Urban Problems since 1979: The Conservative Approach

Abstract

This chapter will focus on the general approach which post-1979 Conservative governments adopted towards urban regeneration. We will cover the following themes: • The general ideas which informed urban policy during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. This will entail a general discussion of Thatcherism.

• The state of Britain’s cities in 1979 and the nature of urban problems as they evolved during the 1980s.

• The key themes which the Conservatives stressed in their attempt to translate theory into the practice of urban regeneration. In particular we will be concerned with how a ‘free-market’ approach affected the definition of urban regeneration and led to the prioritorisation of urban economic regeneration and the domination of a strategy of property-led regeneration.