Marked for Success??? the Winnipeg Core Area Initiative's Approach to Uban Regeneration

Abstract

Introduction The Problem of Inner-City Decline Major urban centres throughout the industrialised world reflect similar trends of physical, economic and social deterioration, along with population loss, in the inner city. Despite local differences, cities are shaped by many of the same conditions that affect urban environments. These conditions include augmenting deficits and accumulated debt burdens, devolutionary pressures in responsibility and financial aid, and the requirement to balance the increased need for services aimed at addressing urban problems against the willingness of citizens to pay increased levels of taxation. It is within this context that the search for and introduction of strategies designed to remedy the problems faced by declining inner cities is of interest and import to government, academics and planning practitioners alike. The complexity of inner city decline has yielded an equally complex array of policy and programmatic responses in the quest to find a single best solution -- a magic formula -- for urban revitalisation. Scope and Objective of Paper This paper combines a review of existing literature on urban policy and practice with an analysis of a major Canadian urban planning intervention -- the Winnipeg Core Area Initiative (CAI). Launched in 1981, the CAI was one of the nation's largest urban regeneration efforts, comprising $196 million in expenditures. Spanning a decade and reflecting unprecedented tri-level governmental cooperation, the CAI was considered to be a unique and notable experiment in public policy and drew considerable attention throughout North America and Europe. The paper's objective is to contribute to the development of comprehensive, strategic and coherent policy formulation and practice in the area of urban regeneration by asking the question What constitutes success in efforts to address inner city decline? This question is answered through a survey of policy solutions derived from a literature search, and is illustrated through a review of the relative success or failure of the CAI as compared against this broader policy framework. In this Introduction, Part I, the subject matter importance has been outlined and the purpose presented. In the remainder of the Introduction, the overall organizational structure of the paper is presented and the methodology explained. Part II introduces the notion of `success' in urban regeneration efforts, and uses this as a conceptual framework within which meaningful urban policy can be established and an analysis of the CAI's effectiveness can be undertaken. In Part III, a brief synopsis of inner-city problems is provided along with a description of the evolution of urban regeneration policy, as a theoretical backdrop to case analysis. Part IV outlines the political and socio-economic context within which the CAI was introduced, and provides an overview of the Initiative's scope of programming. Part V includes a detailed discussion of principles or critical success factors underlying effective urban revitalisation efforts. The extent to which the CAI embodied each of these critical success factors is explored. Special emphasis is accorded to the CAI's unique tri-partite model that constituted its structural framework. In Part VI, the focus is on evaluative enterprise in urban regeneration efforts. Recommended components of a comprehensive evaluative framework are identified and an evaluation of the CAI's relative success, including strengths and shortcomings, is undertaken. The notion of sustainability as it relates to urban revitalisation endeavours is highlighted in Part VII, and an examination is made of whether the impression left by the CAI can be characterised as lasting and strong. Finally, Part VIII draws concluding commentary in support of the paper's objective, and suggests what lessons can be learned from the CAI experience towards more informed policy approaches to ongoing inner city challenges. …

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