Flagship Regeneration in a Global City: The Re-making of Paddington Basin

Policy-makers in cities across the globe are faced with competing pressures. On the one hand they are increasingly responsible for the economic development and enhanced competitiveness of their cities. Their policy programmes often seek to capture a greater share of global investment and to attract increasingly mobile skilled and creative workers. On the other hand they are also required to enhance levels of social cohesion in cities and tackle the inequalities associated with contemporary forms of economic growth. For many policy-makers large-scale flagship development projects are seen as the pathway towards securing both objectives. This article draws on the example of the redevelopment of Paddington, London, to explore the dilemmas faced by policy-makers and the social and economic implications of contemporary forms of urban regeneration. It argues that the recent buoyancy of London's globally oriented property market has presented developers, investors and policy-makers with significant commercial opportunities. This in turn has skewed regeneration priorities towards a competitiveness focus which continues to shift attention away from social concerns. The article concludes by suggesting that changing credit conditions may have significant impacts on future developments.