User:Nataliem543/sandbox

= Sustainable Development in Swansea =

Introduction
This Wikipedia page suggests how Swansea has made efforts in the following:

·        Economic sustainability

·        Social sustainability

·        Cultural sustainability

Swansea is a coastal city and county situated in the Gower peninsular (South Wales). With a population of 310,051 it is the second largest in Wales. Swansea is home to one of eight Enterprise zones in Wales created to give entrepreneurs and companies the ‘best possible conditions’ for these up and coming businesses to thrive. The post-industrial city of Swansea has a unique heritage as it was once Wales’ capital city, smelting copper having the nickname ‘Copperopolis’ (Hughes, S. 2000). Swansea eventually lost the title of capital to Cardiff in 1955. Sully Rodgers discussed the three Wales model in depth in the paper ’Still three Wales? Social location and electoral behaviour in contemporary Wales’ basing his views on class, language and national identity. This model has Swansea firmly situated in the Welsh-Wales ‘bracket’ of Wales. This seems to be agreeable as one in six people being Welsh speakers in Swansea which falls in line with the 19% average of Wales showing there is still a sizeable Welsh speaking population in Swansea (around 5600) and has been shortlisted to hold the 2021 ‘City of Culture’. Despite this recognition, Swansea has a homelessness problem standing at 6% in comparison with 4% for the rest of the UK. An extra 2% may not seem that high but it is a 50% increase from 2017. Swansea has several initiatives in place to combat these issues, listed below.

Economic Sustainability
Enterprise Zones (EZ) provide business with ‘financial incentives… to locate in economically distressed areas.’ (Givord et al., 2018, p.149)

According to Bromley & Thomas (1987) ‘Customers are attracted by the good access which is a basic feature of a retail park.’ Considering the purpose of enterprise zones (to attract business and encourage investment) the Swansea Enterprise Zone Retail Park was an effective means for business to expand as the improvements to infrastructure allowed for the straightforward delivery of goods and also allow for good public accessibility. However, Bromley & Thomas (1987) also note that there is a high correlation between retail parks and visitors who arrived by car. A survey of Swansea Enterprise Zone Retail Park by Bromley & Thomas (1987) reported that ’93 per cent’ of customers arrived by car. It can extrapolated that this impacts upon the accessibility of the retail park despite the improvements to the infrastructure. Furthermore the sustainability of this may be in question as it does not allow for a wide enough base of people to access the site if the future generations are more dependent on public transport.

In relation to spatial planning many of the major retail parks associated with enterprise zones, such as Llanelli and Neath are all situated on the outskirts of the city of Swansea. As mentioned above, this may impact upon the sustainability of how accessible these out of town shopping areas are. Leading on from this, out of town shopping centres may lead to the decline of inner city high streets. This is known as the “doughnut effect” and is defined by Prada-Trigoas (2014) as .“...Urban decline in city centres and suburban growth…”

Many people prefer to do their shopping indoors in areas which are easily accessible and often have free parking.

While there is no universally accepted definition for ‘tourism’ according to Buhalis et al. (2000) ‘...planning should be placed at the heart of tourism.’ Designing a tourism sector in a post-industrial city such as Swansea which is sustainable is ideal as it will provide the population with a supply of well paying jobs. Furthermore if it is designed appropriately it will provide year round job certainty for a large proportion working in the tourist industry as it may eliminate annual variations in employment. For example fewer people being employed in the winter months due to the lower tourist population.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Wales was concentrated in previously industrial cities, such as Swansea in order to combat the effects of deindustrialisation. Large businesses and multinational companies frequently provide many opportunities for employment when they invest in developing in a town or city. As well as the influx of employment, like Enterprise Zones, FDI brings opportunities for local development through the improvement of infrastructure. According to Brooksbank et al. (2001) Table 4 shows that the Valley’s area percentage of the 1995 GDP for manufacturing was considerably higher than most other industries at 31.5%.

Social Sustainability
Data from the ONS shows that as of 2017 Swansea has the highest unemployment levels in the UK with figures of an average of 6%. In comparison the UK national average is 4%. This high level of unemployment may have links to the city’s industrial past with many steel factories being forced to close.(Kollmeyer & Pichler, 2013) This left many people who have exclusively manual labour skills without work. There are multiple organisations which support those in search of work in Swansea. Many of these organisations cater specific help for minority groups such as disabled and vulnerable people. For example Chwarae Teg focuses on gender equality and women in influential rolls, and Cyfle Cymru which offers help to people with substance misuse issues. These groups do not only help with unemployment issues but ensures that Swansea is an inclusive city and encourages a diverse workplace by preventing any possible discrimination.

The issue of homelessness is also prevalent in Swansea with around 15 rough sleepers on average per night as of January 2019. This could be linked to the high levels of unemployment. Swansea council has recognised this as an issue and has set up a strategy including five objectives as part of a detailed action plan. This action plan includes guidelines on how homeless people should be treated, and an increase in emergency accommodation for rough sleepers. Preventative measures are also taken into consideration by improved access of support for those at risk of homelessness through issues such as addiction and mental health issues.

Swansea's urban regeneration strategy has a strong emphasis on revitalising day and night time economy by expanding the residential function of the city centre. This was first evidenced by the protection of housing stocks in the late 1970’s by the local authority. In the past 20 years there has also been an introduction of new housing in the city centre. However, this reintroduction of housing into the city centre has failed to contribute to improving social and commercial aspects.

Swansea has introduced various different housing schemes for inner city housing focusing on building on existing derelict sites, thus improving the look of the city. Tallon (2005) found that 53% of households in Swansea city centre had no one in active employment suggesting that the city council should move its focus from regeneration through housing schemes to regeneration through employment opportunities.

Cultural Sustainability
Swansea, formerly the capital of Wales, is now a post-industrial city which has a predominantly non-Welsh speaking Welsh identity. Despite this, Swansea has a Welsh Language Scheme that was implemented in 2016 and as many as one in six people in Swansea speak Welsh.

As the second largest city in Wales, the influence of globalisation has been great which may suggest why many residents choose to speak English on a daily basis over Welsh despite being the more northern Welsh city where strong Welsh identity tends to be more prevalent. Much of Swansea is now an enterprise zone but industrial heritage and reclamation is promoted in its industrial legacy” (Watkins & Herbert, 2003, p.253 - 254). Swansea boasts six significant the Lower Swansea Valley and Swansea’s “function as a seaside resort is almost as old as libraries and archives (such as the National Waterfront Museum Library) which explore the past and heritage of the city allowing the locals and tourists alike to learn more about what makes Swansea. Furthermore, Swansea had been shortlisted to host city of culture in 2021 but has sadly lost out which is a blow to the city which has rich heritage from both the industrial and post-industrial stages of its history with many landmarks showcasing this. In reaction to this, the local council have said “culture could be at the heart of the city’s regeneration and communities in the coming years.”

The city holds very little in the way of Welsh governance as The Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales have their main offices in Cardiff. This leads to less of an impact from devolution as Swansea can often be overlooked in favour of Cardiff which is often no different to how it was before devolution. In addition to this Swansea could be seen as an almost copy of Cardiff as it has many of the same features including parts of the bay and some of the newer buildings. This in turn leads to a city centre which seems to have a lack of individuality and culture especially if one has visited Cardiff first.

Another issue Swansea often has in regards to national identity is many large events are not held there but in the capital. As a common “mass public culture” (Smith, 1991) is an important element in all forms of national identity this means that having less events held here leads to Swansea feeling void of identity especially as much of it essentially copies Cardiff. One thing Swansea has going for it is the football culture which brings people together and gives an intense feeling of unity as well as emphasises provides the mass public culture mentioned above. In addition, Swansea University is a fairly high ranking university which brings an influx of people from around the UK, Europe and the world and has been “making a difference since 1920”(Swansea University). Having a prestigious university boosts local businesses and allows young people to socialise with people and cultures from around the world as well as getting an education.

Swansea has several strategies in place to ensure its future is sustainable in terms of the individual culture of the place, future economic plans and social ingenuity. Within these plans there is a strong emphasis to tackle the issues of high unemployment and homelessness with funds coming directly from the Welsh Government. Keeping and expanding the Welsh cultural heritage of this city is also a big focus for the Welsh Government, introducing the Welsh Language Scheme in 2016 pushing for a resurgence of the Welsh language strengthening the Welsh national Identity. As places are essentially become closer with modern travel, places are at risk of becoming homogenised. There is an importance to keeping places unique as tourism can be a large contributor to local economies.

Summary
Swansea has several strategies in place to ensure its future is sustainable in terms of the individual culture of the place, future economic plans and social ingenuity. Within these plans there is a strong emphasis to tackle the issues of high unemployment and homelessness with funds coming directly from the Welsh Government. Keeping and expanding the Welsh cultural heritage of this city is also a big focus for the Welsh Government, introducing the Welsh Language Scheme in 2016 pushing for a resurgence of the Welsh language strengthening the Welsh national Identity. As places are essentially become closer with modern travel, places are at risk of becoming homogenised. There is an importance to keeping places unique as tourism can be a large contributor to local economies.