The concept of revitalization made its début within the localized context between 1993 to 2003 and is evident in Cato Manor, Warwick Junction and iTrump initiatives in the Durban South African context. The concept and its benefactors encourage others in and around the city to utilize it as a tool promoting self sufficiency and sustainability within developing and developed neighborhoods. Sparks, as an example of a neighborhood within the jurisdiction of the Ethekwini Municipality, has played a part in the process. The difficulty of the area is that it has all the facilities and services of a functioning neighborhood but when one looks closer, a different reality exists. The study proposes to examine the blockages preventing an effective functioning of a cohesive, co-ordinated and harmonious community. The examination of revitalization taking place in Sparks is an attempt to identify factors which explain the partial revitalization observed in the neighbourhood. This study identified role players and established the characteristics of the local residents and their contribution to the revitalization process. Qualitative information was obtained through interviews with key role players including the ward Councilor, Municipality officials, residents and business owners of the area. The finding of this study revealed that Sparks as a node has all the elements to function successfully to make a good neighbourhood. The study found that the residents are not included in the revitalization decision making processes by the municipality and that there was little public participation the revitalization in the neighborhood is occurring sporadically in the form of upgrading roads, renovations on private property, installation of traffic lights and speed breakers. The revitalization in Sparks is problematic and needs to be addressed more systematically in the Municipality and by the residents of the area. The research revealed that public participation needs to be encouraged in Municipal initiated projects. The researcher concluded that revitalization needs guidance from the municipality, and that proper public participation strategies should be put in place for successful implementation. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

In 2015 a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) expanded the Localism Act in England which effectively gave neighbourhoods the power to decide on onshore wind power development in their area. By doing so, the planning process for such development ‘went local’. Literature on the effects of ‘going local’ during the planning process for onshore wind power development is conflicting. On the one hand, the involvement of local communities can lead to a higher level of trust and hence a higher success rate of development processes. On the other hand, it appears that people are often reluctant to accept wind power develompent in their own area even though they are in favour of the technology in general.  This thesis explores the effects of ‘going local’, in the form of the WMS of 2015 in England, on onshore wind power development by investigating the local and neighbourhood plans, as well as the planning applications, in the administrative County of Cornwall with the help of qualitative document analysis and a thematic analysis framework provided by Braun & Clarke (2006).  The results show that currently 4 out of the 213 Parish and Town Councils in the ceremonial county of Cornwall truly comply with the WMS, which means that onshore wind power development will only be possible in these areas. The development in these and all the other neighbourhoods is limited to small-scale clusters of turbines. In addition to this, the results show that there are four over-arching aspects that play a role in the decision-making process of neighbourhoods: i) benefits for the neighbourhood, ii) negative impacts on the neighbourhood area, iii) socio-political attitude, and iv) conditions set by the neighbourhoods or local authorities.  The results show that, with the current planning policy framework in England, onshore wind power development will be limited to a significant extent in terms of size and possible locations. The conflicting literature on ‘going local’ reappears in the planning documents and a broad range of factors plays a role for all the neighbourhoods. The given weighting to the different factors is what determines a neighbourhood’s stance on onshore wind power development.