Participation in postpolitical times: protesting WestConnex in Sydney, Australia

Arnstein’s work powerfully exposed the political framing work of government authorities in establishing how planners engage with the public, revealing how this tended to perpetuate rather than disrupt existing power relations. This resonates well with work on postpolitics, which argues that carefully stage-managed consultation exercises can be part of a repertoire of depoliticising techniques that allow the authorities to present their preferred plans and policies as the only ‘reasonable’ options around which a wide-ranging consensus can be built. The effect is to deny voice to those who dissent and refuse to compromise around an economic and political model that they see as broken. This article explores how governments have responded to criticism of participation by devising more sophisticated ways for ‘enhancing’ participation whilst ensuring it does not disrupt the existing distribution of power. Our research involves a case study of WestConnex, a controversial motorway being built in Sydney, Australia. Interviews were held with 25 key informants, supplemented by attending six public consultation and protest events. We also draw on a range of other material, from official documents and press releases to media coverage of WestConnex.<br/

Multinational lessons from local and regional economic development agencies

This paper discusses the commonalities and differences in local and regional economic development (LRED) across England, Northern Ireland, Australia and the US. The focus is on four themes: the institutional characteristics of the respondents; governance, partners and partnerships; the objectives, regional capacity building and business service activities of responding agencies; and the self-assessment of effectiveness by LRED organisations. Our analysis is based on a survey of LRED agencies in the above-noted countries using a common questionnaire that was slightly adapted for each study area. Using logistic regression, we identify the practices and strategies of local and regional economic development agencies that are associated with higher levels of effectiveness. When all participating nations’ LRED organisations are jointly evaluated, several practices emerge as being positively related to agency performance including being actively involved in industrial estates, labour training and recruitment, marketing the agency’s region to international markets, and promoting industry clusters. Also showing as being positively related to performance are variables identifying whether or not the agency subsidized relocation costs for new businesses, helps local companies access venture capital, engages in education and training programs targeted at youths, and enhances networking opportunities for local business people. Interestingly, we found statistically significant negative relationships between agency effectiveness and engaging in tourism promotion activities, training minority groups, and conducting target industry studies, though this may reflect a correlation between certain activities and problematic economic environments. Though our research methodology of relying on self-assessed performance measures does not allow us to draw sweeping conclusions, we are confident that these findings provide a beginning for identifying a set of best practices that are appropriate for LRED organisations in a multinational setting.

'A good geography is whatever it needs to be': the Atlantic Gateway and evolving spatial imaginaries in North West England

The emergence of new, non-statutory or informal spaces can be found at multiple levels across Europe, in a variety of circumstances, and with diverse aims and rationales. This book moves beyond theory to examine the practice of soft spaces

What ‘should’ urban policy do? a further response to Graham Haughton, Iain Deas and Stephen Hincks

Making an impact: reply to Overman Graham Haughton, Iain Deas, Stephen Hincks What ‘should’ urban policy do? A further response to Graham Haughton, Iain Deas, and Stephen Hincks Henry Overma