ABSTRACT
As national governments relinquish some of their functions, governments of cities around the globe are increasingly expected to act in a corporate manner to compete with other cities (Harvey 1989; Sager 2011). The orthodoxy that posits that economic openness and liberalization are desirable steps towards development has turned the focus of international and national policy to those cities where economic output and population are concentrated. The resulting policy prescriptions seek to prepare cities to attract foreign investment by making them more amenable to an international elite, easing local regulations, providing infrastructure and incentives and generally creating a modern image by resorting to an accepted international language of architectural aspiration and urban prosperity (Cuadrado-Roura and Fernández Güell 2008; Rossi and Vanolo 2012).
