Taipei, Dec. 4 (CNA) Local officials and land developers were keen to learn from the experience in the United Kingdom during a conference Tuesday as several major urban regeneration projects are being implemented in various regions throughout Taiwan.
"We don't have enough experience in major urban redevelopment here in Taiwan. That is why we're having this conference to learn from the U.K., which has enjoyed success in this field and developed its expertise, " said Charles Lin, Director-General of Construction and Planning Agency (CPA).
Lin said that the conference, co-organized by the CPA and the British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO) in Taipei, would bring valuable knowledge and experience to the participants who are expected to be engaged in many projects in the future.
"Urban regeneration is not easy and it can be expensive. But it's an important task for any modern country, " BTCO Director Michael Reilly said, adding that he was glad that up to 10 regions had been selected to undertake such urban transformation.
With many successful cases in the United States and the U.K., such as the Canary Wharf business district in London and Cardiff in Wales, Taiwan will launch its own multibillion dollar urban regeneration projects at the end of year, including renovation of railway stations in Hsinchu, Keelung, Chiayi and Kaohsiung Port and Taipei's Huakuang Community adjoining the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall, Lin said.
During the industrial revolution and after the years of World War II, a lot of large scale and cheap housing projects were built without consideration of the cultural and social context, which is why urban renewal was introduced, said Rupert Robinson, Board Director of the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA).
Urban regeneration could lead to destruction of buildings, relocation of people, and sometimes expropriation to make available private property. It also involved many parties, including the government, developers and residents, and covered a broad range of social, economical and cultural contexts, Robinson said.
Dialogue with communities and reaching a consensus were extremely important to the process, said Shawn Riley, who also serves as BURA's Board Director.
"Developers and the government had to tell the residents exactly which part of town needed to be regenerated first and what the town would be like in phase one, two and three so they had a clear picture of what the future would be, " Riley said.
The government was also expected to use infrastructure as an enabler and attract investment from private sectors under a well-structured financing plan so all parties could benefit from regeneration plans, Robinson added.
In Taiwan, the government should be very careful with the role it plays during the process because resources are limited, Lin pointed out.
"We have to make it right, not spread it out, " he said.