Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.Urban renewal (similar to urban regeneration in British English) is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s under the rubric of reconstruction. The process has had a major impact on many urban landscapes, and has played an important role in the history and demographics of cities around the world. Urban renewal can be extremely controversial, and has often involved the destruction of businesses, the demolition of priceless historic structures, the relocation of people, and the use of eminent domain (known as compulsory purchase in the UK) as a legal instrument to reclaim private property for city-initiated development projects.