ABSTRACT
This article contributes to the development of ideas about place leadership by focusing on the role played by housing associations within ‘place-shaping networks’ in neighbourhoods that have faced a long history of regeneration interventions in two cities in the Netherlands and England. It maps key features of place leadership in comparison with the more established paradigm of network governance. It explores the origins and purpose, content and approaches, and some key challenges faced by each of these perspectives. Longitudinal research on neighbourhood regeneration in priority neighbourhoods in Groningen and Birmingham is used to consider seven themes derived from our conceptual mapping. The article draws some conclusions about the value that place leadership and network governance concepts add to understanding neighbourhood regeneration, and reflects on the notion of ‘successful places’ as the ultimate outcome of place leadership activities.
