{"title":"Local Authorities: Powerhouses or Scapegoats?","authors":"John Sturzaker, A. Nurse","doi":"10.1332/policypress/9781447350774.003.0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781447350774.003.0005","url":null,"abstract":"Some have argued that reforms to urban governance in the UK in recent years have “hollowed out” the local level, emphasising the levels “above” and “below” it. This reflects a broader perceived loss of focus on cities themselves, but a great deal of power and responsibility still remains at the local authority level. This chapter considers how local government autonomy has changed in recent years, within the context of a broader history of local government in the UK. It then reflects upon the “entrepreneurial turn” in local government, for some a consequence of reduced funding for local authorities, and considers recent evidence of a return to “municipal socialism” in England and beyond.","PeriodicalId":426798,"journal":{"name":"Rescaling Urban Governance","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131136154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Community-led governance: Opportunities and constraints","authors":"John Sturzaker, A. Nurse","doi":"10.1332/policypress/9781447350774.003.0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781447350774.003.0006","url":null,"abstract":"The notion, and practice, of devolving power to communities is now widespread, and since 2010 has been a particularly important element of the reforms to urban governance instituted by successive UK Governments. There has been a great deal of entirely justifiable scepticism about this, but recent evidence suggests that there may be scope for some of the reforms, specifically new “Neighbourhood Plans”, to play a progressive and emancipatory role in cities. This chapter reviews the contested history of governance at the community scale, considering both the formal devolution of power and more radical community-led approaches. It contrasts a predominantly top-down approach in England with seemingly more genuine attempts at devolution elsewhere, and introduces empirical data on Neighbourhood Plans in urban areas.","PeriodicalId":426798,"journal":{"name":"Rescaling Urban Governance","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131984881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Conclusion: Rescaling Urban Governance","authors":"John Sturzaker, A. Nurse","doi":"10.1332/policypress/9781447350774.003.0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781447350774.003.0007","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter summarises and synthesises the preceding chapters, discussing a series of themes which have emerged. The first is the interaction between the levels of devolution which have been the focus of each chapter, reflecting upon overlaps between them and cumulative impacts of changes to different levels of governance. The second is that Brexit has dominated UK governance to an unhealthy degree, casting a long shadow over other issues, including localism. The third is the impact of ‘austerity’ and the reductions in central and local state spending consequent on it, and the fourth follows – that poorer people are consistently losing out from every round and type of reform. Our conclusion is, therefore, that localism as it has been instantiated in the UK has overall been a regressive force, but that this need not necessarily be the case – whilst we identify few lessons for other places, there is scope to work within and around formal governance frameworks to have a more positive impact.","PeriodicalId":426798,"journal":{"name":"Rescaling Urban Governance","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121425053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}