Overview

The regeneration of Roubaix is an extensive urban renewal strategy, combining spatial planning, transport, economic development, housing renewal, active labour market initiatives and a strong cultural policy.

The programme has faced many challenges, not least that of building and maintaining consensus across all levels from local people to private sector to government. The experience has demonstrated the critical balance between addressing immediate problems and longer term regeneration goals.

» Background

Background

What was the problem?

Roubaix developed over the course of the 19th century, when Lille-Roubaix-Tourcoing became the second largest textile region in the world. From the 1960s onwards, the wool and textile industry in Roubaix entered a period of decline, which eventually became a crisis. Between 1973 and 2000, roughly 46,000 jobs were lost in the area.

Although Roubaix today remains a key location for textile production in France (employing 7,000 people in Roubaix-Tourcoing), the collapse of large-scale textile manufacturing had a devastating effect on the economic, physical and social wellbeing of the city.

The economic crisis manifested most strikingly in large-scale unemployment, the withdrawal of retail businesses from the town centre and a decline in property prices.

De-industrialisation, economic stagnation, poverty and population shifts led to widespread urban decay and dereliction in many parts of the city.

A social crisis emerged, resulting from a combination of increased poverty, social exclusion, heightened racial tension and significant population decline caused by outward migration.

» Initiative

Overview «

Initiative

What action was taken?

The regeneration approach developed and deployed in Roubaix was guided by a metropolitan master plan, adapted to the local level by officers in Roubaix City Council working in partnership with other public, semi-public and private sector actors.

This approach was part of a wider strategy called Ville Renouvelée. Important features of the project have been the concerted focus on engagement with the private sector (investors and existing businesses) to build on existing local assets, combined with sustained efforts to help local residents benefit from the new (employment) opportunities created.

In Roubaix, the Ville Renouvelée has focused on five key areas:

• Attractive public spaces and architectural heritage

• Bring back retail to the city centre

• Targeted economic development

• Proactive cultural and tourism policy; Improve existing cultural facilities

• Housing renewal

Across all areas, there has been a concerted effort to maximise the employment benefits for local residents at an early stage. This has included direct employment in public or semi-public establishments (such as new cultural institutions), inserting local employment conditions in development deals negotiated with the private sector, and a range of training and re-skilling initiatives.

What were the outcomes?

The process of regeneration over the last decade has seen a number of successes, in particular:

•Unemployment has fallen from 33% in the late 1980s to 22% in 2005,owing to an improved local economic climate, successful economic development measures and local employment initiatives

• The cultural strategy has provided the city with a recognised set of cultural amenities of national and international significance, while 15% of new jobs created in the city have been in cultural industries

• The wider image of the city, particularly that presented in the media, has become positive, with emphasis frequently placed on the achievements made

• There is clear evidence of inward investment from both businesses and individuals, as companies have moved in and people unable to afford houses in Lille have started moving to Roubaix. The city is gradually attracting back middle class populations, who had largely deserted the town

• The town centre has been successfully regenerated, with high levels of retail activity and visitors.

Overall,there is general agreement that the spiral of decline in Roubaix has been halted, and that additional progress can be made in addressing the still-high level of unemployment, now that private sector investors have started to return. However, it is clear that a sustained effort is still required to improve the urban environment to keep skilled people and investors in the city, and to ensure that even more local people feel the benefits of improved economic performance.

» Findings

Background «

Findings

What is special about this project?

The implementation of the project has been far from simple. Particularly challenging was the need to achieve concensus on the regeneration approach to be adopted, notably because of the number of public sector actors in the regeneration field. The multiple roles of the Mayor of Roubaix – a common feature of French politics – was an important factor in overcoming this.

Furthermore, central government urban policies in France (as in other countries) have also changed more rapidly than regeneration processes can progress. The Ville Renouvelée approach was developed specifically to provide continuity at the local level, while using the different funding mechanisms available at the national level.

On a more operational level, it has been difficult for practitioners and local politicians to manage the political fallout of the choice to invest in long-term projects (notably in the cultural field), which do not have immediate tangible benefits. It is not always easy to explain these strategic choices to residents who may be without work and living in substandard accommodation. Now that some of the initial long-term investments are bearing fruit, in terms of regeneration and economic development, this task is easier, although still challenging.

Hence this project is notable for the bravery of its longer-term vision, and the skills of its leaders in negotiating a clear path through conflicting agendas and political differences.

What can be learned?

Local actors consulted for this research have stressed that an important factor in the success of the programme has been the commitment of the political leadership, along with highly competent staff in the various public authorities, agencies and semi-public organisations charged with implementing the regeneration strategy.

Along with this, a willingness to try new approaches amongst stakeholders has proved vital in finding the right solutions for a particular community or area. This has led to the augmentation of skills such as co-operation, negotiation and mediation.

A focus on 'place-making' has been achieved through a number of factors:

• It is important to overcome political differences and unite behind a coherent local strategy. The consensus achieved in Roubaix was achieved through political co-operation and compromise after years of local rivalry.

• Co-operation and partnership working between local authorities enabled Roubaix to benefit directly from the parallel processes of regeneration in Lille (the accepted capital of the city region) and the wider metropolitan area.

• Strong political leadership and vision helps attract and maintain committed and competent staff. A focus on skills and an overall shared vision needs to override political or individual interests.

• Experience and detailed knowledge of national structures and funding mechanisms on the part of local officials, combined with political weight and skills on the part of local politicians, can be crucial in securing external public financing for urban renewal.

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Initiative «