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Book Review: Re-generating Inclusive Cities

The cities' inclusiveness is a multi-faceted issue focusing on physical or tangible

improvements such as upgrading the slums. Most stakeholders worldwide have tried to combat

inequality and combat urban poverty effectively. Stakeholders have looked into developing a

holistic approach integrating urban dimensions, which include economic, social, and spatial

inclusions. Cities' inclusiveness designs multi-dimensional and innovative interventions to create

total inclusivity, which requires multi-sector solutions, combining curative and preventive

solutions, sequencing, scaling up and prioritizing investments, harnessing the potential of the

communities as inclusion drivers, capacity strengthening at lower or local levels, and fostering

partnerships. Therefore, Zuberi and Taylor provided critical analysis leading to thought-

provoking discernment into how urban areas create global connectivity in economic, cultural,

and social parameters.

Zuberi, Dan, and Ariel Judith Taylor. (Re) Generating Inclusive Cities: Poverty and

Planning in Urban North America. Routledge, 2017.

The book outlines urban revitalization in North America, including San Francisco,

Boston, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, and New York. The infrastructural projects, including Big

Dig and High Line, are explained and explored around urban regeneration projects and
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neighborhood creation, such as Toronto's Regent Park and hunters Point in San Francisco. Urban

regeneration ventures evolved in the unprecedented context of neoliberal public policy resulting

in soaring real estate prices. Skyrocketing real estate prices make an essential and complex

contribution to poverty trends and urban inequality in the cities, including immigrant

suburbanization settlement and rising inequality. The book wrestles with urban challenges but

addresses the most critical questions to mitigate the harm posed. The authors proposed an

alternative way of forwarding for promoting and understating better design of urban areas to

build inclusive and social cities, ultimately improving urban life quality for all city dwellers.

There are five sections in the book. The first section consists of four chapters on urban

renewal and economic growth. In the first two chapters, top scholars in the urban economy,

Taylor and Zuberi, examine the primary factors influencing urban growth while highlighting the

significance of local entrepreneurship and human capital. The development of new

neighborhoods was covered in the third chapter. It makes the case that crowded central business

districts (CDBs) could be advantageous for urban renewal. The fourth chapter included an

overview of Vancouver's urban redevelopment, which resulted in increased manufacturing

employment in big cities and increased economic activity from core cities to the suburbs. Recent

data, which show an increase in the appeal of core cities, point to a potential reversal of that

trend.

Zuberi and Taylor reiterated that neoliberalism had supported urban governance,

resulting in new ideas for urban city development. Other scholars can agree with sentiments as

neoliberalism is a powerful and contentious political paradigm and project. Authors argued that

inclusivity (re) generation might be fruitful about the meaning adopted, which encompasses a

constructivist framework. Still, they furthered their arguments by stating that (re)generation of
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inclusive cities may not be explained through neoliberalism like the current urbanization process

does not at any time change. The book outlines mechanisms that might be needed to be defined

and specified within their limits in the regeneration and generation process of inclusive cities in

North America. The authors identified sets of central points in defining neoliberalism instead of

liberalism.

The chapters typically look at the methods for revitalizing cities. Chapter 3 provides a

neighborhood-level policy strategy emphasizing the " intermediate neighborhoods' housing

market potential." Chapter 2 recommends using pragmatic and strategic gradual stages to keep

with local goals for urban revitalization as opposed to ambitious large-scale or long-term plans.

The book's last chapter offers a range of legal and administrative options to deal with North

America's contemporary urban renewal problems, such as vacant properties, abandoned

properties, and foreclosed properties. The chapter grew in detail by highlighting future

challenges, trends, and outcomes.

In their book, the authors said that regeneration has not yet opened chances for

gentrification. Urban renewal is built on the confluence of urban neoliberalism. From the reader's

perspective, gentrification is a complex issue having numerous arguments against it. Urban

regeneration and the established initiative's social elements should be significant as economic

and environmental considerations are considered at the project preparation outset. Community

engagement discovers, addresses, and defines social issues on city regeneration projects.

Zuberi and Taylor explored the confluence of the regeneration in the cities, typically

understanding neo-liberalization as this included mega projects and brownfield clean-up. The

authors were crystal clear about mega projects to regenerate the inclusivity cities. They stated

that mega projects were facilitated as early as the 1990s to realize the slum upgrade to achieve
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cities' regeneration fully. In the chapter, the authors explored developments in various cities

across North America. The idea of the cities' regeneration was explored and explained in detail

as it focused on urban policies, which examined how the authors outlined views concerning

recent regeneration projects in the cities found in North America.

The authors gave their views on four cities in their book. According to Taylor and Zuberi,

Numerous institutions and players are involved in urban government; how they interact with one

another determines what happens in the city. Government (at all levels) must strategically form

alliances with and among essential stakeholders to manage urban transitions. While municipal

governments are the most prominent and apparent players in urban governance, many factors

that impact the prospects of the urban poor are outside their control. The daily experiences of

urban people are determined by the market and private firms, central governmental institutions,

or the collective voluntary activities of civil society.

Although urban renovation and regeneration are the subjects of every chapter, the volume

is not entirely coherent. Zuberi's afterword, which offers a helpful summary, balances this out.

However, there is no right or wrong way to read the text. It can be more convenient for some

readers only to read the chapters that interest them. Each chapter's material is unique.

Researchers and students that are interested in urban studies may find this book to be of interest.

Urban planners, economic development officials, and other parties interested in the management

or growth of former industrial communities might also find it beneficial.

The book concludes with two key ideas. Firstly, there is no simple solution. Zuberi and

Taylor cite leadership as a critical factor in success. It is unclear, however, whether leadership

plays an organic role in regional economic growth. Otherwise, urban regeneration plans are

useless because leadership cannot be mandated to promote financial reversal. It is present in

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some communities but not others. Its determining variables are primarily unknown or may be of

external origin. As a result, the authors recommend relying on small, gradual steps rather than

broad strategies. The road to economic stability and prosperity is long and difficult for industrial

communities. The second lesson to be learned from the book is the importance of education and

human capital as key factors in economic growth and urban development. New jobs in the

manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors have replaced low-skilled, delocalized

manufacturing jobs over the past few decades. As a result, local labor has to be more qualified to

support continued economic development. Therefore, a key element of urban revitalization is

education.