Accountability and ecological sustainability challenges under NPM-based public sector-led urban development: four international comparative cases

ABSTRACT

This paper compares four different public sector-led urban development institutional arrangements within New Public Management (NPM)’s framework. The cases come from three European countries – Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands – and the Australian state of Victoria. These four jurisdictions, though distant, share much in terms of urban development processes and actors’ responsibilities within these processes, as well as legislation concerning urban development. In the comparison, emphasis is placed on addressing public accountability and ecological sustainability. Ecological sustainability is important to the public sector and urban development has a significant role in achieving more ecologically sustainable built environments. It was found out that steering the development projects is relevant to sustainability issues. Accountability needs to be addressed when forming single-purpose organizational arrangements, but the paper concludes that the examined organizations have no flaws in accountability. In examining these cases, it is assumed that all four operate in governance environments dictated by NPM’s methods, and their success is thus evaluated in that framework. There is little evidence so far of international comparative urban development research combining values and results achieved; or comparing cases from different jurisdictions.

KEYWORDS:

• Accountability
• ecological sustainability
• public-led urban development
• Nordic countries

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers, as well as all the informants. The authors specifically wish to thank Dr. Graham Squires and Dr. Erwin Heurkens for their comments on a previous version of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Mikko Weckroth http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1697-2125

Notes

1. As of 2012, VicUrban has operated under the name of Places Victoria. Since the research was mainly conducted prior to that, the previous name is used consistently in this paper.

2. Colloquially Den Bosch, this name is used in this paper as well.

3. Docklands is adjacent to the City of Melbourne municipality which covers the central activity area and surrounding areas north of the Yarra River. It also has capital city functions within the state and wider metropolitan area of Melbourne. In 2007, Docklands was incorporated into the City of Melbourne by legislation.