Regenerating Urban Land draws on the experience of eight different case studies from around the world. The case studies outline various policy and financial instruments to attract private sector investment in urban regeneration of underutilized/unutilized areas and the requisite infrastructure improvements. In particular, each case study is discussed in detail throughout the project cycle, from the scoping phase and determination of initial amount of public sector investment, to implementation and subsequent leveraged private-sector funds. It analyzes rates of return on the investments and long-term financial sustainability. The manual guides local governments to systematically identify the sequence of steps and tasks needed to develop a regeneration policy framework, with the participation of the private sector. The manual formulates specific policies and instruments for i) expanding private sector participation; ii) structuring effective administrative and legal frameworks; iii) utilizing land readjustment/assembly methods; iv) determining duration of contracts, adequate phasing and timeline; and v) balancing the distribution of risk and sustainability measures.

In this volume, the editors propose to bring together several interdisciplinary research traditions and case studies that deal with long term socio-ecological fields of enquiry; for example, social ecology, human ecology, industrial ecology, environmental history, and human geography.