Urban regeneration: thirty years of change on Plymouth’s waterfront

Abstract

Waterfront revitalisation has become one of the main areas of concentration and activity in urban regeneration as former port, military and resort sites seek new and appropriate uses. Various regeneration approaches have been implemented over the years, with most involving central-government funding, but with different levels of partnership with the private sector and/or the local community. This paper explores in detail the transformation of the waterfront in the English city of Plymouth from its former functions as a naval port and dockyard, with both military and commercial port activities, to its predominantly post-industrial focus on residential, leisure, tourism, and heritage uses. It is a process that has gained momentum over the last thirty years and is now central to the city’s vision of its future.