Presenting the findings of a major Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) project into urban austerity governance in eight cities across the world, this book offers comparative reflections on the myriad experiences of collaborative governance and its limitations.

Cities have been some of the most visible manifestations of the evolution of globalization and population expansion, and global cities are at the cutting edge of such changes. Critical Dialogues of Urban Governance, Development and Activism examines changes in governance, property development, urban politics, and community activism in two key global cities: London and Toronto. By taking these two cities as empirical cases, the book engages in constructive dialogues about the forms, governmental mechanisms and practices, and policy and community-based responses to the concerns facing modern urban centers. Through three central issues, governance, real estate and housing, and community activism and engagement, the authors seek to understand London and Toronto from a nuanced perspective, promoting critical reflection on the experiences and evaluative critiques of each urban context, providing insight into each city's trajectory and engaging critically with wider phenomena and influences on the urban governance challenges in cities beyond.

This book addresses and explores recent trends in the field of local and urban governance. It focuses on three domains: institutional reforms in local government; inter-municipal cooperation; and citizen participation in local governance. In the last decades, in different regions of the world, there is ample evidence that sub-national government, in particular the field of local governance, is in a permanent state of change and reflux, although with differences that reflect national particularities. Since these institutional changes have an impact in the local policy process, in the delivery of public services, in the local democracy, and in the quality of life, it is mandatory to monitor these continued institutional changes, to learn and develop with these changes, if possible before these experiences are transferred and replicated in other countries. The editor and contributors address issues of interest for a wide audience, comprising of students and researchers in various disciplines, and policy makers at both national and sub-national tiers of government.

The book explores and discusses some of the changes, challenges and opportunities confronting local governance in the context of the new urban paradigm associated with the HABITAT III New Urban Agenda, a 20-year strategy for sustainable urbanization, adopted in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador. The chapters included in the book address public policy issues from different theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches, written by authors from different academic disciplines within the broad area of social sciences (Geography, Political Science, Public Administration, Spatial Planning, Law, Regional Science, among other fields), and offer an inter-disciplinary vision of these issues. The chapters are written by members of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission on Geography of Governance.

This book presents the findings of a major Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) project into urban austerity governance in eight cities across the world (Athens, Baltimore, Barcelona, Melbourne, Dublin, Leicester, Montréal and Nantes). It offers comparative reflections on the myriad experiences of collaborative governance and its limitations. An international collaborative from across the social sciences, the book discusses ways that citizens, activists and local states collaborate and come into conflict in attempting to build just cities. It examines the development of egalitarian collaborative governance strategies, provides innovative ideas and tools to extend emancipatory governance practices and shows hopeful possibilities for cities beyond austerity and neoliberalism.

The world development institutions commonly present 'urban governance' as an antidote to the so-called 'urbanisation of poverty' and 'parasitic urbanism' in Africa. Governance for Pro-Poor Urban Development is a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the meaning, nature, and effects of 'urban governance' in theory and in practice, with a focus on Ghana, a country widely regarded as an island of good governance in the sub region. The book illustrates how diverse groups experience urban governance differently and contextualizes how this experience has worsened social differentiation in cities. This book will be of great interest to students, teachers, and researchers in development studies, and highly relevant to anyone with an interest in urban studies, geography, political economy, sociology, and African studies.

A look at the benefits and consequences of the rise of community-based organizations in urban development Who makes decisions that shape the housing, policies, and social programs in urban neighborhoods? Who, in other words, governs? Constructing Community offers a rich ethnographic portrait of the individuals who implement community development projects in the Fairmount Corridor, one of Boston’s poorest areas. Jeremy Levine uncovers a network of nonprofits and philanthropic foundations making governance decisions alongside public officials—a public-private structure that has implications for democratic representation and neighborhood inequality. Levine spent four years following key players in Boston’s community development field. While state senators and city councilors are often the public face of new projects, and residents seem empowered through opportunities to participate in public meetings, Levine found a shadow government of nonprofit leaders and philanthropic funders, nonelected neighborhood representatives with their own particular objectives, working behind the scenes. Tying this system together were political performances of “community”—government and nonprofit leaders, all claiming to value the community. Levine provocatively argues that there is no such thing as a singular community voice, meaning any claim of community representation is, by definition, illusory. He shows how community development is as much about constructing the idea of community as it is about the construction of physical buildings in poor neighborhoods. Constructing Community demonstrates how the nonprofit sector has become integral to urban policymaking, and the tensions and trade-offs that emerge when private nonprofits take on the work of public service provision.