New forms of urban governance

This chapter demonstrates the links between governance and general approaches to urban regeneration. Top-down urban regeneration has historically dominated approaches to solving the urban problem. Changes in urban governance are connected to wider processes of the restructuring of state power. The nature of the contrasts between the second and third phases of state activity points to another issue of importance to the practice of urban regeneration in the United Kingdom. Entrepreneurialism is the new mode of urban governance that has emerged from the crisis of managerialism. Associated with the shift towards urban entrepreneurialism, and the pursuit of policy responses and innovations to attempt to deal with the economic and social issues faced by cities, has been the development of inter-city collaborative networks. In terms of the wider trends towards new forms of urban governance, coalitions and associations between cities offer major benefits to members.