Sustainability and urban regeneration: the community and the city

Successful sustainability requires a re-evaluation of social paradigms. Portsea, in Portsmouth UK, is located in a prime location. It is adjacent to the city's Historic Dockyard, the University, a shopping centre and expensive private sector housing, but it remains socially and physically isolated from the city as a whole. Extensive analysis has shown that, despite apparent pathologies, there is a strong sense of community, as residents take pride in and identify with their neighbourhood. The prospect of additional development and redevelopment in the area suggests that it might lead to another case of gentrification. However, our work in Portsea suggests that apparently deprived districts may be far more "sustainable" than is thought. Policy makers need to tap into this community spirit, to activate it, and to enhance it. It is hoped that this work can contribute to the debate related to social perspectives in historical districts among policy makers, experts, communities, non-governmental organizations, industry, and the general public.