There was a man who became lost in a desert and he was thirsty. He searched restlessly for water, crying out in his growing desperation "Water, water is there water anywhere?" He searched every rocky hillside, every dry river bed. He tried to squeeze sap out of the dry and thorny bushes. He dug into the hot sand but to no avail. In his anxiety and desperate searching he could find no water.

Finally he collapsed exhausted onto the ground beneath a huge, shady rock. Faint, parched and silent he prepared himself for death. Giving up all hope of life, he set his heart on eternity. But as he lay there quietly under the shadow of the rock he heard something gently lapping in his ears. "What was it? He knew that sound ... it was, no it couldn't be. Yes it was!" Energy returned to his exhausted frame. It was a river, a stream of crystal clear water running hidden beneath the rocks. Only listening carefully in the silence could find it. 

This story seems to me particularly apt to the experience of urban regeneration. There is an almost desperate search for solutions, for the magic formula which will bring results - New Deal, social entrepreneurs, neighbourhood management - which of these will bring the new life - the waters of urban salvation? But those of us who have lived in the city, who have shared its joys and its sorrows have learnt that no new programme or idea is the. Some programmes do bring new benefits, some ideas are better than others but none of them are the solution. And I have no solutions to offer but what I would like to share is some wisdom from the Christian tradition which has given birth to the very word regeneration and the hope that resurrection is possible and that things don't always have to stay the same.

Regeneration: a spiritual experience 

Regeneration is a Christian word and concept. It is a spiritual experience before it is a process of capacity building, redevelopment and economic empowerment. Regeneration is only actually used twice in the New Testament although similar words are used frequently to express the same idea. The first use is in Matthew 19:28 where it is used eschatologically to refer to the restoration of all things, reminding us of the corporate and cosmic dimension of regeneration. The second use in Titus 3:5 focuses on the individual. The general sense of regeneration as expressed in the Bible is of a drastic and dramatic change which may be likened to birth, rebirth, re-creation or even resurrection. The New Testament sees this drastic act as being the work of the Holy Spirit on fallen human nature and it is associated with baptism - a dying which leads to new life. 

Regeneration is therefore no easy task. If it can be likened to birth then we can have some idea of what a dramatic and drastic process it is. This is not something to be planned in air-conditioned offices by men in suits but by ordinary people (and that often means women!) in the heat of real experience. Regeneration is also no merely human undertaking. It requires the action of the Spirit to undermine and transform the subtle and powerful networks and structures of sin that infect all human activity.

We will return to these theological themes later but I want now to look at the experience of urban regeneration in London.

Urban London

London is one of the world's great cities, a centre of political, cultural and economic power, but in common with many great urban centres it has experienced vast and profound change. Areas of large cities tend to experience decline as economic realities change and people move away from less desirable neighbourhoods. This leaves a legacy of buildings in a bad state of repair, dispirited communities and poor services and facilities for those left behind in the less desirable areas. It is these areas which are the target for regeneration. We know and experience these areas. We know the bad environment we have to live in - overcrowded, badly built, suffering from crime, poor health and high unemployment. Although we are well aware of the positive side of our communities - our friends, the life and the vigour we know that they need a new birth. They have suffered too long; been the dumping ground for other people's bright ideas too often; got the smallest piece of the cake too much. New life is needed and urban regeneration does offer us some hope that a new start might be possible, and if it isn't going to solve all our problems it does give us the chance to do something, make some improvements and restore some sense of self-respect to our communities. 

What are these regeneration schemes?

The previous government tried to unify all the various regeneration initiatives (remember City Challenge et al) into one Single Regeneration Budget which we call SRB. These are competitively bid for by various partnerships, but local authorities normally figure significantly. We are now up to SRB 6 for which bids are being prepared. SRB has often focused more on physical regeneration - bringing in large sums (£20-25 million) to renovate areas and (supposedly) stimulate local economies. East London bids are being prepared for Stamford Hill and Bromley by Bow.

SRB has been supplemented by European grants which have been focused particularly on employment and training. They are used to regenerate industrial areas which have declined because of changes in economies e.g. away from manufacturing. These funds are being refocused away from the whole of London to specific areas of need e.g. the Lee valley and the Thames Gateway. 

The new Labour government has decided that new initiatives are needed so has created a number of new programmes. The most significant of these is New Deal for Communities. These seek to focus on small areas of significant deprivation - in East London Shoreditch and the Ocean estate, Stepney have been targeted. New Deal is seeking to be more 'bottom-up' than SRB or European funding (which is notoriously bureaucratic) and has a long 10 year time-span (SRB is 7).

Health (City and East London), education (Hackney) and employment (Tower Hamlets) action zones have also been set up. These do not bring so much money but seek to focus attention on particular areas and innovate new good practice. Similar is the New Commitment to Regeneration which seeks to create a new framework for local government to stimulate regeneration. Hackney is working on a New Commitment strategy. 

There are also many other initiatives, some of them operating at a national level such as the National Childcare Strategy. Others are more local in their orientation, such as Sure Start. This focuses on under 5s. There are Sure Start programmes on the Ocean estate and in Hackney.

The latest government initiative is £400 million for a neighbourhood renewal fund, which will include a National Centre for Neighbourhood Renewal. These initiatives have been broadly welcomed but many retain a healthy skepticism because they have experienced past renewal activities ... 

The experience of regeneration

I used to live on the Winstanley estate, a high-rise estate just to the north of Clapham Junction. This estate was dominated by a huge white tower which was called Sporle Court. It was named after the councillor who was mainly responsible for the redevelopment of Battersea in the sixties. Unfortunately Sporle managed to persuade the developers not only to invest in high-rise estates but also in his back pocket. He was caught and imprisoned. So while I would not want to accuse all developers of corruption, or all regeneration schemes of being sinister, we cannot ignore the politics and ducking and diving which is a reality in all such multi million pound schemes. 

People are aware that the government is trying to do things differently. To get beyond the corruption of the sixties and the paternalism of the 80s but a recent survey of churches’ experience of New Deal for Communities (written by Peter Musgrave) still tells a tale of government insensitivity and local suspicion

People around here are too used to finding an iron fist in the velvet glove

I am acutely aware of the distance between rhetoric and reality, and the deep-seated mistrust, cynicism and alienation from figures of authority felt by a large part of the community 

NDC could not imagine that on estates the reality could be division and faction

There is a failure to consult at street level, they only consult with the leaders 

It is more like ant versus Goliath, than David versus Goliath

NDC teams stride out like colonialists in the new world, suggesting people are being reached ‘properly’ for the first time. 

The prophets of regeneration

In Isaiah we have the record of prophecies directed at a small nation caught in the midst of imperial struggles.  This is a situation which urban people in the midst of regeneration have some affinity with - being little people in a big world.

 The Lord says; these people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.  Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish. Is 29 13-14

Here is a situation where there is a pretense of justice being done but, in reality, there is only the obeying of man-made rules.  The parallels with regeneration are clear. A show of civic responsibility is donned but in reality it is the rules of profit making which dominate.  This is particularly so when image is so important and what appears to be is often more valued than what really is.  

Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us?  Who will know?"  You turn things upside down as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!  Shall what is formed say to him that formed it "He did not make me"?  Can the pot say of the potter "He knows nothing"? Is 29 14-15

This passage echoes much urban experience, many people are planning in secret, trying to hide their schemes from God and man.  They become obsessed with their own power and ability to 'kick ass'.  In fact such entrepreneurs are frequently seen as the key to urban regeneration.  This passage, however, warns against pride and the attempt to become little gods by manipulating God's creation. 

In a very short time, will not Lebanon be turned into a fertile field and the fertile field seem like a forest?  In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.  Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.  The ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down - those who with a word make a man out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice. Is 29 17-21

Isaiah now goes on to contrast the scheming of man and their self-centred planning with the reality of God's plans for Israel.  God's plans are a reversal of human expectations "The deaf will hear the words and the eyes of the blind will see".  It will be the oppressed and the needy who rejoice. The ruthless and the mockers will disappear.  All wickedness shall be removed from the land. In Isaiah's understanding of the world it is God's plans which are the reality, not man's. 

The recovery of regeneration - the ancient wisdom

We must therefore approach regeneration with the wisdom of serpents, as Jesus advised us, even if we want to continue to be gentle as doves. What are the sources of wisdom in the Christian tradition that we can make use of? 

New birth means a death to the old. When a new baby is born into a household, that household is never the same again. Parents need to die to their old lifestyle, and sometimes this can involve a serious grieving. What was good about the past: cozy evenings in together, or lazy Saturday mornings may have to let go, in order for the new joys of a growing child to be appreciated. Urban regeneration is not any different. Some good things from the past will be lost, as well as the bad things. And the new which is achieved will surprise and frustrate just as a new baby will. Often ways of managing people’s grief will be necessary.

Birth is painful and difficult. There are no easy solutions, nothing comes free without cost. Although the screaming so beloved of film directors is not such a common occurrence (so my midwife wife tells me - a gutteral bellowing being more likely!) birth is a painful experience. So is regeneration. The disruption caused by major building work is legendary. The community conflict exacerbated by the promise of regeneration millions less acknowledged. The time and effort which regeneration processes can take up should also not be underestimated. 

The theology of regeneration teaches us that regeneration is about people not buildings. In a profound list of temptations for the urban church leader Mary Theissen-Nation says that the temptation when there is no obvious sign of change is to construct buildings. It is easy to think that regeneration has been achieved when buildings are put up. We know, however, that regeneration begins in the hearts of people and communities. Regeneration first deals with flesh and blood, before it finds expression in bricks and mortar (not to mention steel and glass).

Regeneration is spiritual

It is rooted in values not political pragmatism. Just because regeneration can require a degree of hardheadedness and street wise chutzpah we should not be deceived into thinking that it is just a matter of making something happen. For regeneration to be lasting and real it needs to be firmly established in values of justice, cooperation and participation, otherwise it will self-destruct and lead to disillusionment. This is a matter of practical reality rather than just wishful thinking. If regeneration is fundamentally about people then good values are as important as good quality materials to the builder. 

Be aware of the tendency to pervert the good. Christian spirituality teaches us that whatever is good is susceptible to transformation into what is evil. Urban regeneration amply demonstrates this. Sure it was good to replace crumbling slums, but with concrete mazes and high-rise prisons? What went wrong? Surely this was something more than individual error, there was a profound failure of human endeavour which was perhaps subverted by an insidious evil which resided in the very structure of society. Christian involvement with regeneration does not need to be paranoid but it should always be on the lookout for the perversion of good intentions by forces beyond merely individual weakness or failure. With a gentle vigilance we need to be aware of our human failings and ability to seriously mess up!

Don’t forget to worship! Although I have taken a questioning attitude to urban regeneration and its prophets I don’t want to strike a cynical note. We must retain a tone of thanksgiving for what we experience in the city. There is much good in the city which we experience daily: friends, community and the vitality of London. Thanksgiving keeps us sane and rooted and it leads us into worship of the God who created the city and wishes it well. It moves us to adoration of Jesus who lived amongst us and came into the city to challenge the powers and authorities, longing to gather it under his wing, even as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wing. Worship protects us from the cynicism and doubt which undermine efforts to bring regeneration and new life to our cities. Worship brings and sustains hope - it is here that true regeneration will begin. 

James Ashdown

Based on a sermon preached at Elephant & Castle Salvation Army June 2000