2.7. Successful regeneration

But the definition of a “successful regeneration” depends on the point of view, on the scale of the original aims and aspirations and on the desired output. So here one can find differences between stakeholders at official and local levels again. A successful regeneration from the point of view of the municipality is not necessary successful from the point of view of the local community – and vice versa.

Successful regeneration doesn't have to mean the whole project. One can be successful in one field of action and fail in an­other field of the integrated regeneration-process. It's easier to achieve tangible results and improvements in the sector of physical regeneration while in the field of social and economic improvements it's more difficult to achieve tangible results in short terms. And very often it takes more time due to dynamic changes, so it requires regular updates of the means and methods used.

A general difficulty regarding the success of regeneration-processes is the social, economical and ecological sustainability of the results or the long-term anchoring of the results, e.g. improvement of open space, creation of shops, establishment of networks, empowering partners: Will these results survive without the regeneration process? For detailed analysis and discussion of these questions see the thematic paper on Mainstreaming.

And of course exterior influences on the development of the area have a strong impact on success or failure. This is obvious regarding the economic development which can not be influenced at the local level only. At the same time these exterior impacts can hardly be foreseen at the beginning of a regeneration-process. So sometimes external factors have a crucial impact and influence whether area-regeneration is successful or not.