Review and Qualitative Content Analysis of the Theoretical Origins of Urban Regeneration

With the beginning of the twenty-first century, various policies have been adopted to manage the complexities and uncertainties of urban systems, especially in metropolitan areas. Meanwhile, Urban Regeneration (UR), as a policy focused on Inner-city, dysfunctional and rundown urban fabrics, has found an undeniable significance in urban planning and studies. Then, the main purpose of this research is to review, evaluate and investigate urban regeneration policy based on Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) method. Firstly, more than 300 scientific and valid texts in the field of urban regeneration were purposefully studied. After the final screening, 73 sources were analyzed in a content way as a selected document. In the second step, components and indicators of research variables were extracted and categorized. Results represent that the core categories of urban regeneration are: 1) principles of urban regeneration; 2) timeline evolution of urban regeneration policies; 3) sustainable urban regeneration strategies; 4) assessment frameworks of regeneration; 5) guiding theories for regeneration; and 6) land use-led urban regeneration. As a result, the conceptual model of urban regeneration was presented by focusing on expanded theoretical concepts. Considering extracted categories, the land use-led urban regeneration indicator has been noticed more in research studies, and the category of sustainable regeneration strategies has been given more priority. In contrast, the discussion of regenerative support theories, regeneration policy timeline and its evaluation frameworks are less emphasized than other issues.