Following the development of the Maritime Quarter, a joint venture was set up between the WDA and the local authority to implement projects in the centre itself.

A strategic plan was adopted based on a series of parks with distinctive themes.

In London’s South Bank a local initiative secured a major grant for comprehensive environmental improvements.

Edinburgh is a good example of using a development trust to promote the conservation and adaptive reuse of the historic city centre.

Cardiff City Centre serves a relatively small population, and like many British towns has found it difficult to keep the centre alive at night.

Cities in Australia are having to face the challenges of dispersal by broadening their roles and by improving the quality of their centres.

A three day festival drawing attention to the historic industrial area close to the city centre has grown into an annual event covering the whole city.

The contraction of heavy industry on which parts of Britain and Southern Belgium once depended have brought similar problems to their towns.

A pioneering renewal scheme was set up by the city and the Scottish Development Agency, providing small-scale environmental improvements and reversing long-term population decline in the centre.

Horsham, a pleasant market town, has made great efforts recently to highlight its character as a traditional country town. .

Today the city is attempting to create places where people with choice want to live.

A £20 million strategy for upgrading the town centre was approved with 50% funding from the Government.

Like a number of Scottish cities, the city centre has benefited from a considerable investment programme .

The Main Street Programme is a national programme which has evolved from simple policies of conservation and enhancement of the built environment to a highly successful comprehensive approach to business/commercial development and developing the capacity of voluntary groups.

A county wide programme to improve town centres in Kent, brings together expertise in urban design and economic development.

When law and order began to deteriorate in 1987 a partnership was set up between the local authority, police and business leaders.

Scottish initiatives are regarded as successful because there is a willingness to experiment and learn from innovative projects.

The Council has promoted a major scheme to improve links between the shopping centre and the railway station.

Consultation following a review by the Commission for New Towns revealed a desire to see smaller, independent units, small squares and open spaces, and a usable public realm with more variety emerged as repeated themes..

The Council’s strategy for halting and reversing the decline was focused on two key initiatives: the introduction of town centre management, and the development of new retail and leisure space .

Well-designed traffic calming schemes can restore towns to life.

The City Centre Company Limited (in Coventry) was the first private company in the UK to take responsibility for the management and promotion of a town centre.

Horsham has won a number of awards for its comprehensive improvements to the town centre .

In Ramsgate traffic calming and street enhancements were a fundamental part of the strategy of reclaiming the town's elegant past. .

Borehamwood is one of a number of Hertfordshire towns that have been transformed by traffic calming and environmental enhancement measures..