Urban renewal is a program of land re-development in areas of moderate to high density urban land use.
It can be envisaged as the physical and infrastructural changes in land use, built environment or intensity of the use of land or building that could be considered as inevitable outcome of the action from economic, social, political, technical and environmental forces acting upon urban areas at different times of its existence. It is a program designed to help communities improve and revitalize areas that have deteriorated, are unsafe and/ or show signs of economic or physical conditions that are detrimental to the community as a whole.
Urban renewal could be in the form of:
-Physical change: Part of land is developed as a multistory building.
-Infrastructural change: widening of roads, introduction of metro-rail, etc.
-Change in land use: function of building changes, keeping the structure same eg residential to commercial
-Change in built form: increase in no. of storeys.
-Change in environment: congestion on road cleared, trees planted , garbage removed, etc.
In the second half of the 20th century, renewal often resulted in the creation of urban sprawl and vast areas of cities being demolished and replaced by freeways and expressways, housing projects, and vacant lots, some of which still remain vacant at the beginning of the 21st century. Urban renewal's effect on actual revitalization is a subject of intense debate. It is seen by proponents as an economic engine, and by opponents as a regressive mechanism for enriching the wealthy at the expense of taxpayers and the poor. It carries a high cost to existing communities, and in many cases resulted in the destruction of vibrant—if run-down —neighborhoods. Urban renewal in its original form has been called a failure by many urban planners and civic leaders, and has since been reformulated with a focus on redevelopment