ABSTRACT
Contemporary urban governance is populated by a more diverse and varied set of institutions, networks and processes. First of all, it relates to a new role of government, moving from being a strong, dominant provider of all kinds of services towards the involvement of a number of different actors and agencies in the process of governing. What we see in several Norwegian cities is that local government leaders, in cooperation or partnership with non-public actors, have engaged in sometimes very strategic place-branding and place-promotion policies. Intentions behind such strategic efforts are often expressed as efforts ‘to attract investments and people’, which are conceived of as needed when overall economic restructuring processes continuously challenge local industries and institutions. This form of urban transformation stands in contrast to traditional forms of transformation and development through state-led planning and regulation. The aim of this chapter is to look more closely at the governance processes related to urban planning and development.
