A combination of economic, social, construction and managing the activities of what goes on in specified areas is defined as urban regeneration. All these elements when combined bring about an increased stability in the economy, advance social sustainability and transport systems in a particular geographic region and in the process the urban landscape of a place is improved while sustainable communities are defined as places where people living within any community would want to work well and live presently an in the future. Jenks (1996, p. 14) wrote that the environment should be taken care of in away that it will be able to cater for the needs of the current and future generation and enable them to live a life of high quality. The UK policies concerning the environment should give the people a place that is well planned, secure and all inclusive and offer the best quality services to all residents.
Most of the policies on sustainability have been developed for the rural areas, however in the recent past, the issue of management and land use in the urban areas has come into context. These policies focus on the role that landowners, developers and tenants can adopt in the development of sustainability as the economy and climate change steadily.
The community has also been involved in making local decisions that will influence on how they lead their lives. Jenks (1996, p. 20) says that this is also called open source governance or participatory democracy. Through this programme, the community is empowered through accessing the necessary information. The indigenous and the local people are involved in making decisions concerning land use.
There are several policies that have been formulated and they will help the UK government to deliver sustainability and regeneration. These include the Planning Policy Guideline which is paying attention to researching and reviewing on the existing policies and monitoring the implementation of the planning policy. The policy concerning spatial planning has its own framework against which all decisions that pertain to planning are done. These frameworks are made at regional levels and they assist in controlling development in every district. This policy gives direction as it is written in the government legislation, statistics and other reports concerning planning. This policy is meant to alter the system of planning through guidance and consequently change the culture of planning.
In 1997, a policy was done concerning socioeconomic development of the country. This policy was known as the Countryside – Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development. According to the policy, the environment is composed of what is natural, historical and what is built around us. This policy is concerned with providing the urban people with an environment where they will lead lives of high quality through the provision of open spaces, wildlife scenarios, preservation of historical monuments and artifacts and making sure that the communities are vibrant. This can only be achieved if we can recognize the value of our environmental assets. The Development Plans and Regional Planning Guidance policy which was written in 1992 serves to address the problems of housing and waste management across the urban areas of UK. Without proper planning, more energy will be spent on transport leading to increased pollution and reduced sustainability and regeneration. The vision of planning should always aim at increasing sustainability and regeneration of all urban areas. The Nature Conservation policy deals with the conservation of nature. This includes wildlife, rivers, lakes and even forests. In the event of conserving nature, we are bound to have soils that are productive, availability of water to all, clean land and air and soils and coasts that are natural. Through the conservation of nature, we can be able to leave some natural heritage for the future generations to see and use. Renewable Energy policy was written between the years 1993 and 1994. The most recent energy policy of the UK is clearly illustrated in the Energy White Paper which was presented on May 2007. The major goals of this policy are to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, increase supplies of energy that are reliable, promote markets that are competitive in a bid to enhance sustainability in the growth of the economy and consequently advance production of energy and make sure that every household has enough energy. According to the Energy Policy (2004, p. 1938) clearly stated that to a large extent, the energy policy addresses electricity production and distribution in a sustainable manner that will ensure that the current and future households will live comfortably. However, this policy faces some challenges like handling the climate change issue both in the UK and beyond and the looking for clean energy since fossil fuels pollute the environment. Although the energy review that was done in 2006 found out that it is illegal to set up a nuclear plant, that report was found out to have serious flaws and mislead the public. The energy bill for 2008 has an updated framework concerning the legislation of energy provision in the UK. The Bill looks at the energy market, the challenges that face it and its supply. This bill addresses the use of nuclear energy, capture and storage of carbon, use of renewable energy sources like windmills that can be able to regenerate themselves and are more sustainable. When put into effect, the priorities of this policy will be able to change the face of the UK. The Planning and Pollution policy serves to look at the issues that have come up with rapid and massive industrialization. This policy works well when enacted in collaboration with the Energy Policy. This policy aims at drastically reducing carbon and greenhouse emissions, carbon credits and use of renewable sources of energy that will not emit any pollution to the atmosphere. This policy also addresses the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels since they pollute then environment greatly and curtail the advancing change in the climate. Spatial planning, community involvement and sustainable development should involve the local community for it to be effective. Housing, economy and other social factors are the ones that influence how the environment of a place looks. Porter and Mhairi (2001, p. 15) say that for sustainable development to occur, the objectives laid down in areas concerning of social, economic and environment conservation have to be met. The policies have to be integrated so as to achieve change in the regeneration of the urban areas. We can also develop a sustainable appraisal system that will help in accessing what has been achieved by the current policies. This may help in developing better policies and sound objectives that will enhance sustainability.
References
- Barton, H. Davis, G, and Guise, R 1995, Sustainable Settlements a Guide for Planners, Designers and Developers, Bristol ‘Energy Policy’, Energy Policy for a Sustainable Energy Future, 2004, 32, 17, P. 1935-1947.
- Jenks, M, Burton, E. Williams, K 1996, The Compact City a Sustainable urban Form? Spon, London.p.19-70.
- Porter, Colin and Mhairi Mackie 2001, ‘Roots 2001 Conference’, The Impact of Sustainability and Local Distinctiveness on the Contemporary Country Estate.