ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates historic and contemporary retail-led regeneration examples from across the United Kingdom (UK) and throughout the urban hierarchy. The UK inner city became synonymous with urban problems of economic and social malaise and with those areas requiring regeneration and renewal. Retail-led regeneration in town and city centres of the UK can be traced back to the 1950s and has been a key component of property-led regeneration more generally. The relationship between retail development and urban regeneration in the UK has usually focused on employment creation. The employment-related benefits of retail development in areas of deprivation have also been emphasised in studies of retail-led projects such as the Tesco Regeneration Partnership schemes. A number of tensions, controversies and issues are brought about by pursuing regeneration based on retail, especially in the context of changing retail dynamics.
