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Decay & deprivation is a relative concept depending on how deprived the area is in relation to more prosperous areas.
Inner city areas suffer

Poverty

Pollution
 Crime
 Overcrowding
 Poor housing conditions

Unemployment
 Racial tension
Inner city areas were once thriving communities with a mixture of land-use and rich living alongside poor.
There were shops & houses, services, community spirit & little crime. However there were high levels of pollution – land, air & water.
Poor sanitation led to a high death rate.
Decline in Manufacturing due to decentralization and de-industrialization
New industries & businesses
reluctant to relocate
Intra – urban migration
Suburbanisation & counter
– urbanization.
Spiral of decline
Lack of investment possible
by local authorities
People &industry move
out of central areas.
Poorest sectors of society left behind
Social Problems
Obsolescence of the environment & property
After the industrial revolution people became increasingly affluent. This led to social segregation – rich move out of inner city  suburbs.
People left in the inner city:
 Older residents
 Single parent families

Students
 Poorer families
 Ethnic minorities left behind – formation of ghettos.
Decentralisation increases the problem: -
Movement of businesses out of inner city – unemployment – Dead Heart.

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Removal of businesses causes a loss of money from the area so there is little money available to invest in improvements.
Out-of-town shopping centres means less wealthy are deprived of better shops – less mobile.
Social Problems
 Properties have deteriorated

High percentage of overcrowded households
 Higher death & infant mortality rates
 Lower life expectancy
 Social segregation – Racial discrimination e.g. Brixton. People are socially excluded.

Persistent unemployment – culture of poverty

High levels of stress due to poverty – family breakdowns.
Economic problems
 Loss of business & industry – massive unemployment (51% above national average.
 Few people can afford to own their own houses or invest any money.
 Local authorities have little taxes so lack of investment in the local area.
 Environmental decay – spiral of decline.

Businesses put off by high land prices, lack of space, high crime & traffic congestion.
Environmental Problems
 Decay & deprivation of factories – seedbeds for crime e.g. drugs.
 Lack of open space

Dereliction and poor state of repair causes depressing environment.
 Air pollution
 Local watercourses often badly polluted by factories.
Overall the problem was so bad that there was multiple deprivation due to huge number of different problems that the areas face.
There were numerous initiatives to try to stop deterioration.
Stage 1 – (1945-1967)
After WWII there was a housing crisis. The government introduced a policy of decentralisation to encourage people out of cities. People encouraged to New Towns & expanded towns.
Comprehensive redevelopment – Comprehensive development areas introduced. Involved the largescale clearance of terraced housing e.g. Elswick & Kenton, Newcastle.
New council house estates built e.g. Byker Wall, Newcastle.
Most authorities use high rise flats – change look & structure of Inner City. Flats provide proper bathroom, central heating, hot & cold water.
Problems:
CDA policy not entirely successful – redevelopment failed to match the speed of development – increase the housing shortage.
Community spirit lost & problems developed with many of the tower blocks. Dampness, dark & dingy corridors – prisoners in their own houses. Stress from living on high floors.

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Policy also failed to tackle unemployment. Investment in improved service & employment opportunities. Badly need to reduce poverty.
Stage 2 – (1968-1977)
Urban Aid programme gave grants to local authorities to expand services & to establish self-help in the community. Therefore the local community was more involved. There was also more emphasis on attracting employment opportunities. However these schemes failed due to an economic recession which meant a lack of funds.
Stage 3 – (1978-1990)
Inner city areas were declared problem areas due to economic collapse caused by decentralisation & de-industrialisation. Therefore the New Towns policy was abandoned.
The new policy was the “Action for Cities” policy:

75% grants to the most needy authorities.

Derelict land grants for reclamation schemes.

Enterprise zones created to stimulate economic activity and industrial growth with tax breaks.
They were also used to revive economies in peripheral areas e.g. Telford. The hope was to initiate regeneration with new employment opportunities with grants for building & machinery, slacker planning laws etc.

Urban Development Corporations expanded to include West Midlands, Tyne & Wear and
Sheffield. These were supposed to be catalysts for the development of inner city areas. UDCs have the power to acquire land & create conditions necessary for private investment by rebuilding infrastructure.
Stage 4 – (1990+)
This policy is the City challenge.
Local authorities where there are severe urban problems can bid for funds for specific projects. E.g. the derelict inner city of Leicester has been transformed with shops, services & housing. The policy has been unified into a single policy as it was previously too fragmented. Also a new neighbourhood renewal fund of
£800 mlln is to be introduced over 3 years.
Phase 1 (1945-1960)
The main aim was the clearance of all Victorian housing. There was also the Manchester Slum clearance, which demolished 7500 properties in 5 years.
Stage 2 (1960-1990)
The Comprehensive Development plan was introduced in the four areas of Hulme, Beswick, Longsight &
Harpurhey. All the terraced houses in the area were demolished. The cleared terraced housing was replaced with over 55,000 new homes, both high & low rise. The surplus population was housed in suburban locations such as Wythenshawe in self-contained neighbourhood units. However, problems soon began to emerge with severe faults in construction e.g. leaky roofs. The area fell into a spiral of decline with unemployment, drugs, violence & a deteriorating environment.
Stage 3 (1990+)
Hulme City Challenge launched in 1992. This involved building 3000 new homes and services at a cost of
£200 mlln. In E Manchester there was redevelopment of Miles Platting as many of the heavy industry in the

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area such as engineering had declined. There was environmental degradation & a lack of employment.
There were plans to provide industrial space to create 10,000 jobs. To improve the area & bring in money the area was chosen to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Manchester is part of the Northwest
Development Agency (NWDA) to tackle urban deprivation. A consultation process now takes place within local communities to help improve the area.
Many cities have seen successful redevelopment schemes. In many cities there have been major transport improvements e.g. Tyne & Wear Metro. Which has improved accessibility to city centres. It has also helped to reduce levels of pollution and so quality of life has been improved.
However there are many other schemes which have been unsuccessful. The high-rise flats were a disaster and many gentrification schemes had limited success. The traditional culture of central areas has been threatened by the demolishing of historic buildings. There has also been a failure to tackle the underlying economic problems of high unemployment. This means that poverty and its associated social, economic & environmental problems still remain in these areas. In general there has been a lack of long term planning with too many different schemes.