Glasgow and Bilbao : a comparison of urban regeneration strategies

Abstract

Old industrial areas have made broad use of new strategies as the means to overcome the difficulties created by the restructuring of their former economic foundation. The attempt to provide an appropriate environment for both fostering economic growth and attracting new investment in the face of heightened inter-urban competition has been the target of much new urban governmental activity. Apart from this general goal, these exercises are often presented as an indirect means to alleviate situations of unemployment and social decline. In Glasgow and Bilbao, the search for local solutions has been inspired in the predominant pattern of entrepreneurial discourses which underline the importance of the creation of a not very well defined service-based economy and the reconstruction of the cities' image. Glasgow and Bilbao illustrate the failure of these practices, beyond the limited benefit brought to a few selected locations and a very limited group of people. Despite this neglect, the comparative insight provides evidence on the extent to which common patterns for renewal efforts, notwithstanding political, economic and social differences, are repeatedly used.