The Politics of Urban Governance: Rethinking the Local State

The study of urban governance provides a valuable insight into economic, social and political forces and how they shape city life. But who and what are the real drivers of change? This innovative text casts new light on the issues and re-examines the state of urban governance at the start of the twenty-first century.

Jon Pierre analyses four models of urban governance: 'management', 'corporatist', 'pro-growth' and 'welfare'. Each is assessed in terms of its implications for the major issues, interests and challenges in the contemporary urban arena. Distinctively, Pierre argues that institutions –and the values underpinning them – are the driving forces of change. The book also assesses the impact of globalization upon urban governance.

The long-standing debate on the decline of urban governance is studied and reformulated by Pierre, who applies a wider international approach to the issues. He argues that the changing cast of private and public actors, combined with new forms of political participation, have resulted in a transformation – rather than a decline – of contemporary urban governance.

Jon Pierre is Professor of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and adjunct Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, USA, and Bod° University College, Norway.