The focus of urban regeneration in the UK has moved in the past 20 or so years from primarily property redevelopment based outcomes to a broader mix of issues with a far greater emphasis on the urban regeneration process and the partnership ideal. Takes a critical stance towards the ways the partnership principle has been adopted and the policy guidance that sees it as the near-compulsory urban regeneration model and argues that there has been little interest in the managerial effectiveness of partnerships. Surveys contemporary regeneration literature highlighting the shortcomings of most existing partnership evaluations and looks at some urban policy issues in the partnership context. Concludes that the partnership ideal is a useful device if its adoption is thought out more clearly and applied in specific contexts rather than viewed as a universally applicable regeneration model. Table covers key UK area-based regeneration programmes. References. [Taken from journal abstract].