Influence of the Regeneration of Large Housing Estates on Sustainable Urban Living Conditions -Benefits or Threats?

‘We really believed, in a quasi-religious sense, in the perfectibility of human nature, in the role of architecture as a weapon of social reform ... the coming Utopia when everyone would live in cheap prefabricated flat-roofed multiple dwellings - heaven on earth’ (Philip Johnson, US architect, quoted in Coleman, 1985). There is no doubt that large housing estates have an immense impact on the urban and regional housing markets of most cities in Europe. Most of these large housing estates were built during the post war decades with a hopeful perspective, and glorious and idealistic ideas. It is obvious that the idealistic idea did not come true and in reality many of these large housing estates have became problematic. Although many estates have no major problems and they are still popular, there are some which have had, or still have problems. Nowadays, with rising of incomes and changes in life-style, these estates house a large number of people with low incomes or who are unemployed. In some countries, large numbers of immigrants and minority ethnic groups are living in these areas. In other countries, these areas are increasingly associated with crime and social exclusion. This research explains why so many large housing estates have changed from celebrated urban innovations into problematic areas. Some scientists believe that some changes, or in other words, some initiatives will be needed to improve these estates. Finding out what circumstances have had better effects on these estates will help to get a picture of what could enhance the quality of life in these estates