Posted: July 18th, 2022

Module 2: Discussion

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MODULE

Seminar in Urban Problems

PADM 7224

University of Memphis Department of Public &

Nonprofit Administration

Edwards & Imrie (2015) Chapters 3 & 4

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CHAPTER 3: WHOSE RIGHT TO THE CITY?

Edwards & Imrie (2015) The Short Guide to Urban Policy

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Whose Right to the City?

 The big question – does urban policy seek to create a debated idea of the “good city” by regulating and policing behavior? And is it behavior of specific social classes?

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Whose Right to the City? Unruly Cities & Urban Disorder

 “City” is often associated with disorder and dangerous

 Major goal of urban planners is to eliminate or control disorder through the built environment – manage pollution, overcrowding, etc.

 City as a place of individual strangers vs. a community of difference

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Whose Right to the City? Unruly Cities & Urban Disorder

 Differentiating groups of people has been characteristic of urban policy – creation of the idea of an “underclass”  Murray and Hernstein’s The Bell Curve (1994)  Vox 2018 critique of the ideas of Murray and

The Bell Curve  AEI 2014 interview with Murray on the 20th

anniversary of the book  Policy debates ensue about who’s

responsibility for different behaviors of different groups

https://www.vox.com/2018/4/10/17182692/bell-curve-charles-murray-policy-wrong

‘The Bell Curve’ 20 Years Later: A Q&A with Charles Murray

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Whose Right to the City? Managing Places and People

 Urban policy frequently focuses on managing problem behavior that threats civilized society – crime, drug use, etc.  NYC zero-tolerance “broken windows”

approach to crime

 Pulls resources away from policies that address causes of poverty and inequality, which lead to such threats

 Perpetuates social exclusion

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Whose Right to the City? Managing Places and People

 Urban policy frequently focuses on ensuring safe and secure public spaces

 Common policy tools to accomplish:  Urban planning and architecture using the

built environment  Private-run business improvement districts  Initiatives that focus on “nudging” citizen

behavior

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Whose Right to the City? Social Identities & the Rights to the City

 Does urban policy reinforce traditional value systems that promote various social identifies and perceived inequalities?  Policy on built city spaces often stimulate

traditional gender roles  Policy on built city spaces often excludes (or

does not consider) large groups of people (e.g., children, LGBTQ+ community, disability community)

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Whose Right to the City? Web Links

 Secured by Design (UK)  https://www.securedbydesign.com/

 Neighborhood Scout (US)  https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/

 UN HABITAT (Global)  https://unhabitat.org/

https://www.securedbydesign.com/

Home Page

https://unhabitat.org/
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CHAPTER 4: PRIVATIZATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL URBAN POLICY

Edwards & Imrie (2015) The Short Guide to Urban Policy

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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy

 Economic development / regeneration is a perennial urban policy focus  Includes major infrastructure projects  Gained momentum in U.S. cities following

WWII  Accelerated in 1980s and 1990s in response to

1970s  Privatization is closely associated with

economic development given the large role of private (non-governmental) actors

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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Emergence of Privitism in Urban Policy

 Varying levels of privatization across different types of sectors, services, and cities – it’s not a “one-size-fits-all” approach

 Always present in U.S., but further fueled by Reagonism in the 1980s (reflective of Thatcherism in the UK)  Considered a valid policy response to help ailing

cities when hit economic bottom in 1970s – “trickle-down” economics

 Lasting result of new urban governance arrangements in urban regeneration – larger role for private actors, reduce role for city government

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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Urban Entrepreneurialism & the Changing Nature of Urban Governance

 City governments encouraged to be “entrepreneurial” and partner with private sector to bring prosperity to the city  Example – urban regeneration in 1950s New

York City (see Module 1 film)  Example – urban development corporations in

UK in 1980s/90s

 Concerns about lack of democratic accountability on private sector actors

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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Property-led Regeneration & Economic Development

 During 1980s inner-cities began to be viewed as places to spur private investment for economic development

 New economic development was NOT attracting blue-collar sectors (“old” cities), but sectors related to attracting the “creative class” (“modern” cities)

 Cities take a wide range of measures to attract businesses (see p. 112) – recent example being cities bidding to get the next Amazon headquarters  Amazon has triggered a $5 billion bidding war  Why Amazon’s Search for a Second Headquarters

Backfired

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-headquarters-cities-in-a-bidding-war-2017-9
https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-hq2-search-backfired/
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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Urban Entrepreneurialism in the 2000s

 Does urban entrepreneurialism lead to further fragmentation and segregation in the city?  Since 2000, rent has climbed faster than

incomes – residents are being out-priced of their communities

 Private spaces are growing – gated residential communities

 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) – transferring city power to private (or quasi- private) hands

https://phys.org/news/2019-05-lack-rent-plagues-cities-states.html
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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Web Links

 Corporate Watch(UK)  https://corporatewatch.org/

https://corporatewatch.org/
Edwards & Imrie (2015)�Chapters 3 & 4
Chapter 3: Whose right to the city?
Whose Right to the City?
Whose Right to the City?�Unruly Cities & Urban Disorder
Whose Right to the City?�Unruly Cities & Urban Disorder
Whose Right to the City?�Managing Places and People
Whose Right to the City?�Managing Places and People
Whose Right to the City?�Social Identities & the Rights to the City
Whose Right to the City?�Web Links
Chapter 4: Privatization and Entrepreneurial urban policy
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy�Emergence of Privitism in Urban Policy
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy�Urban Entrepreneurialism & the Changing Nature of Urban Governance
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy�Property-led Regeneration & Economic Development
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy�Urban Entrepreneurialism in the 2000s
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Web Links

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MODULE

Seminar on Urban Issues

7224 PADM

Department of Public and Environmental Affairs, University of Memphis

Administration of Nonprofit Organizations

Chapters 3 and 4 of Edwards and Imrie (2015)

2

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CHAPITRE 3: WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO THE CITY?

The Short Guide to Urban Policy by Edwards and Imrie (2015)

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Who has a claim to the city?

The big question is whether urban management aims to construct a contested concept of the “good city” by regulating and police conduct. Is it the conduct of certain social classes?

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Who has a claim to the city? Cities in Disarray & Urban Disorder

 “City” is often associated with disorder and dangerous

 Major goal of urban planners is to eliminate or control disorder through the built environment – manage pollution, overcrowding, etc.

 City as a place of

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