Newcastle - Growth and decline in an urban area

Kay's

AS Geography

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'A blink, not a wobble', The Tyne, Dec 2000. Photo by Kay Williams.

Focus on: Newcastle upon Tyne & Tyneside

Growth and decline in an urban area

(Changing urban environments in MEDCs)

"Changing urban patterns of growth and decline at a local scale are a response to demographic, economic, social and political forces. Urban decision-makers have implemented various policies to improve and regenerate areas of decline; this may encourage re-urbanisation." WJEC specification generalisation

The urban environment and its periphery - A2 sustainable cities module

UK cities You should try the local authority site for the urban area you're interested in. You can get a list at http://www.ukonline.gov.uk

News stories You can search for TV news features, stories in the national press or for the area's local newspaper using The Paper Boy http://www.thepaperboy.com

Birmingham has one of the best sites of its type, with all the key facts available to download in a variety of formats. http://www.birminghameconomy.org.uk/key.html For ward-based data on Birmingham use: http://www.birminghameconomy.org.uk/wards.html

Ward data Specific area data can be got from the neighbourhood statistics service - type in a postcode for the key statistics on that district (including Oxford University deprivation index). Also can click on areas via a regional map. A sophisticated GIS system has been added which means you can get a map of ward boundaries to go with your tables of data. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk ONS data services, recent Census developments, access to public data and a section on the UK in Figures. For downloads in csv format (spreadsheet can be saved as Excel) go to StatBase. http://www.statistics.gov.uk For more details, maps, air photos and house price data see: Web postcode trail

2001 Census The Census is a count of all people and households in the UK and is normally taken every ten years. It provides statistical information for planning and monitoring services including schools, health services, roads and libraries. The latest Census took place on 29 April 2001 and first results from the 2001 Census will be published on Monday 30 September 2002. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/

ACORN Profiles Available from 'Up My Street' (along with house price data). These descriptions used by marketing and advertising executives can give an indication of likely lifestyle (consumer preferences and behaviour). However, the profile does not actually describe a specific locality or its residents. For example, Type 11 are said to be "...affluent working couples with mortgages in new homes in suburban, family neighbourhoods..." (1.3 per cent of the population). Comments on likely 2plus car ownership, ITV viewing, children and mortgages. Can be used alongside Census data (and fieldwork) to assess the relative affluence of residential areas. http://www.upmystreet.com

The Social Exclusion Unit Social exclusion is a shorthand term for what can happen when people or areas suffer from a combination of linked problems. Includes neighbourhood renewal. UK Government site. http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/seu/ http://www.neighbourhood.odpm.gov.uk

Public Health Observatories There are eight of these - one for each NHS region. The information available varies from site to site, but can provide data on health inequalites. http://www.pho.org.uk

LEDC urban environments See my sustainable cities page.

Brazil See my Brazil page, particularly for Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba. Urban issues

Portal or gateway sites Sites created by other geographers may well have the urban area you're after. See Gateway sites

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Observer Urban Regeneration special In July 2002 The Observer newspaper published a supplement on urban regeneration in its business section. There are links to all the articles at the foot of Will Hutton's article. http://www.observer.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,750115,00.html

English Partnerships The regeneration and development agency for England launched in May 1999, created by combining the roles of the Commission for the New Towns (CNT) and the national functions of the Urban Regeneration Agency (known as English Partnerships). The agency is one of the country’s largest landowners, participates in partnerships for the regeneration and development of target areas, aims to cost-effectively re-use previously developed (brownfield) land and find new sources of funding. http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk

Newcastle City Council - the best starting point for the Tyneside MEDC is its historic focus Newcastle upon Tyne, which happens to have a particularly informative local government website. Possibilities include: 1996 Inter Censal Survey, including ward profiles; local election statistics; Newcastle key facts; population; unemployment. Has useful A-Z index on home page. http://www.newcastle.gov.uk

Like all sites, pages on the Newcastle City site do get moved around. Apologies if I haven't managed to keep up! The A-Z index or drop-down links on the home page should help you find pages which have moved.

Details of major developments in the city either currently under construction, or in the pipeline. It includes both city centre and city wide sites. The sites are included because of their significance to Newcastle and the region (size, uniqueness, regeneration potential or job creation). All major developments are identified on the plans. For each development there is detailed information (eg. who to contact, public consultation process, planning status) on each proposal, photographs and artists impressions. http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/devnewcastle/ or http://194.61.173.47/devnewcastle/

Newcastle Great Park is a controversial development on green fields on the northern edge of the city, either side of the A1 and close to Gosforth Park. Work on a new high-technology business park, a park and ride scheme and housing was due to start in Spring 2001, but has been held up because this area is within a foot and mouth restriction zone. Details can be got from the development consortium site or from the council's development pages. http://www.newcastlegreatpark.com

Grainger Town is an area of classical architecture developed by Richard Grainger in the 1830s and '40s, where many of the buildings now have 'listed' status. In the 1980s this once prosperous area of Newcastle was overtaken by new retail and commercial centres, which eroded the economic base and left properties to fall into disrepair. Around one million sq ft of floorspace was unoccupied and the area's residential population was falling. The Grainger Town Project was established in 1997 in partnership with Newcastle City Council, English Partnership and English Heritage with the aim of reversing this trend. A £120 million regeneration programme is now well under way and will continue until 2003. It is anticipated that £40 million of public sector investment will be bolstered by a further £80 million from the private sector. http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/grainger/flash/intro.htm or http://194.61.173.47/grainger/default1.htm

Black Friars, Monk Street, is another historic part of Newcastle, this time mediaeval in origin, dating from when the city was primarily a religious centre. Originally a thirteenth century Dominican friary and for 400 years the home of some of the towns' craft guilds, it now houses craft workshops and a restaurant. The grassy courtyard still provides a retreat from city life. [When you reach this page, choose histtext from list, and then Black Friars to get the information.] http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/vnev.nsf/

Competitive Newcastle, the Economic Development Strategy for the next 10 years, describes Newcastle-upon-Tyne's ambitious aspirations for the city and its economy. The City Council aims by 2010 to create a dynamic, entrepreneurial city at the heart of a 'knowledge-based' regional economy, offering increasing opportunities for innovation, business, employment, education and leisure. Panoramic movies of Walker Riverside and the Quayside. http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/compcity/ or http://194.61.173.47/compcity/

Going for Growth - Newcastle City Council published its Going for Growth Green Paper in January 2000. It makes the case for the development of a regeneration strategy that will be citywide, ambitious and long-term. The challenges for Newcastle are: to create a competitive, cohesive and cosmopolitan city of international significance; to work in partnership with citizens, communities, companies and government; and to ensure that all parts of the City benefit from economic growth. http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/gfgintra.nsf or http://194.61.173.47/goingfor.nsf

Art, image and culture Newcastle, in common with other councils in Tyne and Wear has encouraged public art projects, not all of which have received the public acclaim Gateshead's 'Angel of the North' by Antony Gormley enjoys (eg 'lego men' surrounding the Boer war memorial at Haymarket, which will go when someone wants it and will pay for removal). Metro stations boast a variety of works, mainly murals and sculptures. One of the more controversial is Thomas Heatherwick's 'The Blue Carpet' which allows you to walk on your granny's recycled Bristol Cream bottles. http://www.bluecarpet.co.uk The public art joint committee http://www.art-on-the-riverside.co.uk

Initiatives such as Going for Growth have come in for a lot of criticism. The local press is the best way of picking this up. Newcastle's evening newspaper keeps a time-limited archive of stories (and letters) online (you need to register to use it). icnewcastle is a site which aims to serve the whole of the North East and comes from the publishers of The Journal (Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Northumbria) and the Evening Chronicle (Newcastle's evening paper). http://www.icnewcastle.co.uk

View the Quayside on both Newcastle and Gatehead sides of the river from the Tyne Bridge (the one on the bottles of 'broon' ale). Redevelopment on the Newcastle side is complete and that on Gateshead underway (see below). View the Millennium Bridge (with a blink, not a wobble) and the fog on the Tyne. http://www.tynebridgewebcam.com

The transformation of the Quayside Newcastle and Gateshead Quays was a derelict industrial relic but is now a vibrant cosmopolitan area including the award-winning Gateshead Millennium Bridge. Upcoming developments are charted, such as the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Visual Arts and the Regional Music Centre and Leisure complex. Part of the bid for Newcastle Gateshead to become City of Culture 2008. http://www.newcastlequayside.co.uk

NB The websites for Tyneside metropolitan councils other than Newcastle, tend not to yield as much detail.

Gateshead Quays is a 52 acre riverside site of derelict industrial land and buildings on the south bank of the Tyne in the shadow of the Tyne Bridge - directly opposite the recently refurbished Newcastle Quayside. Gateshead Council and its partners are overseeing major regeneration projects including: Baltic Centre for Contemporary Visual Art (opens July 2002); Gateshead Millennium Bridge; The Music Centre (concert halls); Leisure complex including multiplex cinema; Tyne Bridge Towers; Tyne Bridge Hilton International hotel; Pipewellgate (Left Bank Developments - Baja Beach club, restaurant). http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/tourism/ghdquays.htm or http://www.gateshead-quays.com/main.html

Tyne and Wear Research and Information (TWRI) is funded by the five metropolitan district councils that cover the area. The Cities of Newcastle Upon Tyne and Sunderland and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside. Its major function is to support these sponsors through the assembly and analysis of statistical information. However, data is made available on a wider basis via reports, abstracts and publications which mainly concern social and economic conditions, and the physical development of land and property. http://www.tyne-wear-research.gov.uk

One NorthEast is the Regional Development Agency set up in April 1999 to help the people of the NorthEast to create and sustain jobs, prosperity and a higher quality of life. The agency is responsible to the people of the North East of England and to the Government. http://www.onenortheast.co.uk/

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Transport
Tyne & Wear Metro	http://www.tyneandwearmetro.co.uk
Nexus (public transport)	http://www.nexus.org.uk/
Newcastle Airport	http://www.newcastleairport.com
Tyne & Wear transport plan 2000-05	http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/home.nsf/a/res_transplan?opendocument

North Tyneside including Wallsend, Tynemouth, North Shields and Whitley Bay.	http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk
Tynetown A town centre management plan for North Shields, Whitley Bay and Wallsend.	http://www.tynetown.com
Rising Sun Country Park (visitor centre closed summer 2002 for redevelopment, but Swallow Pond still accessible.).	http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk/enviro-heritage/ris_park/index.shtml