ABSTRACT
The ‘recycling’ of previously developed land became an important objective of current public policies throughout Europe (see also Couch et al., 2003; Karadimitriou, 2005) in an attempt to bring about a more sustainable urban development, control urban sprawl, reduce travel distances and responsibly use land as a scarce resource. Chapter 1 explored how, due to macro trends such as technological development and globalisation, certain parts of the existing urban fabric have gradually become unfit for current demand and not attractive for investors, employers and inhabitants alike. In all three countries, frameworks and methodologies were developed that would measure and spatially locate deprivation, in an effort to assist area-based interventions. That approach has been criticised as a factor reinforcing stigmatisation, but although the terminology may have changed, the logic of area-based measurement still remains a core element of urban policies. The shift in focus of public policies towards these areas and away from urban extensions resulted in the increase in the proportion of urban development taking place as part of urban regeneration projects.
