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‘An Urban Example: The fall and rise of Sheffield's Lower Don Valley’
Ian D. Rotherham Sheffield Hallam University, UK © Ian D. Rotherham 2015
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Ebenezer Elliot, 1836 ‘Don, like a weltering worm, lies blue below,
And Wincobank, before me, rising green, Calls from the South the silvery Rother slow, And smile on moors beyond, and meads between, Unrivall’d landscape’
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In 1546, the ancient chapel at Attercliffe was still in use and the curate of Rotherham, the major town and main ecclesiastical centre, would come to his flock when it was too wet for them to come to him ‘…….. to mynistre to the seke people, as when the waters of the Rothere and Downe [DON] are so urgent that the curate of Rotherham cannot to them repayre, nor the inhabitants unto hym nether on horseback or bote……’ (Hunter, 1819).
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Positive Planning Interventions & Transformation
Environmental improvement & greening Strategic infrastructural transformation Sport mega-events Leisure retail Entertainment Image & Perception transformation
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Welcome to Sheffield, South Yorkshire and the River Don
Sheffield is a remarkable city It grew in under 200 years, from around 10,000 people to over 300,000. A capital of world industry it covers around 300 square kilometres of varied landform – centred around a series of river valleys and hills. Over 80 ancient woods, extensive heather moorland and bog, urban relict grasslands, and remarkable post-industrial sites.
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A City of Rivers and Valleys running from the high western ground down to the lowlands
Like the spokes of a wheel and converging on the city centre Forms a network of natural green corridors and allows the persistence of semi-natural wildlife areas into the heart of the City
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Sheffield and South Yorkshire - the English north midlands - POWERHOUSE OF THE GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. © Ian D. Rotherham 2010
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Lower Don Valley Peak National Park Sheffield City Centre
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The greater city region
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The Consequences of Success
Economic Social Environmental © Ian D. Rotherham 2010
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A DIRTY CITY in a GOLDEN FRAME
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The Legacy 250 years of heavy industry
Widespread legacy of depopulated and derelict urban industrial lands © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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Heavy Metals etc © Ian D. Rotherham 2010
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In the 1970s and 1980s …… It was the river that provided the focus for the first community action to clean and green the valley and to reclaim the watercourse for access and recreation.
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Housing abandoned and demolished
Huge tracts of dirty, derelict and despoiled land and water Some contamination was so bad that site access - where people formerly lived and worked – now restricted to decontamination workers + protective bodysuits. Serious economic decline + unemployment 20-30% Poor self-image Cleaner air – eventually After catastrophic smogs of industrial and domestic coal burning killed thousands of people in the 1950s and legislation was enacted to control emissions © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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FILMS: The Full Monty (1997) Brassed Off (1996)
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A Post-industrial Renaissance
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New buildings …….. © Ian D. Rotherham 2010
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Key Drivers: Social Triggers Environmental Triggers Economic Catalysts
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These included: Greening the industrial heartlands such as the Lower Don Valley Development private sector led retail experiences particularly at Meadowhall Shopping Centre Hosting the World Student Games in 1991 The establishment of the short-lived Sheffield Development Corporation (in 1988) with government money to grant-aid projects and with fast-track planning powers © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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And……. Establishing Countryside Management Areas (1984) to support environmental improvements and community projects Establishing the South Yorkshire Community Forest (in 1991) with government grant aid to support community and environmental renewal Accessing government Derelict Land Grants to clean up and green the dereliction © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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Economic Triggers: Branding Sheffield as the UK CITY OF SPORT and hosting major events and also long-term coaching and training centres for elite athletes Promoting major cultural events such as concerts and festivals in the facilities provided by the WORLD STUDENT GAMES 1991 © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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Transformation Completed?
Restoration and reclamation of derelict lands – turning liabilities into assets New housing and changed socio-economic profiles – long-term regional transitions New environmental initiatives New investment and growth of emerging economic sectors © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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People and Communities Transformed
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Key Economic Growth Hubs:
EDUCATION - with two major universities and 50,000 students – many tourists from overseas TOURISM - educational tourism, cultural and sports tourism, countryside tourism and recreation, National Park visiting, heritage tourism, nature reserves SPORTS – events, tourism, training & education, community-engagement, business RETAIL LEISURE – Meadowhall etc © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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Examples of Key Growth-poles for New Economic Drivers:
PEAK NATIONAL PARK – 25 million visitors per year MEADOWHALL SHOPPING CENTRE – biggest shopping mall in Europe SHEFFIELD ARENA – major sporting, entertainment and events venue DON VALLEY STADIUM – major sporting, training, entertainment and events venue MAGNA – museum, venue and exhibition centre in former steel works © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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FUTURE CHALLENGES ‘Ecosystem services’ ‘Green infrastructure’
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Assessment and Evaluation
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’ (SD) ‘TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE’ (TBL) – economy, environment and society © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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To Trigger the Benefits – need to engage local people
Sheffield ‘Fright Night’ © Ian D. Rotherham 2010
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FROM THIS © Ian D. Rotherham 2010
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TO THIS © Ian D. Rotherham 2010
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CHALLENGES Need to invest - CAPITAL
Need to create ‘opportunities to spend’ - REVENUE PARTNERSHIPS to achieve this © Ian D. Rotherham 2011
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And finally, what of the River?
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Urban Figs, Knotweed and Otters
A recombinant ecology
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