Decision Support for Effective Urban Regeneration Projects: A Model Based on Community Interests - Project Costs Analysis

In the realm of public policy-making, identifying and prioritizing regeneration interventions represent a critical challenge for the development of effective strategies and actions. This requires a comprehensive approach to understanding of the interplay between physical spaces, their users, and social practices and to evaluate the convenience of different projects both in economic and social terms. Among the decision-support methods that policymakers have at their disposal there are the Participatory Cost-Benefit Analysis (PCBA) that can guide in planning and investment programs towards optimal choices. This paper presents a methodology to perform a novel PCBA, based on two criteria: (1) the declared interest of the local community in the use of a specific space and (2) the estimated economic costs of the intervention needed for using a space. An exploratory case study within the city of Cagliari (Italy) is presented to evaluate advantages and limitations in the proposed method. This study was undertaken using qualitative economic analysis and through a participatory process that involved local stakeholders as part of a large collaborative project lead by the University of Cagliari. The results provide a clearer understanding of the trade-offs/synergies involved in urban regeneration and a possible explanation of long-term poor results, which is likely to occur when investments do not consider both spatial and social dimensions. In particular, the integrated approach based on community interests and project costs can produce a more cost-effective social effects and can have a greater influence on the economic value of the intervention, representing a potential predictor of choice, over alternative scenarios.