Module 4: Discussion

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MODULE

Seminar in Urban Problems

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University of Memphis Department of Public &

Nonprofit Administration

Edwards & Imrie (2015) Chapters 7 & 8

4

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CHAPTER 7: URBAN RENAISSANCE & SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Edwards & Imrie (2015) The Short Guide to Urban Policy

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development

 Late 1980s led to a rediscovery of interest in the city – both by academics and political actors

 Example – Congress for New Urbanism was established in 1993 with three key goals  To diversify neighborhoods  To design for climate change  To legalize walkable places

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development

 “Sustainable development” become the dominant topic of discussion  Reduce usage of cars  Increase public transportation  Improve bicycling and walking spaces  Build “green”  Reuse vacant sites (such as urban farms)  Develop local energy source (such as rooftop solar)

 Critical question – is sustainable development nothing more than traditional economic development in disguise?

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development: The “Good City” & Urban Environmentalism

 Responding to the negative consequences of urbanism through urban planning in early 20th century:  Ebenezer Howard (1902) – The Garden City  Le Corbusier (1929) – Ville Contemporaine  Frank Lloyd Wright (1932) – Broadacre City

 Common theme – improve cities to live symbiotically with the ecological environment

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development: The “Good City” & Urban Environmentalism

 Cities have typically suffered from political economy of waste –  “seeking to offload the costs of urban-industrial

processes into areas where resistance is weak and protest is unlikely to be effective [traditionally black, minority, and poor communities]” (p. 182)

 Starting in mid-1960s – focus on environmental negligence and increased environmental awareness in general; but didn’t really gain traction until late 1980s

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development: The “Good City” & Urban Environmentalism

 Examples of increased environmental awareness in political action writings:  Jane Jacob’s (1961) The Death and Life of Great

American Cities  WCED’s Brundtland Report (1987) Our Common

Future  Idea of eco-modernism developed during the

early 1980s – “the existing economic and social system, capitalism, can be retained because the environment can be combined in ways whereby both can be enhanced” (p. 184)

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development: The “Good City” & Urban Environmentalism

 Social sustainability (in addition to ecological sustainability) was championed by the Congress for New Urbanism  Full charter covers 27 principles across “The

Region”, “The Neighborhood” and “The Block”

 Summary on page 187

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development: Sustainable Development and Urban Policy Dimensions

 Wide range of policies have developed and emerged under the “banner of sustainability”; examples –  Pricing mechanisms to modify consumption

habits  Smart technology to monitor energy

consumption  Compact urban development (curtail urban

sprawl)  Social mixing in disadvantaged communities to

“fix” housing and employment failures (linked to gentrification)

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development: Sustainable Development and Urban Policy Dimensions

 Closely related to (and sometimes included in) the sustainable development policy umbrella is the concept of Smart Cities – incorporating use of data and technology in city infrastructure and services to improve quality of life  Smart Cities: A Cheat Sheet  The future of urban development  Saudi Arabia's new smart city might be a glimpse of

the future  How has COVID-19 impacted the “smart cities”

momentum?  Why you’ll be hearing a lot less about ‘smart cities’

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development: Sustainable Urban Policy An Evaluation

 Difficult to measure the impact of sustainable development initiative given the wide range of policies

 Unanswered questions from critics:  Is sustainable development still top-down, “growth-

first” urban renewal with dealings between local officials and private business investors instead of bottom-up, environment-first, locally led development?

 Can ecological sustainability coincide with economic growth?

 Moving forward – maintain goals of WCED’s Brundtland Report, but implement with a range of stakeholders

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development: Alternative Visions for Sustainable Cities

 2008 global recession has increased focus on economic growth at expense of social and environmental concerns

 Alternative 1: organic regeneration  Locally-led development that makes cities’

places more than commodities  Dismantle single-developer projects

 Alternative 2: distributed economies  Shorten the supply and production chain  Grow and consume local (e.g., urban farming)

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Urban Renaissance & Sustainable Urban Development: Web Links

 Stockholm Environment Institute  https://www.sei.org/

 United Nations Sustainable Development  https://sdgs.un.org/

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CHAPTER 8: URBAN RECOVERY & THE FUTURE FOR CITIES

Edwards & Imrie (2015) The Short Guide to Urban Policy

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Urban Recovery & the Future for Cities

 How has 2008 recession-related fiscal cutbacks in spending on public programs disproportionately impacts poor and disadvantaged city dwellers?

 How has private investment increased in public land acquisition?

 Post-welfare urban policy  “Urban recovery after 2008 was defined in

self-help terms, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which provided estimated $190 billion to be invested in cities” (p. 208)

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Urban Recovery & the Future for Cities: Global Recession and the State of Cities

 2008 Great Recession had a dramatic impact on economic stability of cities worldwide  Further increased the focus of city leaders on

economic development and growth  Led to increase privatization of public services

and/or fee-based systems – cities needed upfront cash at cost of long-term benefits

 Led to further municipal cuts in services – example: 40% of Detroit’s street lighting was turned off due to budget shortfalls

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Urban Recovery & the Future for Cities: Urban Policy & Politics of Austerity

 “Growth first” urban policy is seen by city leaders as the only alternative

 Typically resulting in loosening of planning and building regulations to encourage private development

 IN THEORY these approaches create “trickle down” economics that will improve local economic fortunes (but not always in reality)

Note: Reminder that several parts of this book discuss United Kingdom (UK) urban policy, great examples but be aware. Discussion of the Coalition Government and NPFF (p.214-217) in this section is UK policy and politics.

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Urban Recovery & the Future for Cities: Global Recession and the State of Cities

 Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC) initiative of President Obama (2011)  “Seeks to strengthen neighborhoods, towns,

cities, and regions around the country by enhancing the capacity of local governments to develop and execute their economic vision and strategies, providing necessary technical assistance and access to federal agency expertise, and creating new public and private sector partnerships.”

 Urban Institute’s research report on SC – includes Memphis, TN

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Urban Recovery & the Future for Cities: The Effects of Austerity (Urban) Policy

 Urban austerity policy – frugality in spending to control debt (often synonymous with fiscal cuts)

 City officials feel they have no choice but to turn to private corporations for sustained financial support

 Thus, private corporations are playing a larger role in city governance (place- making, building urban environment)

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Urban Recovery & the Future for Cities: The Effects of Austerity (Urban) Policy

 Other impacts of urban austerity policy:  New private development tends to cater to

high-income persons, prices many city residents out of their communities (i.e., gentrification)

 Contributing to the widening of income inequality in cities

 Erosion of collective public space (due to sale of public land/assets); turns to privately-governed space

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Urban Recovery & the Future for Cities: Beyond Austerity & the Right to the City

 Current state – and future – of urban policy appears to be leading to the continued “disenfranchisement of different groups in the city” (p. 227)

 Not a new trend – think neighborhood destruction during mid-1900s highway construction; and urban entrepreneurial approaches of 1980s and 1990s

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Urban Recovery & the Future for Cities: Beyond Austerity & the Right to the City

 Views of the possible “good city” (p. 228-230):  “Autonomous self-organizing civil society…

within a framework of democratic institutions” (Friedmann, 2000)

 Predicated on social justice and focused on enhancing citizen well-being (Gleeson, 2014)

 Focuses on changing structural causes of urban inequality and poverty through collective ownership (Imbrosico, 2013)

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Urban Recovery & the Future for Cities: Beyond Austerity & the Right to the City

 Four principles of “practical urban utopianism” (Amin, 2006)  Repair – inspect/fix infrastructure to ensure all

have good quality of life  Relatedness – develop public culture through

space sharing  Rights – ensure all citizens have a voice towards

shaping the city  Re-enchantment – vibrant public spaces that

embrace differences  “Future of the city will need to confront its

distinctive social and political context” (Robinson, 2006)

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Web Links

 People or Place? Urban Policy in the Age of Austerity (UK)  https://barrowcadbury.org.uk/wp-

content/uploads/2012/09/People-or-Place- Urban-Policy-in-the-Age-of-Austerity-FINAL- FOR-WEB1.pdf

 Antipode Online (UK)  https://antipodeonline.org/

 Urbanology  https://urbanology.com/