Title: The Women and Regeneration Project

�...the mistake of much past urban policy was to see cities as collections of intractable problems - physical dereliction, poverty, crime and alienation...�

The Richness of Cities, K Worpole & L Greenhalgh 1999.

In response to this, urban regeneration has been part of central government agenda for sometime, most notably through the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB). SRB-funded schemes running into millions of pounds promise major revitalisation at physical, social and economic levels with the intention of transforming communities affected by severe social exclusion. The question posed by WDS about urban regeneration is where are the women?

To find the answer to our question, WDS received funding from the Community Fund for a three year project looking at the role of women in urban regeneration in Greater London. Planning Aid for London (PAL) and the Association of Greater London Older Women (AGLOW) are our consortium partners. At the end of three years, the WDS project will:

• build the capacity of women to enable them to influence the decisions and policies of their regeneration partnership boards
• develop and disseminate good practice guidance and models of working effectively with women on regeneration schemes

Previous research indicates that women are under-represented in regeneration, as beneficiaries of SRB programme outputs and as shapers of regeneration policy. Certain groups of women have been identified as more likely to be excluded: older women; black and ethnic minority women; women living in poverty; disabled women.

Regeneration partnerships often overlook women. This is evidenced by the lack of applications and projects where women are specified as project beneficiaries, and the short consultation timescales do not encourage women to get involved. Three regeneration schemes have been selected for the project to focus on: the West Euston Partnership in Camden, the Sutton Regeneration Partnership and Newham New Deal for Communities.

• West Euston Partnership (WEP) oversees regeneration between Euston Station and Regents Park in London. We are working with a group of Somali women to consider health and safety issues; the project enables them to work effectively as a group and to influence decisions that affect their environment. We are also doing a detailed consultation exercise about a security and improvements programme being undertaken.
• Sutton Regeneration Partnership co-ordinates regeneration activity in the Borough, and two SRB programmes are running in Roundshaw and the Northern Wards.
• Newham New Deal for Communities is located in West Ham and Plaistow. They are hoping to receive a ten year funding package to deliver community-led regeneration projects.

Sarah Clement
Community Researcher
Women and Regeneration Project
email: [email protected]

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