VIEWPOINT

This article looks at the role of tourism in the regeneration of urban areas. Five examples are shown: the 1984 International Garden Festival in Liver- pool; the restoration of Rouen ‘s medieval heart; the restoration of war- damaged Valletta; South Street Sea- port, a new tourist attraction in down- town New York; and Rotterdam, cur- rently undergoing redevelopment in which tourism, leisure and recreation are primary elements. Some lessons from these cases are summarized at the end of the article.

The author is Principal of the Tourism by Desion consultancy and an established travel writer. He rniy be contacted at 25 Montagu Street, London, WlH lTB, UK (Tel: 071 402 6446 or 071 935 3296).

‘The author was a member of the Garden Festival management team. Other sources include senior officials of the Merseyside Development Corporation, the City of Liverpool and Merseyside Tourism. Cur- rent statistics came from, among others Financial Times, 19 October 1989 and the Times, 26 October 1989.

194

Tourism and regeneration

Charles Owen

Tourism can be the catalyst of radical changes in the economy, morale and appearance of a city in transition. A pioneering case was the 1984 Interna- tional Garden Festival in Liverpool, UK. In Rouen, France, with tourism to the fore, restoration of the city’s medieval heart has helped bring new prosperity and pride. Valletta, Malta, is another instance of restoration of a war-damaged historic city, but here tourism was also the lynch pin of a newly independent nation’s quest for a fresh image, role and purpose. South Street Seaport offers a fine example of a major tourist attraction emerging from a limited regeneration measure in downtown New York, and in Rot- terdam, the Netherlands, tourism, lei- sure and recreation are primary ele- ments of an integrated, fast-moving redevelopment plan.

Liverpool’ The first major occasion when tourism took the lead in a programme of urban regeneration in the UK was in 1984 at the International Garden Festival in Liverpool. This complex event, with- out precedent in the UK, was also remarkable for being staged on 130 acres of riverside land which had to be reclaimed from use for oil storage and toxic waste disposal, and in being opened to the public within only two and a half years of being first mooted by its organizers, the Merseyside De- velopment Corporation (MDC).

This fast timing was helped by the prompt decision of Michael Heseltine, then Minister for the Environment, to give the scheme government support

urban

and to provide capital from public funds - much of it repayable after the event. Funds were augmented by mul- tiple sponsorship. Also of help was the MDC’s skill in directing and coordi- nating the work of numerous retained experts: even the management and marketing of the enterprise was dele- gated outside, in this case to Exhibi- tion Consultants Ltd, appointed to their task only ten months before the royal opening.

There was a trial run one Sunday shortly before the opening when the Festival unlocked its gates to the local populace. Over 20 000 Liverpudlians responded to this free invitation, and their interest and enjoyment was clear. Before the summer was out, the Festival was to play host to over 3 million paying visitors. all of whom responded positively to the high quali- ty of the product.

What were the longer term bene- fits? From the outset, it was intended to hand over a large share of the site as a leisure park for Liverpool and to redevelop the remainder for industry and housing. This plan, and much else, was held back by political chaos within the local Labour council, which was only resolved in 1987 by government-initiated action to secure the disqualification of 47 councillors. The consequent damage to Liver- pool’s image, added to that caused already by a reputation for poor in- dustrial relations, impeded the city’s recovery from the massive unemploy- ment and recession associated with an out-dated port and the failure of several relatively modern factories

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VIEWPOINT (some of which were grant-aided to relieve the very problem which their closure in fact exacerbated).

The MDC won further spurs for Liverpool with the bold regeneration of Albert Dock, notably the Tate Gallery and other cultural/leisure components. The MDC was able to steer clear of the local rocks because of the semi-independent powers - including planning controls - vested in it by central government, and because of the starting-up capital placed at its disposal. With 2400 acres of Merseyside in its present remit, the MDC’s potential impact on the area is still immense. The few thousand new jobs so far created are only a begin- ning and, although its gearing of pub- lic to private sector funds remains rather below the national average of 1:4, the return in investment terms on a government outlay of less than f200 million is bound to improve given that the adopted projects are well chosen and implementation continues to be dynamic and convincing.

If Liverpool is now going places, this is not only due to the MDC, but increasingly to the drive and coopera- tive attitudes of a fresh generation of leaders in industry, commerce, academia, banking, the professions and local government. As a sign of its confidence in the present arrange- ment, central government has recently renewed its financial support for the special ‘task force’ set up by Michael Heseltine in 1981. A new momentum towards the restoration of civic pride and a belief in the city’s future seems discernible, and this buoyant mood could itself act as a magnet for new investment, leading in turn to higher spending by visitors as well as locals on an improving range of city-centre amenities.

Can the momentum be maintained? In its heyday, Liverpool was one of Europe’s grandest cities: imposing, vibrant and more cosmopolitan in feel than other UK provincial counter- parts, partly because of its internation- al seaborne trade and to the unusual mix of the population. In good times the concoction is unbeatable; in bad, self-destructive.

In recent decades, however, Liver-

pool has been a victim of blitz, exten- sive post-war redevelopment and re- cession. But the mood is changing, and new opportunities are developing. The physical heart of the city survives, and much of the legacy of fine build- ings and cultural facilities remains in place. Gradually, the restoration of city-centre housing and the improve- ments in trade are bringing back the old vitality. Telling signs of rising morale are the environmental im- provements and reduced vandalism on some of the estates.

The local leaders should know. In their late 1989 advertisements, the City of Liverpool stated firmly that ‘Liverpool is a great place to work and live its economy is on the up and up . . . job opportunities are on the increase’, while the MDC declared emphatically that ‘The Mersey is the development opportunity of the 1990s’. Merseyside’s ‘regeneration’ all began with tourism.

Rouen Tourism is no stranger to Rouen, a city which has long been featured in the guide books, not least as the place where Joan of Arc was tried and burned to death. But in this important trading and manufacturing city tour- ism has been only one of several elements in the economy. Its recent growth has resulted from the need to bring all regeneration forces to bear following the substantial damage suf- fered by the city in the second world war and, in doing so, to allow greater scope and influence for tourism, and for both business and holiday visitors.

The war damage devastated much of the southern half of the city, includ- ing the port installations and industrial zones beside the river, but most of the best historic buildings and the greater part of the medieval quarter were spared. The riverfront areas have been rebuilt to a good standard in modern style, with former, potentially obsolete commercial sites being changed to housing, parks, leisure facilities and an imposing local gov- ernment and police headquarters. Provision for modern traffic needs includes a two-level road along the river’s right embankment (one level

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‘Malta has created an entirely new image, role and purpose for itself’

qhe authors’ study of post-war recon- struction and restoration in Rouen included discussions there with Alain Gasperini, architect in charge of restoration, and Armelle Robic, director of tourism. 3Malta became well-known to the author when researching his book, The Maltese Islands, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK, 1969. For most of the tourism develop- ment statistics the author is indebted to Leslie Vella of the Malta National Tourist Office. London.

for through and the other for local traffic), and a tunnel beneath the cathedral forecourt to relieve the city centre of through traffic.

Pedestrianization has enhanced the post-war restoration of Rouen’s medieval quarter. This high-quality and extensive restoration blends well with the everyday life and *vitality of the city as a whole.

As the first city to benefit from a national conservation policy, Rouen’s plans for restoration were completed in the 1960s. However, attitudes to restoration of its medieval core were established in 1926 by the Irish architect Quenedey, and were de- veloped in due course by Professor Lavalle, one of whose original pupils - Alain Gasperini - became leader of the architectural team concerned with today’s restored districts.’ New in- terests from beyond Rouen were suc- cessfully confined to the outskirts of the city, with modern infilling in the centre being on a scale and in sym- pathy with the restored amenity.

Finance for the restoration de- pended on the cooperation of land- lords and owners of the largely pri- vately owned buildings, who were given government grants to assist ma- jor structural restoration and works to facades. In the western half of the restored district - the commercial district - the transition was helped by people’s desire to invest in property, but in the north-eastern quarter - a relatively poor and mainly residential area - money was sought through a national investment bank willing to restore property in order to rent it to those of relatively modest means.

Thus, with a sophisticated and resi- lient local government-managed approach to the restoration program- me, and with high-quality architects who also fulfilled the planning role, a product ensued that was in the best of tastes and in the best interests of Rouennais and tourists alike.

In thus confirming Rouen’s stance as a place with the style and dignity of a capital city and, at the same time, an intimacy all its own, the main con- tribution of tourism interests has been to put their weight behind the drive for an improved infrastructure worthy

of the city: hotels. public transport, traffic systems, car parking, cultural and recreational facilities, which are the foundation on which the further development of Rouen as an ever- popular tourist destination has con- tinued to depend.

Valletta3

Valletta is another example of the restoration of a severely war-damaged historic city. But in the years since the second world war, besides licking its physical wounds, Malta has created an entirely new image, role and purpose for itself. In planning the transition from a colony and naval base to a viable independent nation, tourism was the new and hopeful factor. There was no tradition of tourism in this Mediterranean island which now plays host to millions of holidaymakers: there were fewer than 20 000 tourist arrivals in 1960, rising to around 750 000 in 1990.

It has not all been plain sailing. In the early 1970s. with tourism boom-

ing, the hotel building programme was curtailed in favour of industrial de- velopments. Ten years later, a massive expansion of self-catering apartments, while failing to keep pace with de- mand, was putting an intolerable strain on the island’s infrastructure - as prices rose and quality fell, there were serious shortages of power. wa- ter and roads. In consequence, tourist arrivals had slumped by 1984 from a peak of 730 000 to less than 500 000 as the British - hitherto the bulk of visitors - began to stay away.

Apart from extensive moderniza- tion of the infrastructure, aided by funds from the UN Development Agency and the World Tourism Organization, four policy measures were adopted:

0

0

0

Market diversification, from mass to higher class tourism and from the UK to Continental catchment areas. Product change, from an em- phasis on self-catering to hotel accommodation. Introduction of a forward buying exchange rate scheme for tour operators.

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4This examination of South Street Seaport is based on a report by Judy Adams-Dale, research assistant who paid a special visit there in autumn 1989, and the following sources: Steve Beioley, Tourism and Urban Regeneration: Some Lessons From American Cities, English Tourist Board, 1981; ‘Down to the sea in shops’, Architectural Record. 1984; printed in- formation from South Street Seaport Museum.

0 Larger budgets for advertising and public relations.

Other improvements now in hand or just completed include: a new airport terminal, funded with a loan from the European Investment Bank; exten- sion of yacht marina facilities; the inauguration of new institutes of tour- ism and catering studies; and retention of consultants Horwath and Horwath to draft development guidelines to cover the next 20 years.

The Malta Government Tourist Board, set up in 1958, has always been a positive and adaptable force in Maltese economic planning and de- velopment, and its National Tourist Office has an enviable reputation for efficacious tourism presentation and publicity. While Malta’s industrial base now ranges from ship repairing to high-technology electronics, and there are plans for a freeport and financial services centre, tourism remains the island’s bedrock activity.

Among Malta’s natural assets are the genial manner and hospitable atti- tude of the Maltese people. Malta’s history is unusually rich and varied, this strategically placed island having been occupied and governed in turn by the Phoenicians, Romans, Byzan- tines, Arabs, Normans, Knights of St John, French and British. Important also are climate and the Mediterra- nean Sea. In addition is an outstand- ing legacy of distinguished urban architecture, nearly all in the local honey-coloured stone.

Unlike most ancient cities adapting to 20th century pressures Valletta has largely kept the motor car at bay. Its main street, Republic Street, which forms the spine of the rocky promon- tory on which this fortified city was built in the 16th century, is closed for most of the day to vehicles.

Post-war reconstruction and new development have remained in char- acter, with modern additions usually occurring by internal conversion of old buildings or by creation of new struc- tures in the traditional architectural style. The grid-shaped street pattern, of which this compact city is a unique example, has been retained.

Above all, Valletta remains the habitat of its own people who live

there side-by-side with the centres of national government, trade, finance and culture.

New York: South Street Seaport’ The Americans have been quicker off the mark than most in devising mea- sures for inner city regeneration. The problem was already exercising them by the 1960s when the collapse of traditional employment sectors in the central areas of some cities had re- sulted in a shift of investment and job opportunities to the outskirts. The blighted cores - home now to the poor and unemployed, including many ethnic minorities - offered a challenge to the general social conscience and the ingenuity of public-spirited finan- ciers, entrepreneurs and civic leaders.

This blending of influential local interests flourished well in the US climate with its tradition of active involvement in the community by the owners and leaders of local public and private enterprise. In addition, the greater dependence of the US on locally raised rather than federal taxes, and its strong leadership from ambitious, high-profile and long- serving mayors, meant that US civic authorities were in a better position to deliver positive results than UK local government.

Even so, with respect to inner city regeneration, federal grants and loans - not least those emanating through the Urban Development Action Grant machinery - together with the creation of limited-purpose, quasi-public su- pervisory bodies akin to the UK’s development corporations. have be- come an increasingly potent factor on the US scene following the success of the pioneering Baltimore regeneration programme since the late 1950s.

Among the subsequent projects, to an extent borrowed from the Balti- more experience but also, in this case, from the Boston Faneuil Hall Market- place scheme, is New York’s South Street Seaport. South Street has an overt emphasis on the development of a mix of education, commerce and entertainment: a museum, ships, a fishmarket, shops, restaurants and some office and residential accom- modation are set in a restored, land-

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scaped and largely pedestrianized neighbourhood.

In the early 19th century South Street, then known as the Street of Ships, was in trading terms the heart and focus of the emerging city of New York. On the East River, close to Wall Street, the area soon found itself in the shadow of the concentrated, downtown cluster of skyscrapers and, as South Street’s commercial raison d’etre waned and the old warehouses fell into disrepair, it became clear that this neglected historic site must sooner or later fall prey to land-hungry de- velopers.

In 1967 as a first conservation mea- sure, mainly through private dona- tions, the non-profit-making South Street Seaport Museum was estab- lished, with the object of saving the 1 I blocks of buildings and telling the Seaport story, both in the buiIdings and on the adjacent piers. When it became apparent that finance must depend partly on a strong commercial element, the Museum joined forces with a developer, the Rouse company; and with cooperation from the State and City of New York, an agreed development plan took shape. In 1981 this attracted a $20.45 million grant from the national Urban Develop- ment Action Fund and, with control of the restored pubfic buildings passed by New York City to the Museum, and thence part-leased to the development company, the enterprise was soon in business.

The initial plan, devised by architects Benjamin Thompson and Associates, allowed for over 100 000 square feet of retail and catering facilities and offices as part of a $350 million development scheme, with more than 4000 new jobs promised. All this has since been achieved and, with over 15 million visitors a year, New York clearly has a world-league tourist attraction as well as a valued amenity for downtown residents and workers.

Unlike the other cases discussed ‘The author held meetings in Rotterdam in autumn 1989 with J.T.M. van Teeffelen,

here, South Street Seaport is not an

City Town Planning Department; J.W.C. integral part of a city-wide pattern of

Vader, Rotterdam Waterstad; Myriam regeneration. However, despite its

Jansen-Verbeke, Katholieke Universiteit, limited role on a vast metropolitan Nijmegen. stage, its impact has proved to be of

widely applicable significance. It is certainly a prime example of tourism as a principal motivator in a balanced, viable and heritage-conscious regen- eration scheme,

Rotterdam’ As in the case of Liverpool, Rotter- dam is an example of the regeneration of a world-league seaport. Rotterdam is the second city of the Netherlands, with a population of 0.5 million. It is a place for business. It is also the world’s largest po ird much of the dock area lies close to the city centre. This centre, virtually erased in the blitz of May 1940, was rebuilt rapidly after the war, in line with the then latest trends in urban planning and design, without much regard to the traditional architecture and street pat- terns. Its residents were largely re- housed in the leafier suburbs and, with the closure of the shops and offices, the inner city died.

For many years this has been Rot- terdam’s image. But now, an imagina- tive, ambitious and comprehensive development plan aims to transform this dynamic city’s central area, with the improvement and integration of tourism, leisure, recreation, cultural and entertainment facilities as an essential part of the process. There is no more clear cut example on a comparable scale of tourism’s role in inner city regeneration.

As it now is, what strikes the visitor about Rotterdam? During the morn- ing and evening rush hours, although there is little crush or clatter, the city seems full of energy, vitality and purpose. Visually, Rotterdam may still be dominated by high-rise office blocks of moderate distinction, but redeeming features are quickly evi- dent.

The busy commerciai river - part of the great port now stretching west- ward to the North Sea, and focus of the new, emerging Rotterdam - is becoming a major attraction. Indi- vidual docks in the central area, with their displays of yachts and traditional river craft, are being converted into oases of leisure. Around these, and in new riverside estates, houses and flats for all income groups are built or

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VIEWPOINT being built. In the deliberate blend of residential and commercial premises within sight of the working port, the eye is soothed by surviving neighbour- hoods of old housing, vistas of water, parks, squares, playground corners and the bizarre shapes of modern

sculpture. In the central area, heavy goods

vehicles are confined to designated arteries and there is a partial ban on delivery vans. Fast, smooth-running electric trams are used for public transport rather than diesel-engined buses, and road traffic moves quietly; the tram lines, carriageways, cycle tracks and sidewalks are largely sepa-

rated. Safe, controlled pedestrian crossings at major intersections are clearly marked. Metro and suburban railway networks with easy-to-use interchanges augment the surface pub- lic transport and share a common ticketing system.

In contrast with comparable large- scale redevelopments elsewhere, not- ably those in London Docklands, im- provements and additions to the infra- structure are planned, funded and set in train at the outset, to create the pattern and parameters of the evolv- ing developments. In Rotterdam, changes to infrastructure include some extensive projects, the works of which have to be fitted in to the everyday life of the city. At the north end of the city, for example, the airport is to be moved a few hundred metres further out; a new multilane artery will con- nect this to Coolsingel, the existing main thoroughfare through the heart of the city to the riverside. This artery will be carried across the river on a new viaduct, effectively shifting Rot- terdam’s centre of gravity into the harbour area. In addition, the main railway which now crosses the river on its own viaduct is being put under- ground; the tunnel workings will cause disruption over several years across much of the city’s centre. These are vast schemes in relation to the size of an already compact and active urban area, not to mention additions to the metro and tramway systems and to the existing network of roads.

‘Control stays firmly in the hands of the well- organized city authorities’

The parallel north-south artery, Westersingel, is to become the cultu-

ral axis of Rotterdam with extra museums and hotels, a concert hall, theatre, casino and conference facili- ties. Some of these attractions will be carried across the front of the Central Station, thus improving that environ- ment. To the east of the station a large cluster of office buildings is being constructed, while further hotels and improvements to the shopping areas on the western edge of Coolsingel are also planned. The well-known pedes- trianized shopping street, Lijnbaan. is to be covered over and the adjoining area of streetside cafes in Stadhuis- plein is to be given a facelift.

Although well controlled. the up- heaval is considerable. But by tackling almost everything at once. the disturb- ances will be over in a relatively short period of time. This implies a high standard of planning and manage- ment, with effective collaboration be- tween numerous departments of local and central governments. a clutch of development bodies (notably the Rot- terdam Development Council - ROTOR, the Urban Development Agency, the Port Development Au- thority, the Waterstad Project and the Kop van Zuid reclamation) and a wide variety of private interests.

On groundwork defined by central government, control stays firmly in the hands of the well-organized city authorities, who remain landlords of most of the newly-developed territory and seem confident and far-seeing enough to create and implement a radical, multifaceted, high-speed re- construction. It is expected that the centre of Rotterdam will have gained a new life and character, with a viable mix of amenities among which people may work, live and enjoy themselves. Dr A. Peper, Burgomaster of Rotter- dam, summed up the overall object as being to blend three themes: working city, city of quality, city which works together; with leisure and tourism an integral part of the new complete town.

Some lessons The examples given in this article are deliberately varied geographically and in type. One disadvantage of the differences is the difficulty in identify-

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VIEWPOINT ing common factors. As world-league seaports, Liverpool and Rotterdam have obvious similarities, but the re- development programmes for the for- mer are proving more piecemeal than those for the latter, and in Rotterdam the role of tourism in its programmes is more integral and substantial than it

‘The raising of money is in Liverpool.

There are similarities also in the

is a paramount consideration’

approaches to restoration in Rouen and Valletta, but tourism as a factor in rehabilitation has been much more significant for newly independent Mal- ta, of which Valletta is the capital, than for France, of which Rouen is but one provincial city.

New York’s South Street Seaport venture in many respects stands alone and, in its way, offers a classic case of the influence of tourism on urban regeneration and of the machinery and motivation by which success of this kind may be achieved.

Regeneration, renewal, restoration, rehabilitation, redevelopment: why not revival? The word revival implies a creative human impulse, conveys the idea of purposeful people achieving things; and, as Liverpool no doubt understands, investment and goodwill may be less readily attracted where the local mood is thought to be quar- relsome or defeatist. The magnet in Rouen was civic pride, in Valletta patriotism, and in Rotterdam dogged perseverance; and in South Street, from a start of small beginnings, high morale and rising expectations have not been disappointed. It also helps if a place looks and feels neat and confident. And while networks of committees and some bureaucracy are no doubt necessary, dynamic lead- ership is also essential.

The raising of money is a para- mount consideration and, for the most part, investment must be seen to be worthwhile on the basis of hard finan- cial calculation. Today the injection of public funds is usually contingent upon the parallel investment of pri- vate capital, the ratio 1:4 being a generally approved yardstick in the UK. The important skill is knowing how to work the system. In South Street, a grant of $20.45 million from the Urban Development Action Fund

was the breakthrough, but much pre- paration and negotiation was needed to reach that point and much energetic follow-through in the private sector was needed to build on the opportun- ity.

The key to control lies in ownership of the land or basic infrastructure. In cities, this control - with appropriate planning powers - is vested more often than not in the public authority unless or until leased or yielded in whole or in part to a responsible organization, possibly a development corporation or a well-respected trust or charity. The policy-forming and directing council is usually a judicious mix of public and private sector nominees, not least of the representa- tives of the main funding bodies, with members senior enough to be at decision-making level in their own organizations. An agreed critical path leading to clearly stated objectives on a given time scale is a desirable impetus and discipline, and its very existence tends to create its own momentum.

The growing tourism component in public affairs has influenced the intro- duction of a more market-oriented bias into official decision making, and it has become easier to find common ground with private interests. As each of this article’s five cases demons- trates, active public-private collabora- tion is usually an essential pre- requisite to an effective programme of urban revival.

Who takes the first initiative in an inner-city or obsolescent-resort revival problem? In Liverpool, it was the newly formed Merseyside Develop- ment Corporation backed and paced by a well-disposed government de- partment; in Rouen, it was the city architects responding to money from a central government fund to assist res- toration in approved conservation areas. In Valletta, where the Maltese government got firmly into the driving seat in 1964, the first steps in tourism development had been taken in 1958 with help from London in the form of a f0.5 million grant to be spread over five years; in Rotterdam, while the reins were held by the city authority whose plan evolved out of the post-

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war process of almost continuous ex- pert discussion about the changing needs and shape of the metropolis, progress would not have been made without leads from central govern- ment towards a new infrastructure.

A project may begin tentatively, as in South Street, with a voluntary initiative by conse~ation-minded peo- pie, or it can start with a fanfare as the product of an important public author-

ity, possibly in concert with a developer-led consortium of skills and interests. In either event, depending on the scale of the venture, the time must come when the power groups are formally brought together for the pub- lic good: in South Street, museum developer, city authority, state au- thority.

A generally favoured structure to- day is the development corporation, or equivalent, with a chief executive overseeing the work of five divisions: planning and development, finance and administration, design, technical and marketing. Experience has shown that dynamic, market-led results can be achieved to a given extent on a given schedule only if high-calibre

senior officials have the freedom to buy in first class consultancy and to act decisively on the basis of the best available advice. Where the scale of the revival is such that the programme divides into several major projects, as in Rotterdam. the overall develop- ment corporation - representing at high levet a wide range of public, private and financial interests - may find itself coordinating the work of several other semi-independent cor- porations.

But what matters most in the long run, apart from financial viability. is the quality of the end product. This has become increasingly important with growing concern about the en- vironment. Local public opinion is important in this regard, and steps to consult and monitor this opinion are nowadays obligatory. Of critical im- portance also is the impact of the tourism-leisure-recreation element: this must be seen to benefit the host community no less than the visitor, the more so in an age of ever-rising expectations. Despite its many succes- ses, tourism as a factor in urban regeneration is always on probation.

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