| Summary: | Abstract
Yeoville presents a particular context of the inner city in decline and has been identified
by the city as a suburb in need of regeneration. In 2004, The Yeoville Rockey/Raleigh
High Street Development was conceived as the urban regeneration strategy for the
upgrading of the suburb. The objectives of this strategy were to upgrade strategic public
facilities and to improve urban management of the area over a period of five years.
Through the prioritisation of a privatised urban management system, the aim was to
attract a new middle class back into Yeoville (gentrification). However, the absence of a
plan for dealing with the socio-economic challenges faced by the existing poorer
residents has leads to cultural and class conflicts.
International experience has shown that in order to achieve the long-term, strategic
regeneration of poorer neighbourhoods, social networks and community development
should be prioritised. An effective regeneration strategy should budget for capacity
building from the outset and should involve citizens in the design and decision making
process in order to ensure that the needs of all the local actors are met and that all
possible resources are mobilised. At the forefront of this approach are alternative
methodologies like social network analysis, which aim to reconnect the social, cultural
and economic dimensions of society to rhythms of space and time. The focus on the
mapping of existing social capital resources helps to pinpoint the opportunities, and
constraints presented within neighbourhoods and ultimately guide the restructuring
process in a meaningful and relevant way.
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