The Governance of a Shrinking City: Housing Renewal in the Liverpool Conurbation, UK

Abstract

This paper contributes to an emerging international research agenda examining the governance of ‘shrinking’ (depopulating) cities. It presents the findings of recent empirical research into the governance of housing renewal in the Liverpool conurbation (Merseyside), UK. Housing is a policy area which is directly affected by changes in population trends, and so this study provides insights into the way the conurbation has responded to shrinkage with regard to this issue. This paper concludes that the Merseyside response bears similarities to other international studies of shrinking cities in displaying an interplay between local and wider actors seeking to address the specific problems being faced by the area. An increasing reliance upon private sector involvement has also been evident, concurring with the findings of other recent studies on housing renewal governance in the UK. However, while the agendas of local delivery bodies have aligned in implementing programmes, there have been conflicts with some local residents.

Notes

‘Shrink Smart’ is a collaboration of seven teams from seven case-study areas across Europe and aims to explore the governance of shrinkage — how governance is affected by, and how it impacts upon, processes of shrinkage. The project runs from 2009 to 2012 (Grant agreement no. 225193).

The HCA brought together two existing major agencies related to housing and regeneration: first, the Housing Corporation, which was established in 1974 and had been responsible for funding social landlords and, second, English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, established in 1994 and responsible for land remuneration and preparation.

In DiGaetano and Strom's terminology, ‘clientelist’ refers to modes of governance which form around personalized and particularistic exchange relationships between politicians and favoured interests or clients, ‘corporatist’ modes develop programmatic rather than pragmatic public–private governing relations, in which modes of interaction between governmental and civic elites are based on negotiation and compromise, ‘managerial’ modes are based on formal, bureaucratic or contractual relations between government officials and private sector interests, ‘pluralist’ modes involve a high degree of competition among contending interests and ‘populist’ modes emerge where politicians are inclined to resort to grassroots mobilization as a way of setting and implementing policy agendas.