Entrepreneurial urbanism

There has yet to be a careful, considered and systematic unpacking of the recent changes in the ways in which UK cities are governed.

The mushrooming of local and regional partnerships, the formation of new area-based agencies, the reworking of the role of local government, the changes in how redevelopment is funded and evaluated: each change has important implications for the kinds of cities in which we live, for whom they are for, and the nature of the relationship between state and citizenship, between city and justice. Kevin Ward offers a theoretically informed insight into the way urban politics plays out and the driving forces behind the way the built environment changes over time.

The book aims to reveal urban elites becoming increasingly reflexive, aware of their actions and their limits. Entrepreneurial Urbanism will tease out the ways in which global neo-liberalization is shaping the decisions made by UK urban and regional political and economic elites.

The book makes clear to readers that the nature of the politics over urban redevelopment has changed in recent years and that this has real implications for the future growth trajectory of British cities.