The Evaluation of Urban Regeneration
Processes
Leopoldo Sdino, Paolo Rosasco and Gianpiero Lombardini
Abstract The conditions why processes of urban regeneration can be developed in
modern-day cities have changed enormously over the last decade. Unlike the recent
past, where the reuse for urban uses of former industrial areas was only based on
maximising the amount of space, after the housing bubble begun in 2008, the profit
margins for operators were reduced, and today, they faced to a sharp contraction
in demand and a surplus of supply. Consequently, the framework within which we
carry out the investment decisions is increasingly complex and is characterised by
the opposition of a potential conflict between two forces. On the one hand, the
public administration which seeks to take full advantage of the urban transformation
processes to improve the quality of live for citizens; on the other, the private entity
that has the aim of maximising the profits obtainable from the intervention and to the
minimise business risk. Therefore, to ensure the overall feasibility of an intervention,
urban viability must correspond to an economic and financial sustainability. The
paper analyses the role of the economic evaluation in urban regeneration interventions
through the analysis of a case study in the city of Genoa.
Keywords Urban regeneration · Economic and financial feasibility ·
Cost-Revenue analysis
1 Introduction
The conditions why processes of urban regeneration can be initiated in modern-day
cities have changed radically over the last two decades, especially after the 2007–
2010 crisis (Nespolo 2012; Cutini and Rusci 2016). While until the end of the last
century the economic growth dynamics, although progressively weaker and unstable,
L. Sdino (B)
Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering—ABC Department, Politecnico di
Milano, Milan, Italy
e-mail: leopoldo.sdino@polimi.it
P. Rosasco · G. Lombardini
Department of Architectural and Design—DAD, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
© The Author(s) 2020
S. Della Torre et al. (eds.), Regeneration of the Built Environment
from a Circular Economy Perspective, Research for Development,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33256-3_6
47
Processes
Leopoldo Sdino, Paolo Rosasco and Gianpiero Lombardini
Abstract The conditions why processes of urban regeneration can be developed in
modern-day cities have changed enormously over the last decade. Unlike the recent
past, where the reuse for urban uses of former industrial areas was only based on
maximising the amount of space, after the housing bubble begun in 2008, the profit
margins for operators were reduced, and today, they faced to a sharp contraction
in demand and a surplus of supply. Consequently, the framework within which we
carry out the investment decisions is increasingly complex and is characterised by
the opposition of a potential conflict between two forces. On the one hand, the
public administration which seeks to take full advantage of the urban transformation
processes to improve the quality of live for citizens; on the other, the private entity
that has the aim of maximising the profits obtainable from the intervention and to the
minimise business risk. Therefore, to ensure the overall feasibility of an intervention,
urban viability must correspond to an economic and financial sustainability. The
paper analyses the role of the economic evaluation in urban regeneration interventions
through the analysis of a case study in the city of Genoa.
Keywords Urban regeneration · Economic and financial feasibility ·
Cost-Revenue analysis
1 Introduction
The conditions why processes of urban regeneration can be initiated in modern-day
cities have changed radically over the last two decades, especially after the 2007–
2010 crisis (Nespolo 2012; Cutini and Rusci 2016). While until the end of the last
century the economic growth dynamics, although progressively weaker and unstable,
L. Sdino (B)
Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering—ABC Department, Politecnico di
Milano, Milan, Italy
e-mail: leopoldo.sdino@polimi.it
P. Rosasco · G. Lombardini
Department of Architectural and Design—DAD, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
© The Author(s) 2020
S. Della Torre et al. (eds.), Regeneration of the Built Environment
from a Circular Economy Perspective, Research for Development,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33256-3_6
47