Generation

The “cycle of violence hypothesis” is a theory that mainly seeks to clarify why and how the behavior of an individual who commits family and domestic violence may transform dramatically with time. Furthermore, this theory provides an understanding of the reasons why an individual who has been a victim of either domestic or family violence would go on facing the violent situation (Finkelman, 1995). The term “intergeneration transmission” refers to the occurrence of something between generations.

It further described as a process that allows for people to recognize the modalities of conflict that relate to the generations which preceded the birth of an individual (American Heritage Dictionary, 2006). It is the objective of this paper to explain in detail the “cycle of violence” hypothesis as it relates to the intergenerational transmission of mistreating children. The “cycle of violence” hypothesis relates to the intergenerational transmission of mistreating children as exhibited via the principles of social learning theory.

Here a parent that is usually physically punitive would most likely have a child that becomes aggressive because that is the kind of response pattern the child has been accustomed to (Kalverboer, Genta, & Hopkins, 1999). This theory puts it that violent actions are learnt through positive reinforcement patterns and is more often than not imitated. It is important to note that when a child grows up with such a parent, the child will exercise such kind of an approach in raising their own offspring, thus this cycle of violence is in a position to persist through to the future generations.

In addition to this, a parent plays that most crucial role in the life a child (Tomison, 1996). Genetic components of aggressive behavior (Kalverboer, Genta, & Hopkins, 1999) equally result in a cycle of violence in which children are maltreated and it is generational. Under this, it is assumed that the predisposition of a parent for violence is inherited by a child. This inherited predisposition perpetuates the cycle of maltreatment especially towards children thus increasing the probability of such children subsequently maltreating their own children.

Thus the cycle is fueled in the sense that through genes, generations of abusive parents persist. The interaction of environmental and genetic factors is a major factor to consider when relating the cycle of violence to intergenerational transmission of mistreating children. A mere genetic predisposition simply puts a person at the risk of expressing violent behavior but then it takes the interaction of environmental and genetic factors to actually produce the greatest risk of the display of violent behavior (Kalverboer, Genta, & Hopkins, 1999).

When a child has inherited the genes of abusive character from the parents, it is the surrounding environment that fuels the degree of this behavior because of the experiences and thus they are carried forward to their children. As a consequence, the cycle of violent behavior in terms of child maltreatment is perpetrated (Tomison, 1996). According to a research done on intergenerational transmission of abuse, an examination was done where by the history of a parent in terms of abuse in relation to their abusive behavior toward the children was hypothesized (Pearsa & Capaldi, 2001).

Furthermore, the effect of the extent of an abuse and the possibility of the concerned individual becoming abusive were equally considered. From this study it was reported that the parents who had an abusive childhood were more likely to take part in abusive behavior in the next generation. These findings illustrate that the “cycle of violence” has a great link to the intergenerational transmission of mistreating children (Tomison, 1996).

Much as there is a lot of evidence to connect the cycle of violence to the intergenerational transmission of mistreating children it is important to note that not all people who experience an abusive childhood become abusive parents in future. In addition, the cycle of violence can be broken via social support programs especially to the single parents (Langeland & Dijkstra, 2006). Another way through which this vice can be eradicated is via the support from the spouse who realizes the partner could have been a victim of abuse in their childhood.

It is also important to consider positive moves such as focusing on interventions that would prevent the cycle of violence from persisting through to other generations. References: American Heritage Dictionary. (2006). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition . New york: Houghton Mifflin . Finkelman, B. (1995). Child Abuse: Short- and long-term effects. London: Taylor & Francis. Kalverboer, A. F. , Genta, M. L. , & Hopkins, J. B. (1999). Current issues in developmental psychology: biopsychological perspectives.

New Mexico: Springer. Langeland, W. , & Dijkstra, S. (2006). Breaking the intergenerational transmission of child abuse: Beyond the mother-child relationship. Child Abuse Review , 4 (1). Pearsa, K. C. , & Capaldi, D. M. (2001). Intergenerational transmission of abuse: a two-generational prospective study of an at-risk samplesmall star, filled. Child Abuse & Neglect , 25 (11). Tomison, A. M. (1996). Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment. Retrieved May 10, 2010, from http://www. aifs. gov. au/nch/pubs/issues/issues6/issues6. html

In her book First Generations, Carol Berkin basically aims to show the readers the power of women which can be traced through our history. Differentiating itself from traditional historical texts, studies, and researches, the book does not omit the valid experiences of women during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It wants to show that women of all races -European, Indian, and African- were critical components of 17th- and 18th-century American history.

As such, the author tried to examine the various cultures, ideologies, belief and political systems that were present during those early times in relation to the roles and norms that enveloped women. With this goal at hand, she tried to find evidences and narrative accounts of the lives of ordinary women. She tried to figure out how these ordinary lives were governed, affected, and altered by the varying social expectations about women.

Through all of this, Berkin tries to emphasize that women were active partakers in the making of history and the alteration of social norms, values, and systems even at a time when they were denied of equal rights. The book’s efficacy in providing deeper knowledge of American Culture To identify the efficacy of a classified historical narrative and exploration, the bases that will be used are the conciseness of the narrative, and its accuracy.

Basically, the book presented a complete and concise narrative since it presented a multicultural setting as it tackles the experiences of women from various cultural and racial backgrounds. It involves the analyses of women of European, Indian, and African originalities. However, the book does not stop at carefully delineating women through their race and culture. Instead, Berkin moves a step higher in careful analysis and examination as she explores not only the popular and prominent women from the various cultural originalities.

She presents a book which explores the lives of women through the varied roles that they perform- as wives, as daughters, as mothers, and as social participants- in relation to their occupation and social class. A particular example is Berkin’s citation of Margaret Hardenbroeck, a trader. Berkin was able to track down the life of Hardenbroeck, and illustrate how her colonial life as a businesswoman was altered by English colonization of Netherlands. In the book, Hardenbroeck’s economic problems, legal rights, and socially-related issues were examined in relation to what her husband have experienced.

By doing so, Berkin was able to demonstrate the differences among the social expectations and pressures between a man and a woman. Another identity that Berkin also examined in the book was Eliza Lucas Pinckney. Unlike Hardenbroeck, Pickney was not very exposed to matters of businesses, colonization, and governmental restrictions at first. Instead, she was constantly struggling to fulfill her domestic responsibilities that were traditionally assigned to women. By these, it means that Pinckney was more concerned and burdened with her roles as a wife, a mother, and a daughter.

However, economic circumstances prompted her to adopt expertise in entrepreneurship as she later became the proprietor of her father’s and late husband’s plantations. Berkjin narrates that overtime, Pinckney then developed “a consciousness of self and a confidence in reason” which she garnered from her education. Through these two, Berkin made a valid conclusion when she pointed out that social class altered the supposed to be gender-specific roles of colonial American society.

In the case of accuracy, it can be observed that Berkin lacked primary materials. As such, she tried to overcome the scarcity of primary sources through thorough research and cross-checking with secondary sources. She even acknowledges the said issue when she stated that though “studies of New England marriage patterns based on diaries and letters and studies of Chesapeake marriage patterns drawn from demographic data are equally valid,” such cannot be used for a carefully derived cross-culture comparison.

However, it seems that her lapse in conclusive data should not be regarded as an important component in her descriptive analysis of the daily lives of women from various geographic regions. It appears that the careful analysis of women of varied social class, racial background, and geographic location during those times is accurate enough to guarantee that the narrative is a well-researched work fit for collections on women studies.

As such, the book gave its readers a deeper knowledge of American culture since it was able to touch on a rarely tackled historical subject and component- women. Moreover, the historical exploration that it presented was rather seemingly complete narrative of women history as Berkin explored marriage, motherhood, social interaction, labor, and beliefs. To add to that, the exploration was done in a compare and contrast manner between the social experiences and pressures faced by men and women.

Thus, it was clear why women garnered different roles and patterns of empowerment and development from men. Overall, the book demonstrated that women were important factors in history creation and societal alteration. REFERENCES Berkin, Carol (1997). First Generations: Women in Colonial America. First Generations by Carol Berkin. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from www. powells. com/cgi-bin/biblio? inkey=62-9780809016068-0 First Generations by Carol Berkin. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from http://search. . com/booksearch/isbnInquiry. asp? z=y&endeca=1&isbn=0809016060&itm=2#TABS

Those in the marketing, advertising and PR businesses are spending an inordinate amount of time worrying about how to market to the rapidly growing millennial market. The fact that this younger population responds less to advertising than any previous generation has marketers scurrying for alternative solutions. But while devoting energy to capturing millennial spending money, those marketers may be forgetting about what is still an even bigger market — baby boomers and senior citizens.

Don’t imagine the senior market to be represented by a scowling old man who speaks in grunts and cold stares, pointing a rifle and growling, “Get off my lawn!” Those of us who have reached senior status may prefer to identify more with senior citizen Mick Jagger than quintessential angry old man Clint Eastwood.

Sanjay Chadha, CEO and founder of , a company that caters to the senior market with an innovative medical alert device that can be used both in and out of the home, notes that while seniors tend to have practical concerns and a no-nonsense approach to buying, they are increasingly just as tech-savvy as millennials.

“Marketing to the senior market requires an acknowledgement that they are leading active lives, and just as likely as millennials to be spending lots of time out and about,” said Chadha.

Related: 

When Chadha created Safety Labs, he had two realities in mind: Seniors are tech-savvy and use mobile devices, and they don’t just stay home all day. “In creating a product that serves this market, we realized that while seniors may need assistive devices such as electronic medical alert necklaces that call emergency responders, they are also more engaged in hobbies, entertainment, and going out on the town, even though they may need a little extra help when doing so. The addition of Bluetooth to the alert device gives them this option.”

1. Seniors really do like to shop online.

The predominant stereotype of seniors is that they are technology-illiterate and rely on their grandchildren to run their electronics, but nothing could be further from the truth. Baby Boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964 — actually spend more time online than do millennials, according to The State of the User Experience annual survey, which noted that while 41 percent of millennials spend more than 15 hours a day online, 51 percent of boomers are doing so. Boomers represent about a third of all social media users, and those aged 50 and older spend about , with boomers using the Internet as their primary means of comparison shopping.

Related: 

2. Why market to the senior segment?

Selling to millennials is fun. They buy quirky hats and retro clothing, love craft beer and if they like what you have to offer, they are quick to spread the word to their social network. But while earlier generations assumed that their children would be better off than they were, millennials missed the boat and are the first generation to have less money and fewer jobs compared to their parents’ generation. According to the , young adults earn $2,000 less today than young adults did in 1980 — and if you’re looking for buyers with disposable income, it’s no longer the young. Nearly of disposable income will come from senior citizens in the next five years, and seniors are on hobbies, which has grown 5.2 percent annually since 1990; and entertainment, which has grown 9.8 percent annually since 1990. Also, marketing to millennials requires a dramatic departure from traditional advertising, as these demographics are less likely to respond to an advertisement than they are direct engagement and social media.

The estimates that by 2050, there will be 83.7 million people aged 65 and older. And while the current cohort of seniors carries more debt than previous generations of seniors, they spend more on hobbies and non-essentials than they did in 1990, and in terms of net worth, are doing quite well compared to other age groups. On average, seniors are the most affluent demographic of American society, with seniors having of the average American.

Related Book: No B.S. Guide to Marketing to Leading Edge Boomers & Seniors by Dan S. Kennedy | | |

The stolen generation …. The degradation and the sheer brutality of the act of physically separating a mother from her children is a deep assault on our senses and on our most elemental humanity…. The stolen generation is the name given to the generation of aboriginal and Torres strait islander children that were removed from their families and placed into institutions where they were forced to forget their aboriginality. These children were then given a poor education and were sent into the homes of white Australians to be servants or labourers.

The government and churches around Australia had an ignorant and uneducated view about the native aboriginals and how they chose to live. They thought that aboriginal families lived poor and unrewarding lives; they believed they were doing the right thing and were helping the children by removing them from their homes and families. They believed that aboriginal people were bad parents and that the women did not look after their children. No records were kept of the children that were taken and siblings were deliberately separated, today many people do not know where or if they have brothers or sisters out there.

This had destroyed families and torn them apart. They were forced to go through the unimaginable and were treated as slaves. You and me, we were not direct causes of this. This was our ancestors. A generation before we were born. We had not yet even existed when this was happening all over Australian yet it took all these years for an apology to be given to the people of the stolen generation On the 13th of February 2008 the prime minister Kevin Rudd apologised on behalf of all of Australia for the way that the people of the stolen generation were treated.

This is what he said: “We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country. “For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry. “To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry. “And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry. “

HK and Mainland Chinese Generation Changes Introduction: Since Hong Kong return to China, there always have some comparison between Hong Kong and Mainland China. In this essay, I would like to talk about the generation changes in both Hong Kong and Mainland China and make the comparison. HK: (1976~1990) Historical background: The fourth generation of Hong Kongers is the children of the second generation, they live in plenty and unlikely to worry about their conditions. Growth environment and current situation of the fourth generation: They growth up in affluent circumstances, but this kind of environment is not equal to happiness.They need to face the competition earlier than their parents, grandparents. What is it like to be a good fourth generation of Hongkongais? He/she need do much better than others even form kindergarten, because there is no circumstance for the late developers.

The loser will be wash out by the society. The difference between the fourth generation and previous generation is they always under surveillance from their parents. The second generation comes through the spoon-fed education, so they do not want their children come through again.But on the other hand, they still want their children can well prepare for the competition. Therefore, they show too much attention to their children. Lui Tai-lok said, to the fourth generation, personality is a luxury. They really hardly to find their own personalities.

For example, we blindly denounce CantoPop for Euro-American pop; and blindly loves the film by a Western director – any Western director; and blindly denounce packaged tour to Japan for a shopping trip organized ourselves; and blindly denounce our ellow shoppers, our fellow schoolmates, our fellow CantoPop fans, and our fellow quantitatively-manufactured fourth generation Hongkongais, by means of using different goods and products, instead of having different mind-set. Besides, we seldom have chances to present our opinions. The adult always make the conclusion replace the fourth generations. They think they have more social activities than us; their decision must be more perfect than us. Under that social environment, it is really hard in finding personality. China: (1979~1990) Historical background:This generation called “little emperors” was born after 1979 when China began to promote the one-child family planning policy. Also, it was a period that “Culture Revolution” ended and “reform and opening up policy” started.

Chinese economic start taken-off. Growth environment and current situation of the “little emperors”: Under the “one-child” policy in Mainland China, which was implemented in the late 1970s, instigated a new phenomenon in families: 4-2-1, which means four grandparents, two parents to bring up the only child in the family, and this is the standard family structure for “little emperors”.This generation called “litter emperors” that is spoiled by eldership and they are the center in the whole family. They can get whatever he likes and avoid whatever he dislikes.? It has been a common practice that the parents have to obey their child’s “order”.? As a result, the spoiled child becomes the “little emperor” who rules the whole family. That gives them a sense of self importance and entitlement, which is the origin of the term “little emperor”.

Also they are the crucial market vanguard that they can increase Chinese economic clout and lead to enhanced spending power.The first generation of little emperors are now in their twenties, so the self-indulgent consumerism has expanded from children’s products into luxury goods, and this has been a driving force behind the rapid expansion of the luxury goods industry in recent years. From a young age, parents want to let their single children to be the best in their classes. Even toys, games, DVDs, video games and TV shows are more likely to be marketable if they have an educational edge. On the other hand, the little emperors have become the conduit to come true all their families hope and dreams.Some of them are the rebel against to the social rule. Since they were young, they are force-fed to study hard and education by rote memorization.

The sentence “good good study, day day up”, which said by Chairman Mao Zedong is be hung on the wall in each of the classroom. Their parents impose their own dream and interests to them. Therefore, make them disgusted with what parents said, they want to be difference with the previous generation, contend for their own fate. Han Han’s phenomenon” is such an educational phenomenon, but also a phenomenon of a diverse value orientation culture and dare to rebel and innovative social. “Han Han’s phenomenon” is named from Han Han, who is a professional rally driver, blogger, writer and singer and he is also involved in music production. He is really an inferior student when he was in school because he cannot get high grades in exam. In his first year of high school, he won the first prize in China’s New Concept Writing Competition with his essay on the Chinese national character.

But he fell seven subjects at the year-end examination. This incident was reported in the media and ignited a heated debate on China’s “quality education” policy, whether holistic or specialized learning should be implemented in schools, and other educational issues. Han Han quit school in the senior middle school 2nd year, and worked on a series of essays, which always occupy the highest Sales Volume. Besides, he is one of the best rally drivers in China. Han Han is good at almost everything except study.Han Han’s phenomenon became a hot issue and cause controversy between some public characters. The traditional view and standard of an all-around person are queried.

Also, the bad impression to this generation is changed. They are not merely “little emperors”, but also can be the strong people in life. They are generally called “after-eighty generation”, because most of them were born after 1980. But several pundits would like to call them as “the Beat Generation” as they know only comfort and ease; they cannot responsible to the society.Therefore, they are the most controversial and special generation during the Chinese history. Similarities of the fourth generation in HK and Mainland China: Either fourth generation or “little emperors”, they are both under the surveillance from their parents, they have high ambitions to come true their own dream rather than their parents’ dream. Dissimilarities of the fourth generation in HK and Mainland China: For “little emperors”, only part of them wants to contend for their own fate, the person who does not want to establish their own life, they can live with parents cozily.

But for the fourth generation, they have to compete with others, because the main trend is powerful to persuade them walk on the road which adults believed. Therefore, the fourth generation in Hong Kong misses the first and second generations simply because they have the knowledge and ability like the fourth generation, plus they have the dream, the commitment, the passion and the willingness to give their dreams the highest priority, and many great values that were not discarded. Conclusion:Whatever the fourth generation or the “little emperors”, both of them have the highest profile, they have to face the pressure from the previous generation, so that they should make more effort on increasing their value of life.

Definition of Business Model

A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers and captures value. This book offers a concept that allows you to describe and think through the business model at your organization, your competitors, or any other enterprise.

The authors believe that a business model can best be described through nine basic building blocks that show the logic of how a company intends to make money.The nine blocks cover the four main areas of a business: customers, offer, infrastructure, and financial viability. The business model is like a blueprint for a strategy to be implemented through organizational structures, processes, and systems.

Customer Segments

Defines the different groups of people or organizations an enterprise aims to reach and serve. In order to better satisfy customers, a company may group them into distinct segments with common needs, behaviors and other attributes.A conscious decision about which segments to serve and which segment to ignore has to be made. Once this decision is made, a business model can be carefully designed around a strong understanding of specific customer needs.

Value Propositions

Describes the bundle of products and services that create value for a specific Customer Segment. Some Value Propositions may be innovative and represent a new or disruptive offer. Others may be similar to existing market offers, but with added features and attributes.

Channels

Describes how a company communicates with and reaches its Customer Segments to deliver a Value Proposition. Communication, distribution, and sales Channels comprise a company’s interface with customer

Customer Relationships

Describes the types of relationships a company establishes with specific Customer Segments.A company should clarify the type of relationship it wants to establish with each Customer Segment, they can range from personal to automated. Can be driven by the following motivations: Customer acquisition, Customer retention, Boosting sales

Revenue Streams

Represents the cash a company generates from each Customer Segmet (costs must be subtracted from revenues to create earnings). If customer comprises the heart of a business model, Revenue Streams are its arteries.

Each Revenue Stream may have different pricing mechanisms, such as fixed list prices, bargaining, etc.A business model can involve two different types of Revenue Streams: Transaction revenues resulting from one-time customer payments, or Recurring revenues resulting from ongoing payments to either deliver a Value Proposition to customers or provide a post-purchase customer support.

Key Resources

Describes the most important assets required to make a business model work. These resources allow an enterprise to create and offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain relationships with Customer Segments and earn revenues.Different Key Resources are needed depending on the type of business model. They can be physical, financial, intellectual, or human. They can be owned or leased by the company or acquired from key partners.

Key Activities

Describe the most important things a company must do to make its business model work. They are required to create and offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain Customer Relationships, and earn revenues.

Key Partnerships

Describe the network of suppliers and partners that make the business model work.We can distinguish between four different types of partnerships:

• Strategic alliances between non-competitors;
• Coopetition
• Joint ventures to develop new business
• Buyer-supplier relationships to assure reliable supplies

Cost Structure

Describes all costs incurred to operate de business model. Creating and delivering values, maintaining Customer Relationships, and generating revenue all incur costs. Such costs can be calculated relatively easy after defining Key Resources, Key Activities, and Key Partnerships. The nine business model Building Blocks form the basis for a handy tool, which we call the Business Model Canvas.

Introduction

Newcastle city has in the recent years grown to become one of the most vibrant cities in the UK with great shopping malls and cultural attractions, elegant Georgian architecture, first-class museums and galleries, art, music, sports and nightlife among many other features (Emms 2008). It has earned its place as one of the capitals of north, attracting an increasing number of visitors.

Of course, this was not the case in the past. If we are to recall that during the 1970s, there was an increase in unemployment following the collapse of the traditional heavy industries such as ship building, steel manufacture and coal mining (Robinson 1997). This dealt a devastating blow on the city as growth stagnated for many years. The decline in the manufacturing industry left the city with little hope for the future.

In fact, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, only a few people would have considered taking a vacation or visiting the city for a trip (Robinson 1997). But at the close of the 20th century, regeneration of the city slowly followed with increased investments. Since then, there has been an increasing number of people who visit Newcastle city to gaze upon its cultural attractions, iconic waterfronts, festivals and events, and the unique mix of modern and historic architecture (Emms 2008).

In view of the above, this paper analyzes how and why Newcastle has grown to become a city that is now. This includes conducting a brief overview of the history of the city and examining the reasons for its decline. The paper also critically discusses the nature of the city’s revival and highlights the experiences that it now offers. Finally, the paper concludes by highlighting whether the regeneration has been sustainable in its current form. In order to understand how and why Newcastle has grown to become that it is currently, it would be important to conduct a brief overview of the history of the city and examine the reasons that led to its decline.

A brief history of Newcastle

Newcastle has in the past enjoyed prosperity in the UK as a centre of shipbuilding, coal mining and heavy industry. In fact, in the late 19th century and early 20th century, this region was named as ‘the workshop of the world’ (Park 2009). During that time, the biggest source of coal could be found in Northumberland and Durham (Park 2009). However, after World War II, a crisis occurred in the region that led to the collapse of the manufacturing economy.

Following the end of Second World War, there was a collapse of two of the most important industries in the region: coal and shipbuilding (Park 2009). Newcastle lost prosperity in shipbuilding and the UK subsequently lost its position as a strong supplier of ships to the rest of the world. Countries such as Sweden and Japan emerged as strong shipbuilders and challenged UK’s strong position in the shipbuilding industry (Moffat & Rosie 2005). Between 1960 and 1965, the shipbuilding industry in the UK felt by 17% whereas the Japanese shipbuilding industry experienced a growth of over 200% (Vall 2001: 59).

There was also a collapse of the coal industry during the post-war period even though its heyday lasted a little longer unlike the shipbuilding industry (Park 2009). Nonetheless many pits were closed down in the 1960s as a result of exhaustion and other economic reasons. The growth of other alternatives such as oil and gas led to a decrease in the demand for coal, a situation that led to the collapse of the coal industry and increased unemployment in the region (Park 2009). With the manufacturing industry that brought prosperity to the region collapsing, this led to a decline in the economy.

Since the 1970s, Newcastle has had to struggle with the declining situation of the traditional heavy industries. With the collapse of its manufacturing economy, it was clear that the traditional heavy industries in the region would no longer contribute to the success of Newcastle. After Newcastle lost its industrial base, it had to struggle for decades before its regeneration. Newcastle’s regeneration occurred in the late 20th century with the transformation of the area into a commercial, leisure and residential hub (Emms 2008).

This regeneration transformed the city whilst retaining its rich historic fabric (EU report 2007). The city has today a rich historic fabric with approximately 2000 listed buildings, 1 historic Battlefield, 14 Scheduled Ancient Monuments, 11 designated Conservation Areas and 7 Registered Parks and Gardens (EU report 2007). Newcastle city is also home to one of UK’s 21st century social housing developments, the Byker Estate (EU 2007).

How Newcastle City was renewed

Regeneration of Grainger Town

As a part of a regeneration programme of Newcastle city, the Grainger Town project was established in 1997 with the aim of addressing the declining growth in the city and reversing the trend (EU 2007). Led by Grainger Town partnership, this ambitious ˆ178.5m project was part of the holistic approach towards ensuring urban regeneration. This project combined ˆ59.5m of public funding, grant aids from government departments, and a small amount from English Heritage, and Newcastle City Council (EU 2007).

Back in the days, Grainger Town was an area that attracted a number of tourists but in the early 1990s, the economic base of this once prosperous area of the city declined significantly (Howe 2013). According to a detailed audit and assessment conducted in 1992, the area exhibited many symptoms of urban decay including the vacant floorspace, low standards of public realm, decreasing residential population, a high percentage of buildings at risk and a general lack of investor and occupier confidence (EU 2007).

Based on the findings obtained from the audit, Newcastle City Council came together with English Heritage to develop a programme of conservation-led property development. This programme helped in tackling the problem of buildings at risk and halted the spiral of decline by utilizing the rich architectural assets in the area (EU report 2007). In 1996, both parties felt that the area could not take care of itself and as such it had to be managed. Whilst Grainger town was largely acknowledged as possessing the potential to revive economic growth in the city, the main issue was how Grainger town was going to be managed to ensure regeneration in a way that is sustainable.

In 1996, consultants were commissioned to carry out an ‘in-depth’ analysis of the area and to produce a regeneration strategy for Grainger Town (EU 2007). This included conducting a detailed building audit in the area. They found that the area represented a complex urban system and as such, regeneration had to be done in a ‘holistic’ manner that would ensure respect to the fine grain nature. They thus agreed on the Grainger Town project driven by a ‘civic vision’ and based on 7 inter-related regeneration themes:

Business and enterprise development
Social housing development
Quality of environment – improvements in major public realm along with installation of public art and creative lighting schemes (EU 2007)
Non-housing property development
Creation of jobs and increasing access to opportunities
Arts, culture and tourism: organizing of promotional events, arts and culture and fostering tourism (EU 2007).
Increasing investment in ‘heritage’

This project turned out to be a huge success. However, this was not without challenges. Problems such as poor perception of the area and issues of multiple property ownership held back investment and slowed the process of regeneration (Tallon 2009). But these problems were addressed through promotion and marketing which reversed the perceptions of the area and encouraged investors and property developers to increase their stake in Grainger Town. Thus, whilst the project faced some hurdles, it turned out to be a success in the long run.

Grainger Town is today the historic heart of Newcastle city covering approximately 36 hectares and comprising of a mix of buildings of architectural and historical importance (Tallon 2009). Its takes its name from the classical streets of Tyneside conceived and built by Richard Grainger during the 1830s (Smith 2006). Also included in the area are the Mediaeval Dominican Friary of the 13th century, Victorian Buildings and remnants of the old Town Walls (EU report 2007).

Regeneration of Newcastle Quayside.

Sir Terry Farrell, a British architect, also appears to have played a dominant role in the regeneration of Newcastle quayside. The quayside in Newcastle upon Tyne which was once a busy commercial dockside has in the recent years become run-down and redeveloped to provide an environment for modern arts, music and culture (Emms 2008). Along with the new housing developments, the Quayside has become a top ten attraction in Newcastle.

The regeneration of the quayside following Terry Farrells master plan of 1991 has resulted in the acclaimed Millennium Bridge, Baltic art gallery, and development of a Regional Music Centre (Emms 2008). As a result of the regeneration, Newcastle Quayside has become a major focus for leisure with concerts, music, art and ship events conducted on the Quayside.

Cultural regeneration

Cultural regeneration also appears to have played a role in attaining the City’s new status. In 2000, Newcastle councils formed a partnership with Gateshead in order to pursue a shared ambition of ensuring cultural regeneration with the aim of promoting the area as a tourist destination (SERIO 2010). More recently, a strong partnership was established that involves the private, public and third sectors with the aim of pushing the cultural agenda forward despite, have lost the European Capital of Cultural bid (SERIO 2010). In 2006, Newcastle launched the Cultural Leadership Programme and rolled it out region-wide (SERIO 2010). Through such cultural programmes, the city has been able to reach to people of all spectrums and experienced an increase in visitors.

However, whether cultural developments have led to the regeneration of urban cities is a question that has been debated by many authors. Could it be true that cultural regeneration in the city has changed the image of Newcastle and increased tourism in the areaThis new trend that involves a combination of culture and urban regeneration is not only done in Newcastle, but occurs across the globe with many national governments adopting culture-led urban regeneration approach (Gibson & Stevenson 2004).

Whilst this approach has gained increasing importance over the past few years, there seems to be paucity in research with regard to the impact of culture on urban development. It is easy to conclude that cultural developments help increase tourism activity in cities, yet it is hard to identify quantitative or qualitative evidence indicating the direct impacts of cultural developments on tourism as the nature of visitors’ activities and consumption is often complex (Park 2009). As argued by Bianchini (1994), culture can be used by politicians as a ‘carnival mask’ for concealing social problems.

A number of other authors including Mcguigan (1996) and Bailey et al (2004) have questioned whether culture can indeed contribute to urban development. Bailey et al (2004) argues that the impact of culture-led regeneration on the economy is uncertain and that culture-led regeneration programmes have been based on assumptions rather than concrete evidence. In a similar vein, Miles (2005) pose a question about the evidence used by city councils in deciding on cultural investment.

Of importance to point out is that infrastructural development has been part of the regeneration and rebranding of Newcastle city. As such, it is hard to identify whether the trend of increasing visitors relates specifically to cultural and heritage development or infrastructural development. With that said, could culture-led urban regeneration have contributed to the transformation of the city into leisure, commercial and residential hubThis remains a question that needs further documentation.

Nonetheless, over the past two decades, the city of Newcastle has had co-ordinated strategies for investment in arts and culture (EU report 2007). This has been based on a shared belief that investment in arts and culture would help the city recover from its social and economic problems. And indeed, there have been an increasing number of visitors who have toured the area over the last 10 years (Robinson 2003).

Economic impacts of regeneration

Development of transport infrastructure

The growing number of tourist visitors has contributed positively to the growth of local transport infrastructure. Although the city initially had a well established railway system (Metro) in the 1970s and a local airport, the growth in the number of visitors, the growth of the vibrant city centre and population has acted as a catalyst for growth and development of transport infrastructure (Robinson 2003).

In fact, Newcastle International Airport is one of Britain’s fastest growing regional airports. In 2007 alone, the air passenger figures were estimated at around 5.7 million passengers (Robinson 2003). Forecasts also predict that by 2016, the airport passenger figure could rise up to a high of 9.5 million passengers (Robinson 2003). When easyJet started its operations in Newcastle in 2003, it heralded the start of the low-cost phenomenon in the North East and led to an increase in airport passenger figures.

Further, the plans to develop a new 4* luxury hotel at the airport which were unveiled in 2006 and is currently underway will no doubt increase the number of visitors (Robinson 2003). In addition, significant investment has been made to the cruise ships in the port of Tyne in Newcastle. In between 2004 and 2007, there was an increase in the number of cruise ships by 162.5%. A further ?5million investment on cruise ships has been made in the new Northumbria Quay

Business tourism

Newcastle has also seen a significant growth in business tourism in the past 10 years particularly in the conventions and meetings market (PCG 2009). Not only is this important in terms of economic benefit gained through conferences, but research has also shown that over 40% of this business visitors’ return to the same destination for leisure visits (PCG 2009). This growth in Business tourism has resulted due to improved perception of Newcastle as exciting conference destination, and due to increasing number of conference facilities and hotels as well as improvement in travel links to North East England (PCG 2009).

If we are to recall, in 2002, Newcastle did not even appear among the top destinations as revealed by the UK Conference Market Survey. But three years down the line, it emerged 6th in the top destinations used by corporate markets (Robinson 2003). The conference industry contributes significantly to the economy of North East England. According to estimates, around?100million is collected every year through conference and meetings in this region (Robinson 2003).

Job creation

The regeneration process has resulted in the growth of hospitality sector which subsequently has created more jobs for the local communities. As a result of regeneration of Newcastle city, leisure and business tourism has increased in the area driving development in hotel and transport infrastructure and increasing the number of job opportunities available in the hospitality industry (John 2009).

Social impacts of regeneration

Increased cohesion

The cultural programme in Newcastle has also brought together people and created a strong sense of cohesion. This programme has brought together people of Newcastle to develop events and festivals that shine a light on their cultural activities and beautiful natural iconography (Robinson 2003). Key to successful cohesion has been the involvement of the young people in the regeneration process (City council report 2012). The city council has implemented a programme that ensures the participation and engagement of young people in the regeneration process. The cultural sector has also been challenged by the government to support the cohesion agenda through offering programmes that support interculturalism and through establishing a team of skilled staff that co-ordinate cohesion activity (City council report 2012).

Improved social status of the locals

Further the local community have benefited from Newcastle New Deal for Communities (NDC), an ambitious ?55 million programme that was established in 2000 to transform the inner West End (City council report 2012). This programme has successfully implemented a range of schemes including enhancing provision of childcare, improving housing and reducing crime rate. The success of the programme has been achieved through involvement of the local residents in decision making, investment in community capacity-building and by working effectively with other partners to address issues from a strategic approach (City council report 2012). Other important social impacts of the regeneration include a change in the image and reputation of Newcastle City, a change in residents’ perception of the area and an increase in social capital (Robinson 2003).

Disadvantages of regeneration

The regeneration process, however, is not without its drawbacks. Whilst commendable, the urban renewal strategy which has been implemented in Newcastle is likely to disadvantage its own growth and development. Recently, Lake Macquarie Council raised concerns that Newcastle’s ongoing urban renewal strategy could stunt growth of the rest of the region (Cronshaw 2013). In March this year, the council made a submission seeking assurances that the $200 million plan for the renewal of the city will not impact on the availability of funds in other areas of the region (Cronshaw 2013).

Also, the proposal to limit business expansion outside of the CBD is likely to stifle growth in other areas of the region (Cronshaw 2013). By focusing solely on the CBD, there is a higher possibility that growth in other areas of the region could come to a standstill. The state and federal government should ensure that a focus on regeneration of the Newcastle city is not going to be at the expense of growth in other parts of the region (Cronshaw 2013).

A further drawback to the regeneration has been an increase in gas emissions which is likely to contribute to global warming. The concentration of development in the inner-city and the increase in population migrating to the city for employment, business activities and leisure will no doubt that increase the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere (Bulkeley & Betsil 2005). But these emissions to the environment are significantly lower than that of an industrial base. It remains to be seen whether this concentration of development will have significant environment impacts in practice.

What the future holds?

Despite these drawbacks, the transformation of Newcastle City has been commendable. Newcastle city has rebranded itself from a rundown manufacturing based city to a vibrant city with elegant architecture, great cultural attractions and rich historic fabric (Park 2009). However, it remains questionable whether the regeneration is going to be sustainable.

More recently, the city council unveiled its plans to withdraw all of its grants that it normally provides to 11 organizations in the city, raising doubts about the sustainability of tourism in the area (Higgins 2013). Such cuts will likely to put Newcastle’s cultural renaissance at risk. Clark-Jenkins, the regional director of Arts Council England, in fact points out that whilst recognizing the need to reduce the budget of the city council, the move to cut investments in arts will put the city’s cultural renaissance at risk (Higgins 2013).

Against the view that of a lack of evidence base linking culture-led regeneration with urban development, it should be noted that sustained investment in culture has in the past decade made Newcastle a centre of culture and home to the most treasured and exciting galleries, museums and theatres. Should the council cut investments in culture by 100%, all of this will be put at risk.

Conclusion

It is clear from the above that regeneration of Newcastle has been attributable to culture-led regeneration programmes, increased investment in heritage, and regeneration of Grainger Town and Newcastle Quayside. The regeneration of the city has no doubt significantly contributed to the economy in terms of development of transport infrastructure, business tourism, and job creation. Further, the cultural programme in Newcastle has increased cohesion, improved health and well being of local residents and changed the image and reputation of Newcastle city.

But this has not been without drawbacks. Concerns have been raised about the likelihood of the renewal strategy to stunt growth of the rest of the region. The proposal to limit business expansion outside of the CBD and the focus on regeneration of the city at the expense of other areas is likely to disadvantage growth and development. Further, the concentration of developments in the inner-city may have implications on the environment.

Also, considering that sustained investment in culture had made Newcastle a centre of culture and home to the most treasured and exciting galleries, museums and theatres; the move to cut investments in arts is likely to stifle future growth. Nonetheless, the regeneration is sustainable in its current form.

Reference

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