Urban City Life

Urban Regeneration

In recent years there has been a significant push to get people back into city centres as part of the effort to regenerate the urban landscape and social strata. Several large cities in the UK – including Liverpool and Manchester – have been undergoing drastic renovation and rebuilding projects whereby large portions of the old cityscape is demolished to make way for cleaner and more modern designs. This has the effect of bringing in new interest from more upmarket renters and buyers, which in turn decreases inner-city crime, pollution and ‘visible’ poverty. Having large liveable areas close in to the centre also cuts down on traffic, making the work commute much shorter and in turn cutting down on road-related pollution. Although the regeneration process can be slow, there certainly have been visible results over the last few years. Areas which were once considered unsafe or for low income earners only have undergone a remarkable change and are now trendy and modern. Generally the new building projects make the most of modern technology, including environmentally friendly building products, cutting-edge gadgetry and thoughtful interior and exterior design. This makes the new builds in the inner city thoroughly desirable for first-time buyers, young couples and professionals.

If you are considering buying or renting property within an inner city area it always pays to check with the planning office beforehand to ensure that the building you are interested in will not be bulldozed or gutted in the near future. This is quite often the case in some of the UK’s oldest and biggest cities – London’s Docklands, inner-city Manchester and large portions of Liverpool have or are still undergoing large-scale regeneration.