The Evolution and the Features of Urban Renewal Policy Instruments in the USA Since the 1950s

Abstract

Urban renewal in the USA derived from slum clearance movement in the early 20th century under the background of urban sprawl and inner city blight, and had shifted its target from slum clearance and blight area elimination to economy revitalization, and has been a kind of comprehensive public policy in the field of urban governance since 1950s.During the institutional transition of marketization and decentralization, ideology change of urban renewal promotes the establishment and replacement of policy tools.Renewal policy instruments try to response the demands of local economic development and try to protect private property right and social justice, however, confronts policy objective deviation under the marketization operation.Urban renewal in China is in short of supply of continuous and systematic policy instruments, subject to the traditional material planning paradigm and power division of urban construction and management, resulting in the failure of implementation of ideal spatial scheme.This paper aims to explore the regularity elements behind the evolution of urban renewal policy instruments from the perspective of tax and financing, land use regulation and development management and provides learning experience and enlightenment to urban renewal practice in contemporary China.