There are new, and increasing, pressures on the coast of the island of Ireland, including, socio-economic and environmental change, exploitation of resources, urban development (including the legacy of past planning decisions) and the predicted impacts of climate change. The cumulative and interacting effect of these challenges potentially results in socio-economic and physical degeneration. Subsequently, many are seeking to rejuvenate and re-invent themselves through various regeneration schemes and investment strategies. Whilst academic and policy attention regarding coastal resort regeneration is increasing, there remains a knowledge gap regarding the effectiveness of regeneration in the coastal context. This thesis addresses this gap by utilising a resilience perspective and a multiple-case study design. Several key findings can be drawn which may be used to inform future regeneration approaches and research. First, socio-economic deprivation exists outside large urban areas and inner city neighbourhoods which have traditionally been the focus of regeneration policy and research. Importantly, traditional urban regeneration responses to decline may not be transferable to the distinctive context and conditions confronting coastal resorts. It follows that policy transfer is limited and more bespoke interventions are required. Second, the diversity of coastal resorts presents a particular challenge to devising a coastal specific response and highlights the inadequacies of a one-size-fits-a ll approach. A typology of small coastal settlements has sought to classify coastal resorts into one of six categories based on their relative socio-demographic and economic performance. This differentiation helps isolate and reflect specific coastal characteristics; providing for a more informed and consistent approach to intervention and policy development. Third, this research argues that regeneration approaches which fail to a d~n owl edge a place's resilience to future socio-economic and environmental change will fail to set the resort on a more sustainable trajectory. Thus by exploring the complimentary and co-influencing concepts of regeneration and resilience this thesis has enhanced understandings of resort resilience and advanced an all-island strategic understanding of coastal resort degeneration and regeneration. To this end, the Octagon Values Model offers a heuristic device with which to imagine a more strategic vision in securing resilient outcomes for small coastal resorts.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:673810 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | McElduff, Linda |
| Publisher | Ulster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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