'Which new lifestyles will we bring into the area?'

Desired target groups known

Step 1 defines the target groups that must be attracted to the area or that one wants to attract. One ambition that emerges at this stage is to bond more 35+ families with children to the city; another is to bond more well-educated groups with higher incomes in owneroccupied dwellings, or to provide new concepts for older people.

Identification of associated lifestyle

It is then important to identify the associated lifestyle properly. The target groups can be subdivided into various lifestyle groups. Within the target groups, it is important to define precisely the lifestyle that can be recruited to the area. Particularly at this stage, it is very important to think in terms of lifestyles, and to look for products that cater to the motives of lifestyles in the desired target groups. These products then need to be created and marketed; if this were not necessary, this target group would already be present in the neighbourhood.

In part, urban regeneration is a question of tempting new groups to move or return to the city. These are usually people with higher incomes who must be prepared to buy housing in the urban area in the face of what is often fierce competition from surrounding suburban areas. The large majority of the target group will want to stay in these suburban areas.

However, what matters is to attract precisely that part of the target group that wants to settle in the city, for example because they will then be close to a city centre, with the cultural facilities provided by the city, or because of the cultural climate in the city, or because they actually want their children to grow up in the city.

Peeling down to the niche

The result is a form of niche thinking. In order to get through to the niche(s) which might be tempted to settle in the neighbourhood, what is required is a sort of 'peeling system' in which the selected group gradually gets smaller.

This ambition must be well matched to the opportunities actually offered by the area. To do this, links must be established with:

1. the groups which may or may not be attracted by the nature of the area (consisting, in particular, of the spatial design and atmosphere, accessibility by car, the facilities in place, the possibility of re-using existing buildings with character); this can be looked at from the point of view of the here and now, or from the perspective of the future after changes have taken place in the spatial fabric as part of the urban regeneration process;
2. the new groups which may or may not be reconcilable with the lifestyles already in place (i.e. those mapped out in question 2); it is important to take a good look at how current and new lifestyles can be reconciled, or at least to prevent the lifestyles conflicting;
3. the new groups which pay little attention to the present, often negative, image, or which can be recruited on the basis of a new image yet to be created.

It is important here to match features of the urban regeneration area with the target groups and the lifestyles. This is an iterative process.

From lifestyle to products

As soon as this peeling process has led to the definition of this last, small, group, it will be possible to decide what products are really needed if the lifestyles are going to settle in the area. This will have to emerge in:

• the facilities (city culture);
• the look and the atmosphere of the surroundings (cityscape);
• to a certain extent, the type of housing; ground-plan, size and cost are linked more to the type of target group (income, age, size of household); the look of the housing is particularly lifestyle-dependent (status, architecture, view, safety).

In combination with measures for the target groups and lifestyles already settled in the neighbourhood, the result is a programme for urban regeneration. If this programme is to cater to lifestyles, it is important not only to develop steering based on functions and types of housing, but also on status, the atmosphere of the housing and the surroundings (design of public space, overall image) and facilities for recreation, sport, catering and culture (these may not necessarily have to be present: a decision may actually be taken to recruit lifestyles in which the emphasis is on peace and quiet). In other words, the programme has to provide a picture of:

• the functions;
• the cityscape (atmosphere, look);
• the city culture (facilities, activities).

The main principle is actually thinking from the needs and desires of the consumer. "Home buyers see through different eyes than do builders and architects. They want to know how liveable a house is in terms of their own lifestyle." (Lives, Inc, 1997)

If large-scale research is out of the question, it is still possible to get a better grip on them. The picture you draw should not be too specific, because then no-one fits it anymore. On the other hand, it should not be too general either, because then it will be hard to make clear choices later on.

To get a better picture of the daytime activity patterns, different thinking steps are possible. Looking at their current housing situation is an option, if that is also the desired situation for the lifestyle group. Interviewing key-figures is possible. Or, if no representatives are available, it could help to think of a typical well-known TV-character that fits the lifestyle group. What would Bridget Jones want for a house, cityscape or city culture? And what about Hyacinth Bucket?

Transition: various new lifestyle groups in phases of urban regeneration

Urban regeneration plans often look only at the current situation, and the new image that will be in place twenty years from now. Urban regeneration processes are, however, often long and they do not result in the immediate replacement of the old image by the new one. What is often missing is an idea of how to establish the new image.

In terms of lifestyle classifications, it is therefore more important in the early stages to turn to pioneering groups rather than conservative groups. The group being recruited will want to have the feeling of being pioneers and need not necessarily want to be in the most luxurious housing straightaway. The group is also attracted to the urban area because they find something there which is not present in suburban areas. It is only when the pioneers have settled and begin to propagate a new, positive image of their area that the groups which attach less importance to innovation will follow them.