Participatory urban governance under the microscope: A qualitative study of high-functioning neighborhood councils in Los Angeles

ABSTRACT

With the neighborhood seen as the ideal unit for participatory modes of governance, many cities in the United States have established formal systems of neighborhood councils to increase civic participation, improve service delivery, and enhance democracy. Los Angeles boasts the most extensive neighborhood council system, which was founded in 1999, in the country. Through a qualitative study of two neighborhood councils in LA, this study investigates how neighborhood councils influence land use and policy decision-making. It finds that political capital, negotiation, and associational leverage are the most important tools for these councils in exerting influence. In doing so, the authors suggest that the oft-cited justifications for pursuing formalized modes of participatory urban governance do not take into consideration the sociopolitical dimensions of urban regimes, and suggest three propositions for future research on neighborhood governance systems.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. See: About Neighborhood Councils. (2020, May 21). Retrieved July 16, 2020, from https://empowerla.org/about-neighborhood-councils/.

2. The only communities not included are the Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, which have formed informal “Community Councils” but opted to stay outside of the official neighborhood councils system.

3. “City official” is defined broadly to include a variety of civil servants, including city council staff, public administrators, police officers, and city attorneys.

4. Because developers are often accompanied or represented by land use entitlement consultants throughout the development approval process, interviews with developers included both actual real-estate developers and their consultants.

5. Neighborhood councils may establish a variety of issue-based committees that make recommendations to the full council, Examples include planning and land use, public safety, and transportation, among others.

6. See here: http://davidryu.lacity.org/press_release_party_house_ordinance_goes_into_effect.

7. See here https://www.losfelizledger.com/article/neighborhood-council-requests-more-los-feliz-crosswalks/.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brady Collins

Brady Collins is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Cal Poly Pomona and the Director of the Master in Public Administration (MPA) program. His areas of expertise are in community and economic development, urban politics, and social capital. More generally, Brady’s research lies at the intersection of the spatial, sociocultural, and political aspects of urbanism, and seeks to forge new relationships between the built environment and neighborhood-level politics. He teaches courses on public administration, public policy, qualitative methods, and urban governance. He received his PhD in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a MA in Political Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Dana Kalei Del Rey

Dana Kalei Del Rey is an undergraduate student in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Cal Poly Pomona.