In 1998 the Government set up the Urban Task Force chaired by Lord Richard Rogers. Its mission statement said:
‘ The Urban Task Force will identify causes of urban decline in England and recommend practical solutions to bring people back into our cities, towns and urban neighbourhoods. It will establish a new vision for urban regeneration founded on the principles of design excellence, social well-being and environmental responsibility within a viable economic and legislative framework.’
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This section looks at the background to regeneration, where it comes from, who makes it happen, who controls it and who pays for it. In the late 1990s, government and leading figures in architecture and planning worked together in an unprecedented way. Their aim was to understand what constitutes successful cities, and how best to improve our urban environments. The result is that urban renewal is today one of the UK’s most exciting prospects for the 21st century – with the South Bank emerging as a model for future regeneration.

Today’s ideas about regeneration are very different from those of the past. Not so long ago, imperfect but loved neighbourhoods could be subjected to ‘grand designs’ over which no one who actually lived or worked there had any control. Today’s rules for making changes in cities, however, put people at the centre. The government’s vision is that people should shape the future of their communities, supported by strong and truly representative leaders.

In Britain today, regeneration is about renewing life in cities. It focuses on people and places, and on the prosperity and wellbeing that emerges from careful investment and improvement.

This section of the website tells you how this evolution has come about. It explains the organisations and studies that have been involved, and shows how the rules for regeneration are structured. As you read, you will get a good idea of the principles on which plans for the future of London, and the South Bank, are based.