Abstract
This paper examines the redevelopment of the inner city neighbourhood of Bordesley, part of the Birmingham Heartlands area, which was the subject of a large-scale regeneration scheme beginning in the 1980s. The strategy for Bordesley was based around a generalised idea of an urban village at a time when the urban village concept itself was beginning to be developed by the Urban Villages Group. The paper will endeavour to show the complexity of the processes involved in a redevelopment scheme such as this, demonstrating how the principles and recommendations established in policy agendas and in development briefs are interpreted, altered, and transformed by the interests and perceptions of the various actors, including local people, and by the characteristics of the place itself. The paper will analyse the extent to which the now completed development can be described as successful and in whose terms, whilst also assessing whether or not it is deserving of urban village designation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aldous, T. (1992) Urban Villages: A Concept for Creating Mixed-use Urban Developments on a Sustainable Scale. London: Urban Villages Group.
Aldous, T. (1997) Urban Villages: A Concept for Creating Mixed-use Urban Developments on a Sustainable Scale, 2nd edn. London: Urban Villages Forum.
Allison, J. (1998) The Birmingham Heartlands Initiative. Birmingham: BHDC.
Bailey, N. (1995) Partnership Agencies in British Urban Policy. London: UCL Press.
Bentley, I., Alcock, A., Murrain, P., McGlynn, S. and Smith, G. (1985) Responsive Environments: A Manual for Designers. Oxford: Architectural Press.
Biddulph M. (2003) Section Editorial. Urban Design International. This issue.
Biddulph, M., Franklin, B. and Tait, M. (2003) The Urban Village: A Real or Imagined Contribution to Sustainable Development, Final Report to ESRC. Cardiff: Department of City and Regional Planning.
Birmingham City Council (undated) The Jewellery Quarter Prospectus. Birmingham: Birmingham City Council.
Bishop, A. (1993) Notes from Birmingham Heartlands Development Corporation. Birmingham: BHDC.
Birmingham Heartlands Development Corporation (1998) Birmingham Heartlands Development Corporation 1992–1998. Birmingham: BHDC.
Department of the Environment (DoE) (1997) PPG1 General Policy and Principles. London: DoE.
DETR (2000) Millennium Villages and Sustainable Communities. London: DETR.
East Birmingham Urban Development Agency (1989) Bordesley Development Framework. Birmingham: East Birmingham UDA.
Evening Mail (1995) Phoenix rises in new urban village. Evening Mail, 15 June 1995.
Franklin, B. and Tait, M. (2002) Constructing an image: the urban village concept in the UK. Planning Theory, 1 (3): 250–272.
Hatchett, W. (1998) Village ways. Housing, May 1998.
Krier, L. (1998) Architecture: Choice or Fate. Windsor: Andreas Papadakis.
Oatley, N. (1996) Regenerating Cities and Modes of Regulation, in Greed, C. (ed.) Investigating Town Planning. Harlow: Longman.
Roger Tym and Partners. (1988) Birmingham Heartlands Development Strategy for East Birmingham. London: Roger Tym and Partners.
Thompson-Fawcett, M. (1996) The urbanist revision of development. Urban Design International, 1 (4): 301–322.
Thompson-Fawcett, M. (1998a) Envisioning urban villages: a critique of a movement and two urban transformations. Unpublished PhD thesis, School of Geography, University of Oxford.
Thompson-Fawcett, M. (1998b) Leon Krier and the organic revival within urban policy and practice. Planning Perspectives, 13 (2): 167–194.
Thompson-Fawcett, M. (2000) The contribution of urban villages to sustainable development, in Williams, K., Burton, E. and Jenks, M. (eds) Achieving Sustainable Urban Form. London and New York: Spon.
Urban Villages Forum/English Partnerships (undated) Making Places: A Guide to Good Practice in Undertaking Mixed Development Schemes. London: Urban Villages Forum/English Partnerships.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Franklin, B. Success or failure? The redevelopment of Bordesley as an (urban) village. Urban Des Int 8, 21–35 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.udi.9000091
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.udi.9000091