. Van den Broeck. 2021. “Exploring the emergence of innovative multi-actor collaborations toward a progressive urban regime in Madrid (2015–2019).” Sustainability (Switzerland) 13 (1): 1–30.
Morano, P., and F. Tajani. 2018. “Saving soil and financial feasibility. A model to support public–private partnerships in the regeneration of abandoned areas.” Land Use Policy 73: 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.01.036.
Morano, P., F. Tajani, F. Di Liddo, and P. Amoruso. 2021. “The public role for the effectiveness of the territorial enhancement initiatives: A case study on the redevelopment of a building in disuse in an Italian small town.” Buildings 11 (3): 1–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030087.
Morgan, K., and B. Webb. 2020. “Googling the city: In search of the public interest on Toronto’s ‘smart’ waterfront.” Urban Plann. 5 (1): 84–95. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v5i1.2520.
Noring, L. 2019. “Public asset corporation: A new vehicle for urban regeneration and infrastructure finance.” Cities 88: 125–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.01.002.
Norris, M., and R. Hearne. 2016. “Privatizing public housing redevelopment: Grassroots resistance, co-operation and devastation in three Dublin neighbourhoods.” Cities 57: 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2015.12.006.
Nzimande, N. P., and S. Fabula. 2020. “Socially sustainable urban renewal in emerging economies: A comparison of Magdolna Quarter, Budapest, Hungary and Albert Park, Durban, South Africa.” Hung. Geogr. Bull. 69 (4): 383–400. https://doi.org/10.15201/hungeobull.69.4.4.
Oppio, A., M. Dell'Ovo, F. Torrieri, G. Miebs, and M. Kadziński. 2020. “Understanding the drivers of urban development agreements with the rough set approach and robust decision rules.” Land Use Policy 96: 104678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104678.
Peel, D., G. Lloyd, and A. Lord. 2009. “Business improvement districts and the discourse of contractualism.” Eur. Plann. Stud. 17 (3): 401–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654310802618044.
Pirie, G. 2007. “‘Reanimating a comatose goddess’: Reconfiguring central Cape Town.” Urban Forum 18 (3): 125–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-007-9012-7.
Richner, M., and K. Olesen. 2019. “Towards business improvement districts in Denmark: Translating a neoliberal urban intervention model into the Nordic context.” Eur. Urban Reg. Stud. 26 (2): 158–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776418759156.
Rio Fernandes, J. A. 2011. “Area-based initiatives and urban dynamics. The case of the Porto city centre.” Urban Res. Pract. 4 (3): 285–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2011.616747.
Rodrigues Samora, P. 2011. “Misusing the city statute in São Paulo: The Nova Luz urban renewal project.” WIT Trans. Ecol. Environ. 155: 405–416.
Rossiter, W., and D. J. Smith. 2018. “Green innovation and the development of sustainable communities: The case of Blueprint Regeneration’s Trent Basin development.” Int. J. Entrepreneurship Innov. 19 (1): 21–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/1465750317751989.
Russell, P., and D. Redmond. 2009. “Social housing regeneration in Dublin: Market-based regeneration and the creation of sustainable communities.” Local Environ. 14 (7): 635–650. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549830903089309.
Scherer, J. 2011. Olympic villages and large-scale urban development: Crises of capitalism, deficits of democracy?. “Sociology” 45 (5): 782–797. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038511413433.
Smith, A. 2014. ““De-risking” East London: Olympic regeneration planning 2000–2012.” Eur. Plann. Stud. 22 (9): 1919–1939. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2013.812065.
Tajani, F., P. Morano, and F. Di Liddo. 2020. “The optimal combinations of the eligible functions in multiple property assets enhancement.” Land Use Policy 99: 105050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105050.
Tantow, D. 2012. “Urban improvement districts in urban restructuring—First results of the German ESG research initiative.” Urban Res. Pract. 5 (3): 342–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2012.727559.
Valli, C., and F. Hammami. 2021. “Introducing business improvement districts (BIDs) in Sweden: A social justice appraisal.” Eur. Urban Reg. Stud. 28 (2): 155–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776420925525.
van Boxmeer, B., and E. van Beckhoven. 2005. “Public–private partnership in urban regeneration: A comparison of Dutch and Spanish PPPs.” Eur. J. Hous. Policy 5 (1): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616710500055612.
van den Hurk, M., and T. Tasan-Kok. 2020. “Contractual arrangements and entrepreneurial governance: Flexibility and leeway in urban regeneration projects.” Urban Stud. 57 (16): 3217–3235. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019894277.
van der Veen, M., and W. K. Korthals Altes. 2011. “Urban development agreements: Do they meet guiding principles for a better deal?” Cities 28 (4): 310–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2011.03.001.
Wallace, J. F., and M. F. Parnell. 1995. “European funding in action—A Merseyside experience of RECHAR.” Eur. Bus. Rev. 95 (4): 34–42. https://doi.org/10.1108/09555349510085245.
Yang, Y.-R., and C.-H. Chang. 2007. “An urban regeneration regime in China: A case study of urban redevelopment in Shanghai’s Taipingqiao Area.” Urban Stud. 44 (9): 1809–1826. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980701507787.
Yu, Y., A. P. C. Chan, C. Chen, and A. Darko. 2018. “Critical risk factors of transnational public–private partnership projects: Literature review.” J. Infrastruct. Syst. 24 (1): 04017042. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000405.
Zhan, C., and M. de Jong. 2018. “Financing eco cities and low carbon cities: The case of Shenzhen International Low Carbon City.” J. Cleaner Prod. 180: 116–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01.097.
Zhao, Y., D. Ponzini, and R. Zhang. 2020. “The policy networks of heritage-led development in Chinese historic cities: The case of Xi’an’s Big Wild Goose Pagoda area.” Habitat Int. 96: 102106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2019.102106.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 149 • Issue 1 • March 2023
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 4, 2022
Accepted: Oct 7, 2022
Published online: Dec 7, 2022
Published in print: Mar 1, 2023
Discussion open until: May 7, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Bibliographies
- Business management
- Construction engineering
- Construction industry
- Construction management
- Engineering fundamentals
- Financial management
- Hybrid methods
- Information management
- Infrastructure
- Infrastructure construction
- Methodology (by type)
- Practice and Profession
- Project management
- Public private partnership
- Urban and regional development
- Urban areas
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.