For a political economy of metropolitan scale: the role of public–private relations

ABSTRACT

For a political economy of metropolitan scale: the role of public–private relations. Territory, Politics, Governance. The metropolitan scale of urban development and governance has received increasing attention in urban research. Such a scale can be articulated in spatial, economic and political terms. This paper builds on the rescaling thesis and its practical expectations and investigates the engagement of economic players in political activities through which metropolitan scales are constructed. The cases of Paris, Rome and Shenzhen provide evidence of the determinants of how public–private relations shape the metropolitan scale under different conditions. The comparative analyses conclude that the role of global processes, the kind of firms and the role of national contexts are important in determining the ways public–private relations affect metropolitan-scale development.

摘 要

大都会尺度的政治经济：公—私关系的角色。Territory, Politics, Governance. 城市发展与治理的大都会尺度，在城市研究中已逐渐获得关注。该尺度可透过空间、经济与政治的概念进行阐述。本文以再尺度化的命题及其实际的预期为基础，探讨经济行动者在政治活动中的涉入，以及从而建构的大都会尺度。巴黎、罗马与深圳的案例，提供了证据显示公—私关系如何在不同条件下形塑大都会尺度的决定因素。本比较分析于结论中主张，全球进程的角色、企业的类别，以及国家脉络的角色，对于决定公—私关系如何影响大都会尺度的发展而言至关重要。

RÉSUMÉ

Pour une économie politique à l’échelle métropolitaine: le rôle des relations public–privé. Territory, Politics, Governance. Dans les recherches à propos du milieu urbain, l’échelle métropolitaine du développement et de la gouvernance urbains a prêté de plus en plus d’attention. On peut élaborer une telle échelle en termes spatiaux, économiques et politiques. Ce présent article cherche à consolider la thèse concernant la notion de reterritorialisation et ses attentes concrètes, et examine la participation des acteurs économiques aux activités politiques au moyen desquelles sont établies les échelles métropolitaines. Les études de cas de Paris, de Rome et de Shenzhen fournissent des preuves des déterminants de la façon dont les relations public-privé donnent forme à l’échelle métropolitaine dans des conditions différentes. En guise de conclusion, les analyses comparatives affirment que le rôle de la mondialisation, le statut des entreprises et le rôle des contextes nationaux sont jugés importants pour déterminer les manières dont les relations public-privé influent sur le développement de l’échelle métropolitaine.

RESUMEN

Por una economía política de la escala metropolitana: el papel de las relaciones entre el sector público y privado. Territory, Politics, Governance. La escala metropolitana del desarrollo y la gobernanza urbanos ha recibido cada vez más atención en los estudios urbanos. Este tipo de escala puede articularse en términos espaciales, económicos y políticos. Este artículo se basa en la tesis de reescalamiento y sus expectativas prácticas, y se investiga la participación de protagonistas económicos en actividades políticas a través de las cuales se construyen escalas metropolitanas. Los casos de París, Roma y Shenzhen demuestran cómo los factores determinantes de las relaciones entre el sector privado y público perfilan la escala metropolitana bajo diferentes condiciones. Los análisis comparativos concluyen que el papel de los procesos globales, el tipo de empresas y el papel de los contextos nacionales son importantes para determinar cómo influyen las relaciones entre el sector privado y público en el desarrollo a escala metropolitana.

KEYWORDS:

• metropolitan
• rescaling
• public–private relations
• Paris
• Rome
• Shenzhen

关键词:

• 大都会
• 再尺度化
• 公—私关系
• 巴黎
• 罗马
• 深圳

MOTS-CLÉS:

• métropolitain
• reterritorialisation
• relations public–privé
• Paris
• Rome
• Shenzhen

PALABRAS CLAVES:

• metropolitano
• reescalamiento
• relaciones públicas-privadas
• París
• Roma
• Shenzhen

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Errors and omissions are the responsibility of the authors.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. About 30 interviews were conducted in Paris during 2008–2016 with business associations (chambers of commerce, Medef, PICE), local authorities (regional council, city of Paris, joint authorities), planning agencies and the state. In addition, one of the authors was involved in several official committees and commissions regarding institutional reform.

2. Eighteen interviews were completed for the case study of Rome, with representatives of associations of industrial firms, real estate and construction firms, the Chamber of Commerce, members of local government (central municipality), members of the national Parliament elected in Rome's constituencies, representatives of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, and experts on Rome's economy.

3. Fourteen interviews were conducted in Shenzhen between December 2013 to February 2016, with officials from local planning bureau, development office and community affairs, major developers in the industrial zone, representatives from leading technology companies and planning and economics faculty in universities.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education Key Humanities and Social Science Research Center Major Project 16JJD630013, Chinese National Social Science Major Project Fund 13&ZD041, and Wuhan University Research Fund for Young Scholar Teams in Humanities & Social Sciences (632413100001).