Decline, destruction and divides: Active citizenship and regeneration in seaside towns

拟议的研究将有助于增进关于海滨城镇复兴的知识，与城市相比，海滨城镇是一个研究不足的领域。它将评估沿海社区基金(2012-2021年)的影响，并审议社区主导倡议的成果。这项研究的一个关键贡献将是整合经济、社会、环境、政治和文化成果，因此，为倾向于优先考虑经济成果的有关复兴的论述提供亟需的平衡。积极的公民身份，在本研究中被广泛地定义为居民为改善住所和福祉而采取的行动，将作为再生政策的替代重点进行探索。哈维的创造性破坏和新自由主义面具的概念将应用于北部海滨城镇惠特利湾和斯卡伯勒，确定在区域后工业化衰落的背景下，地方层面与重建相关的不平衡发展和隐藏结果的程度。该方法借鉴了马克思在两个层面上分析社会的模式：首先，将通过次级数据分析和观察确定海滨小镇重建中似乎正在发生的事情；其次，将通过与参与重建的利益攸关方一起采用参与性方法，确定表面下正在发生的更深层次的叙述。结合学术和利益相关者的知识和实践，这项研究将探索再生政策如何演变为包含整体结果。这项研究将超越目前评估政策实施资金阶段的方法，开发指导和资源，使组织能够评估再生的长期影响。

The proposed research will contribute to knowledge on the regeneration of seaside towns, an under-researched area in comparison to cities. It will assess the impacts of the Coastal Community Fund (2012-2021) and consider outcomes of communityled initiatives. A key contribution of the research will be to integrate economic, social, environmental, political and cultural outcomes, and, therefore, provide much needed balance to discourses about regeneration that tend to prioritise economic outcomes. Active citizenship, defined broadly for the purpose of this research as action by residents to improve place and wellbeing, will be explored as an alternative focus for regeneration policy. Harvey's concepts of creative destruction and the neo-liberal mask will be applied to the northern seaside towns of Whitley Bay and Scarborough, determining the extent of uneven development and hidden outcomes associated with regeneration at the local level, within the context of regional postindustrial decline. The methodology draws upon the Marxian mode of analysing society at two levels: firstly what appears to be happening in seaside town regeneration will be identified through secondary data analysis and observation; and secondly, deeper narratives of what is happening beneath the surface, will be identified by adopting participatory methods with stakeholders involved in regeneration. Combining academic and stakeholder knowledge and practice, the research will explore how regeneration policy can evolve to encompass holistic outcomes. Moving beyond the current approach of evaluating the funded phases of policy implementation, the research will develop guidance and resources to enable organisations to evaluate long-term impacts of regeneration.