13 July 2016: Private sector participation is the most critical component in “rejuvenating decaying urban areas,” according to a report published by the World Bank and the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF). The report, titled ‘Regenerating Urban Land: A Practitioner’s Guide to Leveraging Private Investment,’ points to the need for “massive” financial resources for cities’ rejuvenation that the public sector alone cannot provide. It also explains that while every city has areas of underused or distressed land as a result of changes in urban growth and productivity patterns, the issue is most prominent in developing countries, where decaying inner cities marginalize and exclude residents.

The report examines regeneration and rehabilitation projects in inner cities, former industrial or commercial site, ports, waterfronts and historic neighborhoods, all of which have significant private sector participation. It highlights successful regeneration programmes in eight cities, including: regenerating a port area in Buenos Aires, Argentina; a repopulation programme in Santiago, Chile; regenerating a historic neighborhood through commercial development in Shanghai, China; reclaiming a riverfront in Ahmedabad, Pakistan; regenerating a downtown area in Seoul by restoring a stream, the Republic of Korea; revitalizing a waterfront in Washington, DC, US; redeveloping the waterfront in Singapore; and revitalizing a declining inner city in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In each of the eight case studies, the report identifies: successful policy and finance tools; challenges faced during the process; four distinct phases for successful urban regeneration, namely scoping, planning, financing and implementation; and a set of mechanisms for each phase that local governments can use to design regeneration processes. It also discusses land, community and environmental assets, as well as social impacts, such as: social equity aspects of regeneration; and managing potentially undesirable impacts of regeneration related to gentrification and loss of social capital.

The report emphasizes that: there is no “one size fits all” approach to addressing declining areas in cities; with strong political leadership, any city can undertake an urban regeneration process; and successful use of land-planning and finance tools depends on well-enforced zoning and property tax systems. Taking this into account, the World Bank has developed an online decision tool based on specific issues faced by each city current regulatory and financial environments.

The report was released during the World Cities Summit, which convened from 10-14 July 2016, in Singapore. The PPIAF, which is supported by the World Bank, was created in 1999 to act as a catalyst to increase private sector participation in emerging markets. It provides technical assistance to governments to create enabling environments for the private sector provision of basic infrastructure services. [World Bank Press Release] [Publication: Regenerating Urban Land: A Practitioner’s Guide to Leveraging Private Investment] [Urban Regeneration Decision Tool] [World Bank Urban Regeneration Website] [PPIAF Website]