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disP - The Planning Review

Publication Date: 1996

Permanent Link: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-a-000981948

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ETH Library DISP 158 2 2004 Alessandro Balducci, Klaus R. Kunzmann, Francesca S. Sartorio

Towards Creative City Region Governance in Italy and Germany

City regions all over Europe are experi- glomeration, with a population of 12 implementation and financing of plan- encing considerable pressure to rethink million inhabitants in more than a dozen ning strategies differ widely between regional governance. They are well large cities such as Cologne, Essen or these two countries. However, regional aware of the necessity of regional coop- Dortmund, is as big as the conurbations authorities in Italy – comparable to the eration in times of globalization and ur- of Paris or London. Stuttgart is sur- Länder in Germany – developed quite ban competition. Although they have all rounded by a large number of economi- innovative institutional planning proce- experimented with various forms of re- cally quite strong and politically inde- dures over the last decade, tools and gional cooperation in the past, no valid pendent medium-sized cities, Munich, in policies, which are worthwhile to be ex- European model has emerged so far, turn, is a powerful capital of a very amined and assessed from a German which addresses the manifold chal- much centralized state, surrounded by a perspective, while the German efforts to lenges city regions are facing from Italy plethora of suburban communities due cope with city region cooperation may to Finland, and Spain to Germany. to the limited development space of the offer some new insights for the Italian Scholarly research (Salet et al. 2003; central city. In East Germany, dreams to debate. As a rule, governance structures Albrechts et al. 2003) and professional form a powerful city network made up cannot be transferred from one country experience shows that in the end each of Dresden, Leipzig and Halle have not to another one-to-one. However, there is city region in Europe has to find its own yet materialized. much room for mutual learning, from solution of how to organize regional co- In Italy, the law 142/1990 intro- failures as from successes. operation. duced the Cittá metropolitana as an in- In November 2004, a colloquium Italy and Germany are two countries dependent institutional body at the inter- “Creativity and Urban Governance in of the European Union with quite differ- mediate level between city council and European City Regions” will take place ent traditions in urban and regional gov- region. Ten Italian city regions received at the Villa Vigoni, the Italian-German ernance. While Italy is characterized by the metropolitan label: Turin, Milan, Centre of Cultural Exchange at Lake a clear-cut system of multi-tiered plan- Venice, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, Como in Italy. The colloquium will focus ning and decision-making with dynamic Rome, Bari, Naples and Cagliari. This on the elements, capacities, and legal local political territories, Germany, be- new authority has never been imple- as well as financial tools for city region ing a federal country with powerful mented in any of these metropolitan cooperation. It will discuss the ways and states or Länder, independent city-states cities, yet the initiative of the Central means to initiate and maintain creative and politically self-governing local gov- Government produced some interesting and effective governance within city re- ernments, exhibits quite different re- experiments across the country. In a few gions in both countries, and the role lo- gional political cultures. Given Italy’s of these metropolitan cities new modes cal and regional institutions, planners and Germany’s different political and of governance emerged. As a rule they and groups of civil society will have to planning cultures, it is worthwhile to ex- were initiated from the local govern- play. It will particularly aim at bridging plore their different approaches to re- ment, hence “from the bottom” and the information gap between the two gional cooperation in city regions, or at were related to particular topics or par- countries. last to learn from their respective efforts, ticular territories within city regions. In Six dimensions of creative regional their successes and failures. recent years we have also seen the governance will be discussed at the In both countries there is no clear def- emergence of city regions that go far symposium: inition of the term “city region”. Al- beyond the original concept of metro- though the Federal German Ministry of politan area. This is particularly true for Transport, Housing and Planning has central Lombardy, where an area of at 1 Why recognize a city region? identified seven metropolitan regions least five million people (belonging to The rationale and the initiators of city (MURL 1997), while neglecting the city five provinces and three regions) live in region formation processes regions of Hanover and Nuremberg, a very integrated pattern, in the Veneto Though the perspective may vary, the these city regions represent just one pos- Region, the area between Verona and need for larger territorial units in the Eu- sible approach to the definition of city Venice, in the area of Naples etc. For all ropean urban competition is widely ac- region territories. The city-states (Ham- these reasons the idea of “city region” is cepted in political arenas. Core munici- burg, Bremen and Berlin), which have more appropriate than that of “metro- palities usually aim at maintaining inter- grown over the last decades beyond politan city”, and at the same time it national status or achieving competitive- their traditional boundaries, are forced raises new governance issues. ness through the coordination of differ- to seek consensus with the federal states Comparing Germany and Italy seems ent roles and functions. They know that in which they are geographically em- particularly valuable because – against only large city regions with their exten- bedded (Lower Saxony and Branden- a similar legal and institutional back- sive transport and knowledge infrastruc- burg). Frankfurt/Main is just one city in ground – local and regional planning tures can provide the territorial frame- the conurbation extending over three take on very different roles. Despite work for competitiveness, even if it is federal states (Hesse, Bavaria and some emerging similarities, the role, the just the core city that is profiling the Rhineland-Palatine). The RheinRuhr ag- routines and approaches, as well as the whole city region. Weak suburban com- DISP 158 3 2004

munities, in turn, see a benefit in form- sustainable in their institutional setting, tion in a city region. In the process of ing territorial coalitions to counteract the often lose contact with the people, developing city-regional visions, the var- power of the core city and to find func- whereas more informal arrangements ious actors in a city region learn about tional niches and profiles within a larger may gain more benefits from the basis the arguments and concerns of others, city region. Initiators of city region for- that identifies with single projects, unfiltered by local journalists and offi- mation processes are usually (and though their sustainability is always cial politico-administrative statements. A mainly) institutional actors, predomi- fragile. weak civil society in a city region will be nantly governments at the local or at the encouraged to articulate its concerns higher regional or even national tiers. and contribute its knowledge. Experi- 4 How to envision city regions? ence shows that in the working style en- Identity building processes, strategic vironment of envisioning processes it is 2 How to define the boundaries of a planning and vision-building efforts easier to compromize. The final printed city region? City region formation Developing a joint spatial vision for the outcome of such learning processes in a processes and territorial boundaries city region as a whole is crucial for cre- city region does not conclude the social The definition of the boundaries of city ating a city region’s identity beyond lo- learning process. The output is rather regions differs widely. Deciding upon a cal political agendas and clichés. A re- the documentation of the goal-finding clear territorial definition of city region gional identity, in turn, is indispensable and decision-making processes than a is a long and usually very controversial for finding and maintaining regional traditional legally binding land use mas- political bargaining process whether it consensus and identifying corridors of ter plan. To sustain the momentum of is done “from below”, hence among lo- regional cooperation. Therefore the such social learning processes after a cal governments, or “from above”, that process of establishing the regional strategic policy document has been pro- is, from a superior politico-administra- identity is often more important than the duced is not easy. It often requires out- tive institution. As a rule, boundaries of final plan or outcome of respective side pressure or new events and oppor- a city region can be more flexible where strategic planning process. It is the tunities to reassemble regional actors for the city region is less institutionalized. process that forces regional actors to joining forces in the city region. Consequently, a soft mode of institution- communicate and cooperate, to clearly alization may be easier to handle than express their aspirations, to agree on a hard one. A model that connects flexi- common spatial goals and targets, to ar- 6 How to implement city region ble boundaries of a city region with flex- ticulate their vested interests, and to development processes? ible agreements, but maintains political jointly develop sectoral or comprehen- Tools and creative financing stability and guarantees longer term sive city region policies. There are vari- Whilst in the past, all over Europe, vari- commitment, could be the way out of the ous forms of producing regional visions. ous innovative informal and semi-formal usual political gridlock in bottom-up city The approaches vary from in-house pro- ways have been found to facilitate city region definitions. fessional production of strategic plans to region communication processes, still more process-oriented communication only few region-specific tools for guid- processes involving a wide regional ing and promoting regional develop- 3 How to politically legitimize a city public. Additionally, the vision is an im- ment and cooperation are available be- region? Democratic legitimization and portant tool for raising the profile of the yond very traditional ones. Given the representation city region in the outside world; a policy constitutional character of city regions, The political legitimization of city region text for negotiations with upper-tier insti- such tools may rather have to be soft in governments varies widely. Some city tutions as well as a background docu- nature. Contracts between regional regions always had or lately acquired ment for potential investors. In order to partners are one such tool, which has al- democratic (through voting) legitimiza- avoid the internalization of expert ready proven its viability for project-re- tion, which is the most durable and ac- knowledge, it is essential to communi- lated agreement. The applicability of cepted form of democratic control. Oth- cate popular versions of the (new) re- other tools to the specific conditions of ers are just politico-administrative bod- gional vision to a wider public via exhi- city region development still has to be ies assigned to a regional institution bitions, posters, Internet and easily explored and tested. Finally, an addi- without any further democratic legit- readable brochures. tional aspect deserves attention: the fact imization. Still other forms of legitimiza- that city regions do not have an estab- tion follow supra-legal and sub-legal lished financial basis is one of the major (defined as in Offe 1973) modes and 5 How to enhance social learning in bottlenecks for regional action. Waiting relate mostly to common visions or sin- city regions? Communication and social for outside funding is not a promising gle projects more than to governance learning processes way. However, facing inadequate ac- structures. There are many pros and More than not, it is the lack of communi- cess to funds and limited possibilities for cons for the respective models. Democ- cation and hidden vested interests that raising new funds, much creative financ- ratic legitimated bodies, though quite are constraining joint development ac- ing is required. This includes the estab- DISP 158 4 2004

lishment of innovative city region funds, • Identifying and involving creative ac- reactive multi-budgeting, new city re- tors to overcome administrative and po- gion taxes or private contributions. This, litical routine and clientelism. This may in turn, requires creative bankers and fi- include the involvement of various nance officers who, from their expert groups of the regional civil society and base, know how to act in a given legal may require new active modes of inter- and constitutional framework. action. • Selecting unusual catalyst projects for This current edition of DISP collects es- enhancing identity building, by discove- says of some of the participants of the ring the symbolic and imaginative role Villa Vigoni Conference. They have all of projects and by marketing the region been invited to write on creative gover- effectively as a whole. nance in European city regions without • Identifying new, more creative instru- any further direction from the editors. ments for financing and implementing Consequently the contributions differ city region development projects, such widely with respect to their spatial refer- as creative approaches to raise and ma- ences, to their substantial focus and to nage private funds, organize cost sha- the definition of what creative gover- ring or sustain information and commu- nance and creativity in governance is or nication flows. could mean. The papers included in this The debate in the Villa Vigoni will issue of DISP – in its diversity and multi- most likely show that creativity is a fuzzy tude of references – serve as back- concept that leaves much space for in- ground papers to address and stimulate terpretation. Nonetheless, the confronta- the debate between scholarly academ- tion of more “creative”, more flexible, ics and practitioners from Germany and and more imaginative Italian thinking Italy, supplemented by a few distin- with more systematic, better organized guished international scholars. Through or regulated German deliberations may the exchange of best practices, open be a fruitful battle field for creative ad- discussions and mutual learning, the col- vancement in the ongoing European city loquium in the Villa Vigoni will explore region governance debate. ideas of how to enrich ongoing aca- demic and political debates on city re- gion governance in Europe. A framing concept of creative gover- References nance will guide the debate. This will in- ALBRECHTS, L.; HEALEY, P.; KUNZMANN, clude the following aspects: K.R. (2003): Strategic Spatial Planning and Creative solutions to strategic and fle- • Regional Governance in Europe. In: Journal xible boundary formation, such as intro- of the American Planning Association, vol. ducing formally recognized agreements 69, n. 2, pp. 113–129. at “variable geometries”; favoring the OFFE, C. (1973): Strukturprobleme des ka- coexistence of soft and hard forms of in- pitalistischen Staates. Aufsätze zur politi- stitutionalization with “fixed” decision- schen Soziologie. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. making routines and clear democratic control. SALET, W.; THORNLEY, A.; KREUKELS, A. (eds.) (2003): Metropolitan Governance and Creative approaches to initiate city • Spatial Planning. Comparative Case Studies region formation and legitimize city re- of European City Regions. London/New gion institutions, such as improving com- York: Spon Press. munication and exchange at the city-re- gional level; initiating “inclusive poli- cies” towards all parties and actors for- ming the local arena. • Developing alternative scenarios for the future strongly embedded and an- chored within the city region to enhance more creative dimensions of the regio- nal development processes. DISP 158 5 2004 Klaus R. Kunzmann

An Agenda for Creative Governance in City Regions

Multiple constraints hinder regional insti- is airport expansion, highway network torn between local agendas and state tutions and actors to initiate cooperation improvement schemes, the financing of concerns. Only a few city regions have cultural facilities, the proliferation of out- moved forward in developing more in- in city regions. One constraint of future- of-town malls, the extension of organ- tensive regional cooperations, others oriented city region development is the ized leisure resorts in the hinterland, or are continuously diluting their intra-re- lack of creativity. Since a decade or just the issue of high income housing gional cooperation with internal quar- more, all city regions in Germany are ex- versus affordable housing, the agenda rels and intra-regional jealousies perimenting with some or the other form for necessary action in the city region (Wentz 1994; Heinz 2000). and for moderation is long. Conflicts set Two of the 16 state governments in of inter-governmental cooperation. Some the agenda for political action. Two Germany, Hamburg and Bremen, are in have been successful in establishing re- phenomena can be observed: a grow- fact city-states benefiting from century gional institutions, others have rather fa- ing intra-regional spatial specialization long traditions, which the Hanse estab- vored informal cooperation agreements as well as polarization that splits lished in the 16th century. Both of these or are still struggling to find appropriate the areas favored by globalization city-states suffer severely from the exces- processes from the increasing disadvan- sive outflow of mobile enterprises and ways and means to organize regional co- taged local spaces. In such spaces all households to the hinterland beyond the operation. Too many constraints have to those service functions tend to be per- states’ administrative boundaries, which be overcome. Drawing on the experience formed that the globally, or at least in- has been fuelled by the availability of in Germany, ten suggestions for more ternationally oriented city requires to re- affordable land and other incentives. Al- creative governance in city regions have main competitive. No wonder that the though there are agreements among poorest neighborhoods of highly devel- city-states and their neighbor states been made and briefly sketched. They oped countries, as it is the case in Lon- (Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein) range from allowing flexible boundaries don or Paris, are rather concentrated in to constrain unlimited suburbanization, to the promotion of regional innovation the global city, than in other regions. there are still continuous tensions be- networks, from supporting the Third Sec- Consequently, national and state gov- tween them. Many issues – such as air- tor to the communication of intra-re- ernments are in the obvious dilemma be- port extensions, shared costs for cultural tween promoting and supporting local facilities, out-of-town malls, or regional gional success stories. Implementing the self-government and intervening in intra- logistics centers on greenfield sites – are suggested agenda requires much political regional conflicts by exerting top-down causes for permanent conflicts. good will and strong leadership by vi- power and authority. Central cities, as The Ruhr has Germany’s oldest re- sionary politicians and professionals who well as wealthy suburban communities, gional authority, dating back to 1920, know how and when to start implement- pursue their own interests and it requires when the world famous Siedlungsver- catalytic regional projects and strong band Ruhrkohlenbezirk was launched. ing one or the other item on the above personalities to overcome gridlocked Since then, the cities and counties of the agenda. In particular, it requires multiple policies in city regions. As a conse- river Ruhr, representing a population of creativity: creative institutions and cre- quence it is necessary to look beyond more than five million, have a joint inter- ative actors, creative strategies and cre- national boundaries in order to learn communal institution (von Petz 1997). ative processes, and creative financing. how city regions in other countries cope However, this agency, today called with the spatial challenges of the new Kommunalverband Ruhrgebiet, has only world economy and the European Pro- very limited responsibilities, which ex- 1 Setting the Context ject. clude crucial policy areas such as trans- For many reasons city regions in Europe port, economic development and plan- have become a new target of political 2 Cooperation in German City Regions ning. Hence the agency is much more a interest. The new global economy is As elsewhere in Europe, regional coop- regional marketing institution that oper- forcing cities to compete to attract in- eration in city regions in Germany is ates with a divide et impera understand- vestors and real estate developers as both an issue and a challenge. Here, as ing of local politics, but with no power well as headquarters of international in- elsewhere, city regions continue to grow to interfere in local development issues. stitutions or subsidiaries of multi-national into their rural hinterlands. Given the The agency is on the battleground be- corporations, cultural festivals and polit- fact that state governments, together tween the bottom-up policies of its 45 lo- ical events. They also compete for qual- with their established decentralized ad- cal member governments and the top- ified knowledge workers and students. ministrative structures, exert various down control structures of the three state In this worldwide competition, the core forms of control as they distribute state provinces sharing administrative respon- cities are more and more handicapped funds to local government, they have a sibilities over the state of North Rhine- by the struggles they must fight with their strong influence on the economic, social Westphalia (Kunzmann 2001). In prin- neighboring local governments in the and urban development of cities and re- ciple, the whole urban agglomeration ever expanding hinterland. Whether it gions. Consequently city regions are RheinRuhr, with twelve million people, is DISP 158 6 2004

by far the largest metropolitan region in The most recent effort to organize bal- which, for the most part, probably does Germany, making it bigger than London anced city region development and to not differ from the experiences else- or Paris in terms of population, and as better coordinate the local development where in Europe, I would like to make such would need some kind of inter- efforts of fast growing suburban govern- the following ten suggestions of how to regional cooperation. This, however, ments is taking place in the Stuttgart Re- target and improve city region gover- due to cultural and political reasons, gion. A newly established intercommu- nance: seems to be unrealistic. nal authority is trying to moderate be- • Allow flexible functional boundaries: Berlin-Brandenburg: A few years after tween Stuttgart, the wealthy local gov- In the past, cities solved their problems the reunification of East and West Ger- ernments surrounding the city and the by expanding their territory into their ad- many, efforts were made to merge the various regional public authorities (Ver- jacent hinterland and colonizing the ur- city of reunited Berlin with the state of band Region Stuttgart 1998). Since its ban fringe. They just grew bigger. Today Brandenburg, which fully surrounds the establishment, the Stuttgart model has this is almost impossible. The central ci- capital city. Despite good arguments on become an often praised model for city ties are surrounded by independent lo- both sides and to the surprise of the po- region governance in Germany, mainly cal governments, which, for many rea- litical milieus in both states, the popular because the regional assembly is a dem- sons, do not wish to become absorbed vote was negative. Now all the conflicts ocratically elected regional body. by the mighty central city. Hence it does at the urban fringe of Berlin have to be When, after reunification in 1989, not make sense any more to aim at defi- moderated though extensive and more the capital function of Bonn was trans- ning clear administrative boundaries for time consuming negotiations between ferred to Berlin, the city of Bonn initiated comprehensive city region development. the city of Berlin and the neighboring lo- an informal city region cooperation to The city region with its functional hinter- cal governments. There is, however, benefit from the compensation the Fed- land expands continuously into a wider agreement among the partners to pur- eral Government had offered to the and wider hinterland, which would re- sue a policy of “deconcentrated concen- “loser city”. Instead of waiting for the quire a regular review of the boundary tration”, that is, constraining suburban legally processed establishment of a for- every 25 years or so. Moreover, as a growth to a small number of medium- mal politico-administrative city region rule, functional boundaries differ from sized towns in the hinterland of Berlin body, and losing time, the responsible function to function. The regional trans- (MLUR 1999). actors in the city and the surrounding port authority has its service area, which The Umlandverband Frankfurt has a county agreed to join forces for innova- differs from that of the waterworks or long tradition of regional land use plan- tive spatial and economic development that of the city region’s mail delivery sys- ning in the RheinMain agglomeration in the city region. The fact that Bonn, so tem. Obviously there is a core area, with cities such as Frankfurt, Wiesbaden far, is doing much better in economic where all the functional areas overlap and Offenburg. The agency is responsi- terms than Berlin is partly an outcome of and where the local governments should ble for guiding land use development in this creative regional cooperation contribute to a common fund for intra-re- the fast growing city region. Maneu- (Kunzmann 2004a). gional activities. However, it should then vring between affluent local communi- In addition to these more prominent, be left to the dynamism of the city regi- ties in the fringe of Frankfurt and the au- albeit more or less successful examples on’s central city to bring the regional ac- thority of the state government, its politi- of city–hinterland cooperation, the Fed- tors to the table for discussing issues of cal power in the region is weak. Thus, eral and state governments are promot- common concern and agreeing on stra- its success in containing urban growth ing city networks. Thereby city networks tegic decisions. In times when local com- in the region is rather limited (Wentz are primarily seen as mechanisms to co- munities tend to fight hard for local in- 1994). ordinate city politics among neighbor- dependence and political freedom and The Hanover Region, in turn, is one of ing cities in a region by organizing a central governments promote devolu- the few German success stories of intra- certain division of labor. This is done to tion, it may be too time-consuming and regional cooperation. Established a few reduce the federal and state govern- counterproductive to aim at consolida- decades ago to deal with land use plan- ment’s financial burden for supporting ting new city region boundaries. Flexi- ning matters in the wider city region, the local governments but also because ver- ble boundaries, based on a willingness agency, called Hanover Region, has de- tical city hierarchies have lost their ra- of cooperation, and guided by certain veloped a profile over the years, which tionale against the attractiveness of rules of participation and withdrawal, allows it to play a key role in intra-re- more horizontally organized city net- may be a more pragmatic short-term so- gional development. It has developed a works (Kunzmann 2004b). lution. regional concept of polycentric urban • Improve regional information: Most development linked to a regional trans- actors involved in regional governance port policy focusing on public transport 3 An Agenda for Governance have only a very limited knowledge and the conservation of open space in City Regions base of problems and development within the city region (Fürst 1996; Based on the experience of German city trends in a region. Much of their Priebs 1997; Aring 1997). regions’ experiences with governance, knowledge is based on a more or less DISP 158 7 2004

haphazard personal experience of day- detailed information about what should a precondition for any successful regio- to-day business, on armchair evidence be done, where, and when and by nal marketing, must be trustworthy, that or on anecdotal information from a whom. In the past, such documents, af- is, must be based on endogenous po- close network of informants and assi- ter having kept committees and councils tentials and regional assets. It does not stants. As a rule, insufficient time is avai- busy for years before they were finally make sense to just follow mainstream fa- lable to base decisions on accurate in- approved, tended to be outdated and shions and marketing hype. Regional formation, or little money is spent to were consequently shelved once they media have an important role in promo- build up the necessary information base had been published. Instead, a regional ting regional identification, as much for preparing for upcoming decisions. vision should be a concise policy paper, as regional business associations and This is particularly the case for informa- which suggests a common understan- groups of local entrepreneurs. Without tion on regional problems and trends of ding, a corridor of opportunities, the di- their strong regional commitment, the re- the whole city region, if, as is usually the rection in which the region wishes to go, gional economic base will gradually case, there is no agency that represents and the principles on which future po- erode. the city region as a whole, which is le- licy decisions will have to be based. • Strengthen regional innovation net- gitimized or commissioned to compile There are various ways to come up with works: Established regional institutions, and disseminate information. Moreover, such a vision. One way may be to ap- if they exist at all, have a tendency in insufficient information is the first source point an ad hoc group of regionally their day-to-day work to become very for prejudice and biased opinion about committed – although independent – pragmatic. More often than not, staff other actors in a region. This makes it personalities across the political and working in such institutions anticipates difficult to communicate across common ideological strata of the region and ask the reasons why certain projects or poli- regional aims and the ways of achie- them to produce such a vision for the cies will definitively fail, why political ving them. New technologies, in turn, city region as well as guidelines for ac- circumstances will not allow such ideas, present ample opportunities to deal with tion. or why third parties would or could not the information deficit in city regions. It • Promote city region identity: In times agree. Similarly, established regional is easy to plug-in all regional actors into of globalization, city regions have come committees or subcommittees that bring a regional information network. This net- under more pressure to sharpen their in- middle-management representatives of work should contain information on po- ternational profiles. Such profiles, in regional institutions together have a ten- verty as well as export relations, on en- turn, depend very much on a compre- dency to be over-pragmatic or just le- vironmental changes, land consumption hensive set of historical, cultural and thargic, assuming that their superior and mobility, or on whatever the actors economic factors that over decades or bosses expect them to defend institutio- and stakeholders in the region could centuries have contributed to the image nal concerns. Consequently regional in- provide. Of course, it would be neces- that the (core) city has abroad. How- novations, innovative ideas and innova- sary to develop a solid framework for ever, there is a close interdependency tive approaches, suggested to cope with such a city region information bank, as between the exterior image of a place development problems in the region, well as ensuring that the information is and the interior identification with this are often blocked or even suppressed regularly updated and accessible for place. While the core city is dominating once they are presented. Established re- everybody. the exterior image of a city region, the gional think tanks or ad hoc appointed • Develop a regional vision: It is wi- identification of citizens and neighbor- networks of innovative regional actors, dely known that if a region has no vision hoods with the city region is more com- picked out individually, may be a way of its future, day-to-day political decisi- plex. For many, the city region is quite to overcome the lack of regional inno- ons tend to be opportunistic and inte- often just an administrative construct, an vation. rest-led. Instead of contributing to a authority performing supra-local functi- • Support the third sector: Public sup- long-term development strategy, they ons (such as land use planning or trans- port of the public sector seems to have tend to reflect the power of the actors in- port management). It has no indepen- vanished all over Europe, following the volved and their short-term profit inte- dent identity, and few people even re- promises of Reagonomics and Thatche- rests or political aspirations. If a region cognize the city region as a whole. rism that the market would regulate bet- lacks such a comprehensive vision, ar- Hence, it would make sense to explore ter what the public sector with its inter- guments for and against certain deve- possibilities on how to promote activities ventionist policy seemingly could not lopment projects or land use policies strengthening intra-regional identifica- achieve. And even the new left (“Third tend to be guided by sector deliberati- tion, such as initiating intra-regional Way”) governments in Europe seem to ons rather than principles derived from competitions, encouraging intra-regio- pursue policies that give the private sec- a joint regional vision. Such a regional nal networks or formulating a joint fo- tor highest priority. Experience, how- vision is neither a comprehensive regio- reign policy, a policy that could guide ever, has shown that the private sector, nal master plan, with an impressive list international economic activities and given its short-term profit interests, can- of rhetorical goals nobody could dis- cultural exchange. Thereby, one thing is not fully replace the public sector when agree with, nor is it a compendium of important: the regional identity, which is it comes to public infrastructure or to ac- DISP 158 8 2004

cessibility guarantees ubiquity and con- nal projects are one reason for actors is crucial to establish trust among local tinuity of public sector services, as well from regional institutions to come to- governments and regional institutions, as modest redistribution of wealth. Here gether to share joint interests, agree on among political milieus and private net- is one role for a Third Sector, for inter- objectives and approaches, overcome works, among the public and between mediate organizations, for institutions prejudices, and explore future activities. public and private actors. This is indis- and community groups, which have to They create opportunities to meet. Such pensable for joint regional action. Such fill the growing gap between a weake- face-to-face opportunities of coming to- trust has to be built-up gradually within ning public sector and a globalizing pri- gether are key to successful regional co- the region to overcome sensitivities and vate sector that is less and less regio- operation. Hence any effort should be communication deficits. If a small local nally rooted and committed. It is the undertaken to create more such oppor- government in a region feels that it is mis- Third Sector, which will have to raise re- tunities to meet and exchange ideas and used or by-passed by the central city, it gional social and environmental aware- share common visions, even if no action will not be open to regional coopera- ness, monitor regional development is taken, no memorandum of understan- tion. If community groups willing to offer trends, and compile and disseminate in- ding is signed, or no political decision is time and enthusiasm notice that they are formation on regionally important is- made. The public and private actors in- not taken seriously, they will end their sues. And it will have an increasingly vited as persons to participate in city re- willingness to cooperate. Only intra-re- important task, that is, the management gion events, in round tables or fora, or gional trust enables actors in a city re- and implementation of community tasks. in ad hoc working groups or explorative gion to act without time consuming ver- Although such tasks are mainly targeted future workshops should ideally come tical and horizontal consultation proces- to local neighborhoods, they have to be from a diversity of institutions and eco- ses; only trust allows them to grasp op- conceptualized at a city region scale. nomic fields, to allow for a maximum of portunities that benefit the whole region. • Design catalyst projects for intra-re- information interchange beyond limited Depending on the regional context, gional cooperation: As long as intra-re- day-to-day information flows and esta- other approaches to target city region gional cooperation is not more than a blished political channels. problems more efficiently than in the vague rhetorical expression of willing- • Communicate intra-regional success past may still have to be considered. Es- ness, it will not bring regional actors to- stories: It is widely known that nothing is tablished systems of governance cannot gether. What is needed to demonstrate more successful than success. Hence it be easily transferred from one country regional cooperative spirit are projects makes sense to identify intra-regional to another. As the case of Germany has that require regional cooperation. This, success stories and explore their poten- shown, models for city region gover- for example, could be a project for river tial for replication within the city region. nance are not easily transferable, even bank redevelopment, a city region’s Often such success stories are better within a country. Only a deeper explo- spring festival, or an initiative to pro- known outside of the region than within. ration of single mechanisms to intra-re- mote a joint regional export campaign A successful low budget approach to lo- gional coordination may give some to China that involves small and me- cal integration of minority groups, an ideas of how the most felt constraints of dium-sized enterprises from all over the employment initiative involving unem- city region governance in a city region region. Such projects would be the trai- ployed juniors in a neighborhood music can be removed. However, there are al- ning grounds for regional cooperation. production scheme or a self-initiated ways lessons to learn from best practice They would bring public and private ac- community development group that rai- cases and from obvious failures in city tors from the city region together who ses environmental awareness are but a regions or other countries. With a cer- share a common interest and where the few examples of small-scale projects in tain amount of political openness and project or the initiative would be suc- a region that may be suitable for “ex- administrative and financial creativity, it cessful and beneficial to those who par- port” to other neighborhoods in the city may be possible to improve governance ticipate. Successful cooperation in one region. The identification of such pro- in city regions to the benefit of all its cit- project, in turn, is a splendid reference jects may be facilitated by the regional izens and the environment. for more and more intensified regional media, calling for exemplary projects to cooperation in similar or other fields. gain coverage and the associated pu- From such projects, personal networks blicity, or when searching for initiatives 4 Towards Creative Governance would evolve that could facilitate infor- that then may receive a city region Obviously, implementing the above mation exchange before any major in- award for best practice in a certain po- agenda requires much political good tra-regional tensions could be built up. licy field. Given its great information will and strong leadership by visionary And within such projects, experience dissemination potential, the Web may politicians and professionals who know could also be made with regards to how also be a good means to be considered how and when to start implementing costs could be shared – an experience for encouraging regional groups to one or the other items on the above which, if positive, is crucial for any fol- share their success stories. agenda. In particular, it requires multi- low-up initiative. • Establish trust: One thing is essential ple creativity: creative institutions and • Create opportunities to meet: Regio- in regional cooperation: trust. Hence, it creative actors, creative strategies and DISP 158 9 2004

creative processes, and creative financ- new approaches to strategic develop- continuous mutual learning for a sustain- ing. ment are being experimented only with able city region future. In times of glob- • Creative institutions and creative ac- the initiative and financial support of alization, only creative governance can tors: As a rule, given the established po- higher-tier governments. The city net- guarantee the competitiveness of city re- litical arena in city regions with their lo- works initiative or the 2030 program of gions. cal rituals and personal networks and the Federal German Government or the commitments, there is only limited space INTERREG program of the European for new faces and fresh thoughts. And, Union are good examples. One, in the with few exceptions, established institu- end not quite successful venture to inno- tions, local governments or regional pu- vate regional decision-making proces- References blic or semi-public institutions have a ses has been the introduction of regio- ARING, J. (1997): Region Hannover? Auf tendency to conservative management nal conferences in North Rhine-West- der Suche nach geeigneten Selbstverwal- of day-to-day affairs. Their willingness phalia. The top-down initiative, which tungsstrukturen für eine urbanisierte Stadtre- to change the routine path of institutio- aimed at speeding up decision-making gion. In: KOMMUNALVERBAND GROSS- nal action, to experiment new ap- processes in sub-regions failed largely RAUM HANNOVER, (ed.): Hannover Region proaches to urban and regional devel- due to one-dimensional political divide 2001. Hannover, pp. 78–89. opment or to recruit new creative staff is et impera attitudes of key regional ac- FÜRST, D. (1996): Region Hannover – Auf- limited. Their profound institutional tors. Experience has shown that new bruch zu neuen Ufern? In: Niedersächsischer knowledge of implementation is a key strategies require new and creative ac- Städtetag Nachrichten, 12, pp. 41–55. reason for rather seeing difficulties than tors, who have the courage to leave rou- HEINZ, W. (ed.) (2000): Stadt & Region – opportunities. Inbuilt institutional learn- tine paths and explore uncharted territo- Kooperation oder Koordination? Ein interna- ing and innovation is scarce. Conse- ries of city region development. tionaler Vergleich. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. quently, more than once, new tasks in a Creative financing: As a rule, the • MLUR – Ministerium für Landwirtschaft, city region require the establishment of shortage of financial means is the most Umweltschutz, Raumordnung des Landes new institutions, as the existing ones do serious bottleneck of innovative regional Brandenburg (ed.) (1999): Strategy Report: not have the credibility of being able to action. Thus creative financing remains Metropolitan Region Berlin-Brandenburg. cope with innovative action. Only newly to be the only way to raise and provide Potsdam. established institutions, with new per- the financial means for new initiatives KUNZMANN, K. R. (2001): The Ruhr in Ger- sons in leading positions, seem to have and projects in a city region. And, more many: A Laboratory for Regional Gover- the required momentum for coping with often than in the past, the likely costs of nance. In: ALBRECHTS, L.; ALDEN, J. and DA new challenges. Such experience, how- regional initiatives have to be shared ROSA PIRES, A. (eds.): The Changing Institu- ever, leads to a further proliferation of among a greater number of contribu- tional Landscape of Planning. Aldershot, pp. institutions in city regions, which in turn tors. Creative financing then implies rais- 133–158. does rather add to the complexity of re- ing new, in the region hitherto not ex- KUNZMANN, K. R. (2004a): …und der gional decision-making processes. The ploited sources of finances, from fees to Sieger heisst (noch) Bonn! Zur Gegenwart establishment of regional alliances for a contributions, particularly from those und zur Zukunft der Hauptstädte Berlin und limited time period with handpicked who benefit from purposed projects in Bonn 15 Jahre nach der Wiedervereinigung personalities from the region and the en- the city region. The contributions may und 10 Jahre nach dem Bonn/Berlin-Gesetz. couragement of a regional civil society come from private investors or charity In: DISP 156, pp. 88–97. may be appropriate approaches lead- organizations, semi-public utility corpo- KUNZMANN, K. R. (2004b): Urban Ger- ing to the formation of a more creative rations or local saving banks. New city many: The Future Will be Different. In: VAN institutional environment in city regions. development funds may be one instru- DEN BERG, L.; BRAUN, E. and VAN DER • Creative strategies and processes: ment to manage such contributions, lo- MEER, J.: National Urban Policies in the Eu- Routine procedures of decision-making cal tax exemptions another one. Central ropean Union. EURICUR Series 2004 (in within and in between institutions in an governments, in turn, should explore to print). established regulatory system have a which extent a tight regulatory system PRIEBS, A. (1997): Erfordert die Auflösung tendency to filter out alternative ways of for local fund raising efforts can be loo- der Stadt in der Region neue regionale Ver- problem solving. In the complex multi- sened to allow and to encourage local waltungsstrukturen? Der Vorschlag zur Bil- tiered system of governance in Europe, actors to be creative. dung der „Region Hannover“. In: BOSE, M. it has become more and more difficult to It is obvious that creative city region (ed.): Die unaufhaltsame Auflösung der Stadt in der Region? Hamburg, pp. 151–169. change the regulatory system. In addi- governance requires creative actors tion, with tightening local budgets and who think differently and who apply VERBAND REGION STUTTGART (ed.) lean public management structures, the longer-term and holistic perspectives to (1995): Verband Region Stuttgart im willingness to experiment with new stra- regional development. The present Überblick. Stuttgart. tegies and processes in city region de- knowledge society has multiple ways to VON PETZ, U. (1997): The German Metro- velopment is decreasing. Very often, support such creativity and to promote politan Region: The Ruhr Bassin, Towards a DISP 158 10 2004

New Spatial Policy. In: BOSMA, K. and HELLINGA, H. (eds.): Mastering the City: North European City Planning 1900–2000. NAI Rotterdam: Publishers/EFL Publications. WENTZ, Martin (ed.) (1994): Region. Cam- pus.

Prof. Dr. Klaus R. Kunzmann Department of European Spatial Planning University of Dortmund P.o. box 500500 D-44221 Dortmund [email protected] DISP 158 11 2004 Patsy Healey

Creativity and Urban Governance

This article explores the relationship be- in both economic and cultural policy in ronmental care? What does it take for tween “creativity” and “innovation”, and the UK – and the forms and practices of such experiments in new governance “governance”. In both policy fields, an- forms to diffuse more widely across gov- the forms and practices of “governance” alysts repeatedly refer to the ways in ernance landscapes to affect estab- in an urban context. It examines, in par- which contemporary governance lished governance processes and cul- ticular, the “double” creativity of gover- arrangements inhibit innovative initia- tures, the discourses and practices of nance, both in terms of its potential to tives (see, for example, Cooke et al., which seem currently to sustain the criti- foster creativity in social and economic 2000; Landry 2000; Worpole and cism that “governance” impedes “cre- Greenhaulgh 1999). Business people ativity’? dynamics and to creatively transform its and creative artists often imagine that In this article, I seek to develop an ap- own capacities. It argues that there is no creativity and governance are somehow proach to the assessment of both the simple equation between the characteris- in dualistic opposition, implying that modes of “creative” governance and tics of a “creative city” and a “creative” more “government” means less “creativ- the extent to which experiments in new mode of urban governance. Instead, the ity”, whether measured as wealth gen- governance forms may come to spread eration or in terms of culturally enriching from their arena of invention to become article advocates a multi-level approach projects. “normal practice” across a wider gover- to the dimensions of urban governance Such criticism is one force driving at- nance landscape. Specifically, I elabo- through which to identify qualities of tempts across Europe to “modernise” rate what kind of mobilising effort in governance activity, which, in specific governance processes, to develop more what kind of institutional context might contexts, have the potential to encourage flexible and enabling promotional and help to build the capacity in city regions regulatory practices. I use the term “gov- to release rather than suppress creative creativity and innovation. The article first ernance” to refer to collective action energies, encourage innovative prac- develops three meanings of creativity arrangements designed to achieve tices, move beyond narrow conceptions and outlines the way these are related to some general benefit, and government of “development” and enable multiple governance activity. A three-level ap- to refer to the formal organisations of voices to find expression in city regions. proach to the interacting dimensions of the “public sector”. “Governance” in Focusing on initiatives to promote new this sense is used as a general term, not forms of governance to guide the devel- governance is then presented, linking as a specific mode of governance (see opment of the places of cities and city episodes, processes and cultures. This ap- Cars et al. 2002). These “modernisa- regions, I explore three questions: proach is then developed into an evalua- tion” initiatives have led to all kinds of • What types of “governance infra- tive framework through which the cre- experiments and initiatives, which seek structures” have the capacity to release ative potentialities of emergent proper- to transform established government imaginative and innovative activities in practices and “create” new governance city regions? ties of governance practices in specific capacities. Implicit in these efforts is an • What interventions help to transform situations can be explored. In conclusion, assumption that innovation, experimen- governance cultures to generate such the article comments on the kinds of gov- tation and “creativity” are not qualities capacity? ernance infrastructures which may have opposed to governance per se. Gover- • What “imaginative resources” and the capacity to release imaginative and nance processes may be “creative” in a mobilising power help to enrich contexts double sense. In one sense, new gover- to foster the “mainstreaming” of suc- innovative activities in city regions, the nance capacities can be developed, cessful experiments? kinds of interventions which may help to whether through struggle, learning or The discussion proceeds as follows. transform such capacity and the imagina- evolution. In a second sense, some First, I review the meanings of creativity tive resources and mobilising power ways of doing governance have better and innovation in a governance con- which may help successful innovations to potential than others to foster the inno- text. To illustrate these, I draw on exam- vatory, creative modes sought by the ad- ples from my own city region of New- spread from experiment to “main- vocates of economic and cultural cre- castle upon Tyne in the UK. This is a rust- stream”. ativity. If this is the case, what might belt city experiencing population loss, these qualities be? How far does the cur- which has now enthusiastically em- This article is reprinted by permission of Taylor & rent modernising experimentation pro- braced a strategic project of “Going for Francis Ltd. from Policy Studies, Volume 25, No. 2, mote these qualities? To the extent that Growth”, combined with a wellreceived 2004. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals. they promote “innovation”, how broad (but ultimately unsuccessful) bid to be is the conception of innovation? Does it recognised as the European Capital of Introduction refer primarily to a new product in an Culture in 2008. In the UK, urban gov- This article presents an exploration of economic market place, or does it ex- ernance cultures are deeply affected by the relationship between the promotion tend to new efforts in building social net- the highly centralist traditions of UK gov- of creative innovation – a major theme works or new ways of exercising envi- ernment, which, though now encourag- DISP 158 12 2004

ing the emergence of all kinds of exper- Three meanings are significant in life brings in another emphasis. This iments in “partnership” governance these challenges to established routines stresses the importance of creative en- forms, finds it difficult to “let go” and and struggles about alternative strate- deavour as enriching human existence. foster experimentation generated from gies for managing change in city re- It brings with it a focus on the value of outside the “system”. Transformation of gions. The first meaning is the most aesthetic and spiritual qualities of urban “mainstream” processes and cultures is straightforward. This links creativity with life, as a challenge to the overemphasis therefore a critical challenge. I draw on innovation, the search for the “new” – on the materiality of life, which domi- an “institutionalist” approach to gover- “new policies”, “new projects”, “new nated the struggles of 20th century poli- nance transformation processes to ex- practices” and “new people”. It empha- tics and governance (see Landry 2000; amine briefly the relationship between sises modes of governance, which have Worpole and Greenhaulgh 1999). This episodes of experimentation and trans- the flexibility both to adjust to new ur- leads to a consideration of the role of formations in “mainstream” governance ban situations and to auto-transform in governance in relation to the generation processes and cultures. Finally, I make the face of new challenges. This mean- of events, objects and situations, which some suggestions as to policy ap- ing places value on the non-routine, on encourage people to feel wonder and proaches, which might help to address the ability to learn, on the capacity to awe, enjoyment and pleasure. It shifts the questions I have raised. draw in new ideas from outside and link attention to spiritual benefit, with all the them to the specifics of local situations. moral connotations, which this carries, It emphasises the importance of experi- rather then mere material profit. This de- Creativity and Governance mentation. The development of such mands a very different appreciation on in City Regions “creative” governance capacities is of- the part of funders, building regulators, Both “government” and “planning” ten justified by the metaphor of the com- land use planners and impact assessors were often described at the end of the plexity of urban systems and societies. than that which focuses on material ben- 20th century as established administra- Rather than a project in social ordering, efit alone. tive routines, following rule-bound bu- urban governance initiatives in complex A good example of such an interven- reaucratic procedures, which impeded systems become a project for sustaining tion from Newcastle is the development innovation and adaptation to new con- the capacity for innovation in urban of the Sage Music Centre. This is in ef- texts and new pressures. They were as- contexts. This kind of meaning has been fect a social project, which seeks to sociated, in these critical claims, with at- well-developed in the by now conven- group opportunities for all kinds of mu- tempts to retain control over dynamic ur- tional economic development literature sical expression in one locale, in a way ban processes, which continually es- on how best to promote economic “com- that combines high levels of social ac- caped the grasp of master plans, com- petitiveness” (Cooke et al. 2000). cess with an appreciation of excellence. prehensive plans and standardised reg- Within Newcastle, for example, along Wandering in from the street or arriving ulatory norms. Neo-liberals argued that with most other European cities, there for a steel band practice, you might sud- more freedom should be given to market have been vigorous attempts by local denly be swept away by a local folk processes as carriers of innovative en- authorities, the regional development singer showing people how to play the ergy, for example, with respect to plan- agency, “One NorthEast” and other concertina or be overwhelmed by the ning systems and practices (Pennington development agencies to promote sites sound of a Beethoven overture. Cur- 2000). Those concerned with the in- where innovative firms can “cluster”, es- rently in a rabbit warren of buildings in creasing diversity of social life attacked pecially linked to “leading edge” firms Gateshead, the Centre is now to move the social ordering concepts of domi- or university departments. Such site- to a landmark “signature” building on nant groups embedded in plans and based interventions have been linked to the Newcastle/Gateshead Quayside. regulations, searching for richer con- strategies to upgrade labour market This will have much better technical fa- ceptions of social and cultural life (see, skills and attract both new firms and cilities and will attract national and in- for example, Yiftachel 1994). Those highly skilled labour to the area. ternational attention. concerned with environmental sustain- The second meaning moves beyond The third meaning focuses on creativ- ability, meanwhile, sought to retain the innovation to address the dimensions of ity as a process of making a new prod- power to control and regulate economic urban dynamics. This focuses on the uct. This could be a cultural object, a forces and to challenge the fixation on concept of “creative” endeavour and new urban locale, a new market niche, “competitive” economic growth, seek- challenges an economistic view of inno- a new governance practice. In some sit- ing to insert new policy ideas into the ur- vation. Market processes are supposed uations, local government or a public ban policy arena (Blowers 2002). All of to be driven by the creative response of agency may still play a strong role in the these critiques could from time to time producers to the behaviour of con- creation of such specific cultural prod- coalesce under the banner of promoting sumers. But this assumes a world driven ucts. For example, the Metropolitan Bor- innovation, or “creativity” (Landry 2000), by the search merely for material profit. ough of Gateshead, across the river but what do these notions of creativity The emphasis on creativity, the creative from the city of Newcastle, has devel- and innovation imply? “industries” and the creativity of cultural oped an imaginative approach to visi- DISP 158 13 2004

ble public art projects. It has promoted complexity suggests a mode of gover- Newcastle, transforming initial enthusi- two large artistic ventures. nance, which allows experimentation asm and interest into critical cynicism. The first is a jumbo jet-sized angel de- and understands that experiments fail as As O’Neill (2002, ch. 3) argues, over- signed by Anthony Gormley, which be- well as succeed. Rather than an empha- regulation destroys the trust it is in- nignly overlooks the city region from the sis on precise outputs and outcomes, this tended to foster. south. In a region with a strong, male suggests an evaluation culture, which fo- The development of a governance cul- working class culture, desperate about cuses on learning new approaches and ture with the qualities summarised the loss of traditional heavy industry new practices. Instead of a narrow focus above is a demanding ambition. It is in and mining employment, such a project on the “efficiency” of resource use, such this context that many business people could easily have attracted scorn and a mode of governance would acknowl- and artists argue that government, and rejection. But through local television, a edge the importance of redundancy in governance more widely, should “get story was created about the construction resource use and availability. Some out of the way” when it comes to the of the angel (skilled work), its symbolism resources and practices need to be promotion of innovation and creativity, for the region (harking back to a long- around for unforeseen situations, to al- as if the two enterprises were incompat- ago regional role in the development of low serendipitous potentialities to evolve ible. Just as it was argued in the 1980s early Christianity), the challenge of and flourish. Cultural products and inno- that government intervention in land transporting it to the site and erecting it vations of any kind need “patrons” and and property development processes in a very windy climate (good organisa- “appreciative audiences”, and places “crowded out” innovative private sector tion and technical skill). Before long, the where new techniques can be refined initiatives (Healey and Barrett 1990), so angel had become embedded in the lo- and skills in the “new” developed. In- some fear that certain kinds of govern- cal culture of friendly jokes, and soon stead of an attitude of rule-following reg- ment intervention can stifle creative en- became an icon for the city region itself, ulation and hierarchical reference to deavour (Landry 2000). Others argue used on postcards and reports about the higher authorities, both within local gov- for a kind of revolutionary replacement area, and in the national media to rep- ernments and between local and higher of the old with the new, through some resent the region. levels of government, this demands an kind of legislative manoeuvre such as The second venture is a celebration of attitude that recognises and encourages new forms of council organisation or engineering design, for which the re- imaginative power and organisational new tiers of government or political/ide- gion has a long appreciation, and in- energy and which understands that all ological “capture” of the machinery of volves the building of a new pedestrian policy interventions are more like risky government. This kind of thinking domi- bridge connecting Gateshead and bets than steps on a defined pathway to nated high modernist planning ideas Newcastle across the Tyne. The region a specified future. about cities, encouraging planners to was actively engaged in its delicate po- But yet too much risk and uncertainty build new ones or attempt major physi- sitioning on site, celebrating the re- may inhibit creative responses just as cal transformations. In Newcastle, this gion’s tradition of engineering skill. The market practices need a degree of sta- found expression in an ambitious politi- beautifully designed bridge has now be- bility to sustain them. This implies that cal and technical project in the 1960s come a regional icon, as well as a key governance processes, which seek to to turn Newcastle into the “Venice of the part of the creation of a new public encourage creativity and innovation as North” (Smith 1970). This latter argu- space around the riverside. Both proj- understood in all three of the above ment reflects a “blank sheet” concept of ects have thus been inserted into the so- ways need to perform a delicate “trick” innovation and creativity. Yet the “new”, cial culture of a city region as well as its of taking risks themselves in order to whether in art or governance or the physical structure. They are also the fo- lessen the risks and uncertainties for oth- “market”, has never worked from a cal point of new public physical spaces ers. A similar argument can be made blank sheet. It has always evolved from in the urban region. that tying public spending down with what is already around, through chal- These three overlapping meanings of too many regulations and “audit” re- lenge, re-attribution of meaning and sig- creativity and innovation, especially quirements will undermine the ability of nificance, through re-working bits of the when attached to concepts of complex local governments to innovate in their past and present into something per- and “multiplex” urban dynamics (Bridge own cultures to become more imagina- ceived by others as “different”. Nor is and Watson 2000; Graham and Healey tive and able to take imaginative “risky the “old” ever static. The social relations 1999; Graham and Marvin 2001), sug- bets”. Over-management and over- of governance are always changing gest a mode of governance very dif- measurement destroys more capacity and adjusting in some way or other. This ferent from a rule-bound administrative than it builds, as is all too clear by the suggests that governance cultures, with approach or a style of planning locked impact of the UK “audit culture” on re- their established frames, mores and into a culturally homogeneous concept cent urban regeneration experiments practices, are never as fixed as their of what a city region should be like. In- (Stewart 2002). Such requirements are critics suggest and may contain many stead, recognition of the need to encour- having a serious inhibiting effect on potentialities, which can provide a basis age innovation in a context of dynamic many of the partnership experiments in for new practices to emerge. DISP 158 14 2004

These new modes of governance and “government” to “governance” (Cars et acting, but the dynamics of the levels cultures co-exist and co-evolve with in- al. 2002; Jessop 2000) from an institu- move at different speeds and through herited ones to create the governance tionalist perspective, governance is different configurations of driving dy- capacities of the future. It is this embed- more usefully understood as a general namics. ded evolution, which makes the gover- phenomena (Le Gales 2002). What The level of specific episodes is highly nance pathway of every city region vary are the specific arrangements, the visible and experienced directly in the both distinctive and unpredictable, cre- norms, the discourses and practices, the timescale of daily encounter and action. ating its own qualities of institutional modes of operation and governance The level of the mobilisation of bias “capital” (Cars et al. 2002). How then cultures. This also means that there can- (governance process ) is where strategic is it possible to generalise about innova- not be a society without some kind of projects for governance purposes are tions with the potential to transform gov- governance arrangements, which shape created and managed, and where ernance discourses, practices and cul- what is considered relevant for collec- power games are played out through tures in ways, which could develop tive action and how such action should coalition building and manipulation in some of the “creative” capacities dis- be conducted. Although those promot- games of power politics. It is here that cussed above? ing creativity and innovation often ar- explicit struggles occur over access to gue as if collective action is an unneces- the power to frame formal rules and re- sary constraint on the freedom of indi- source flows, and over the ideologies Modes of Governance and vidual imagination and invention, with- and policy principles, which inform this Their Transformation out collective action of some kind, there framing work. This connection to power In order to address this question, I make is no audience, no patron, no develop- dynamics is derived from Giddens” a small excursion into the discussion of ment of technique, no mechanism for so- (1984) formulation of the key structuring the nature of governance and gover- cial exchange beyond family, company links of authoritative power, regulatory nance dynamics. I do this using a “neo- and accidental encounter. There is al- power and the power of ideas in his institutionalist” perspective (see Hall ways governance, the processes of col- concept of the relation between struc- and Taylor 1996; Healey 1999, 2004; lective action, and it is always double- ture and agency. But this level is by no Jessop 2000, 2002; Lowndes 2001) in- faced, both authoritative and generative means autonomous. It is constrained not fused with ideas from interpretive policy (Dyrberg 1997; Giddens 1984). It is only by the particular capacities and in- analysis (Fischer 2003; Hajer and Wa- constraining, disciplining and stabilis- terests of the actors involved (level 1), genaar 2003). This perspective views ing. But it is also enabling, releasing of but also by more deeply embedded cul- governance institutions not as a set of capacity and innovating. At issue in tural assumptions. These cultural as- formal organisations and procedures es- challenges to prevailing governance sumptions (governance culture) provide tablished in law and “followed through” practices is the relative balance be- the implicit norms and values, which le- in legally specified practices. Instead, tween the two forces and the equity of gitimate (or not) what individual actors institutions refer to the norms, standards the distribution of the resultant opportu- do and the way governance processes and mores of a society or social group, nities and constraints. operate in any context. These may both which shape both formal and informal In recent work conducted in Newcas- constrain the power of those attempting ways of thinking and ways of acting. tle, we have drawn on these ideas to de- strategic moves. A governance culture Analysts focus attention on actors, inter- velop an analytical scheme to evaluate may also be contained within its dy- active practices, arenas and networks. actual governance situations and their namics, which evolve to challenge the They analyse the formation and dissem- dynamics, and explore the particular power of strategic actors. In any actual ination of discourses and practices, the “balance” in any new governance ini- situation, of course, all these levels are relation between deeper cultural values tiative between constraining and en- interrelated. and specific episodes of governance, abling forces and the potential for the We argue in recent work on episodes and the interaction of the activities of innovations in specific episodes to of governance in Newcastle that the specific actors and wider structuring spread to the wider governance context level of governance process has been a forces. In this perspective, the “gover- (Coaffee and Healey 2003; Healey significant obstacle to the spread of so- nance” institutions of a society are those 2004; Healey et al. 2003) (see Table cial learning from specific episodes and values, norms and ways of acting that 1). This focuses on analytical levels to the development of a response to the shape the realm of collective action – through which the mobilisation of col- pressures for greater relevance and le- the relations between citizens, the regu- lective action and the biases embodied gitimacy arising from changes at the so- lation of individual behaviour in relation within governance processes may be cio-cultural level. There have been all to wider social norms and the organisa- observed. The levels, which we take to kinds of new arenas established, in part- tion of projects of collective endeavour. be always present in any actual nerships of one kind or another, in Although much of the discussion of episode, reflect a different kind of visi- which new actors have been drawn into governance in late-20th century Europe bility, social force and time horizon of governance processes to do with area has been about a perceived shift from experience. They are continually inter- regeneration, improvements in educa- DISP 158 15 2004

commitment of some officers and mem- Level Dimension bers in the Newcastle case to maintain- Specifi c episodes (e.g.) • Actors – roles, strategies and interests ing a momentum for change has been • Arenas – institutional sites impressive. Together, these two levels • Settings and interactive practices – communicative repertoires squeeze the established discourses and practices of urban politics and adminis- Governance processes through • Networks and coalitions tration. which bias is mobilised (e.g.) • Stakeholder selection processes This observation generates the hy- • Discourses – framing issues, problems, solutions, etc. pothesis that, for a real quantum trans- • Practices – routines and repertoires for acting formation of governance to be identi- • Specifi cation of laws, formal competences and resource fl ow fied, all three levels need to change sig- principles nificantly. Further, where substantial Governance cultures • Range of accepted modes of governance changes may be identified at both the • Range of embedded cultural values third and the first level in Table 1, but little • Formal and informal structures for policing discourses and at the second, it may also be hypothe- practices sised that it is only a matter of time be- Source: adapted from Coaffee & Healey (2003) and Healey (2004). fore the middle level changes. The pres- Table 1: Dimensions of Governance sure to change, in such instances, is clearly “structural”, driven by broad and consolidated forces, which no longer legitimate established discourses tion and health systems, crime reduction of building new practices through which and practices. Nevertheless, because of and youth programmes, care for the eld- a council can relate to its citizens and the continual interaction between spe- erly, etc. These have typically moved other stakeholders. But the pressure to cific episodes of governance, gover- from initial caution and suspicion to en- transform governance processes contin- nance processes and governance cul- thusiasm, the development of new un- ues to build with politicians and officials tures, each level as it evolves is shaped derstandings, and proposals for all restlessly searching for new ways to re- both by forces welling up from below as kinds of projects and different ap- spond. well as experiences filtering down from proaches to service delivery practices. As yet, however, in the Newcastle above, so that old traditions live on or But these ideas and initiatives challenge case, the pathway of these shifts mean- may be moulded to new tasks, while in- established political and administrative ders uncertainly and in contradictory novations are localised through encoun- conceptions and routines. Politicians ways rather than producing a forceful ters with existing discourses and prac- have to change their understanding of trajectory of transformation in gover- tices. Translating the learning from gov- their relation to their constituents. Rather nance processes. The creation of local ernance experiments to “mainstream” than benevolent patrons, helping resi- strategic partnerships, the New Deal for processes is therefore an immensely dents sort out their housing problems in Communities initiative, the introduction complex process occurring in a long a context where large swathes of the of executive government, the merger of timescale. Clearly, urban governance city’s housing stock were rented from the departments, the introduction of area situations are not self-contained systems. council, the practices in the new arenas committees and citizen involvement in There is a continual interplay between allow residents to challenge the clien- area masterplanning co-exist often in internal dynamics and external forces, telistic practices of politicians and de- uncomfortable tension with each other endogenous and exogenous dynamics. mand that they play a broader more (Coaffee and Healey 2003; Healey “External” influences flow into specific strategic role. Officials may see the 2002; Healey et al. 2003). episodes through the experience of ac- need to deliver services and respond to Our observations from the Newcastle tors, through the networks, discourses residents in a more interactive way, but case can be generalised to the wider and legal frameworks, which shape are themselves caught up in a struggle discussion on creativity and gover- governance processes and through the to deliver functional services with less nance. It is as if, across Europe at any broad social, economic and political resources and shifting organisational rate, deeply held cultural assumptions forces that shape governance cultures. structures, while at the same time re- about the nature of collective action Some analysts of governance process sponding to an array of targets and have changed fundamentally from the have attempted to make a link between “best value” performance criteria intro- days of the class struggles which led to the modes of governance process and duced by the national government’s es- creation of the mid-20th century welfare the qualities of the wider context. This pousal of the “new public management” state. Many individual actors know this, underlies much of the discussion in ur- philosophy (Ferlie et al. 1996). These and are willing to engage in specific ban political economy and regulation focus on the production of easily meas- episodes of collective endeavour to try theory about the shift from “manage- urable outputs rather than the slow work to change how governance works. The rial” to “entrepreneurial” governance DISP 158 16 2004

(Harvey 1989), or from a Fordist “wel- in a form of clientelistic relation between Creative Governance Capacities fare” state to a neo-liberal, post-Fordist constituents (supplicants) and elected Table 2 uses the dimensions of gover- “workfare” state (Jessop 1995). politicians (patrons). It is in such a con- nance summarised in Table 1 to identify However, it is all too easy for such an text that some newcomers to Newcastle key modes of urban governance argument to regress into a linear reduc- governance, backed by some politi- processes, which embody the capacity tionism, hypothesising that context de- cians and some other key stakeholders, to release imaginative and innovative termines governance mode and that encouraged the formulation of a City activities and attitudes in city regions. there is some kind of functional fit be- strategy, “Going for Growth” (Newcas- Actors from many “walks of life” would tween context and mode. This denies tle City Council 2000). The evolution of be visibly present in governance are- the power of local particularity and en- this strategy has been an uneven nas, taking initiatives, expressing ideas, ergy to shape futures. External pressures process, dominated first by the de- participating in arguments and making may push in similar directions, but will mands of central politics and funding, challenges. They would be recognised always become concrete only in relation then by the struggles of community ac- more as “fellow citizens” rather than to specific local conditions, linked to lo- tivists to challenge and change the strat- “the usual suspects”. The arenas would cal histories, capacities and opportuni- egy and now by some politicians and be highly diverse and accessible, rang- ties. Structural power may widen cracks officials struggling to build new kinds of ing from formal council chambers, in existing institutional landscapes governance practices and build on com- neighbourhood councils, informal work- through which new ideas, new actors, munity activism. The Strategy should ing groups, formal partnerships, centres new arenas and networks, and new perhaps be interpreted not as an ex- of innovation of all kinds, and a wide practices may push through to expand pression of “strategic capacity” but as range of places of encounter where peo- and flow around a governance land- an attempt to begin to create such a ca- ple meet and discuss issues, from the lo- scape. But whether these openings are pacity. But what its contribution will be cal radio, TV and the Internet, to the exploited, by whom and for whom will in generating a mode of governance, public house, club, school and commu- always remain contingent on local con- which can foster experimentation, can- nity centre, which were stimulating, wel- ditions, including the availability of not yet be assessed (see Byrne 2000; coming, informed, and respectful of mul- what may be called “imaginative strate- Cameron 2003; Healey 2002; Coaffee tiple forms of knowledge and apprecia- gic grasp”, a kind of intellectual/practi- and Healey 2003). As the institutionalist tion. It would be recognised that conflict cal creative energy. Thus the trajectories approach emphasises, governance and a diversity of ways of expressing of urban governance transformation are transformation involves sustained strug- concerns were “normal”, sustained by not just contingent on the local institu- gles in all kinds of arenas. It is a restless, sufficient tolerance of their generative tional landscape but are shaped by the dialectical process (Offe 1977). and transformative potential to surface. imaginations that frame the mobilisa- Such modes would be reflected in tions and struggles of transformation modes of governance. The networks processes. Adjusting to Complexity: and coalitions, which link actors to- In the case of the Newcastle city re- Generating the Governance gether, would be diverse but iterative. gion, Gateshead MBC had developed Capacity to Promote Creativity They would be oriented outwards, inter- such a capacity drawing on the survival With this understanding of the process ested in disseminating new ideas and of what systematic analysis might inter- of governance, I now return to the ques- translating them for wider understand- pret as a Fordist managerial nexus or tions raised at the start of the article. ing, while prepared to absorb new “urban regime” (Stone 1992). In con- What kinds of governance processes ideas from other networks. The compo- trast, in Newcastle this nexus had have the capacity to release imagina- sition of key networks would reflect eroded by the mid-1990s and it was dif- tive and innovative activities in city re- open and transparent selection pro- ficult to identify particular actors with gions? What interventions help to trans- cesses, and would respond to the strategic leadership skills. There had form governance cultures to generate changing flow of actors and ideas be- been little recent tradition of co-ordi- such capacity? What “imaginative re- ing expressed in the various arenas. Dis- nated strategic action within either the sources” and mobilising power help to courses about policy agendas and pri- City Council or other key stakeholder enrich contexts to foster the “main- orities would be open-minded, informed groups. Instead, rather than a general streaming” of successful experiments? and inventive; able to appreciate skill strategic capacity to identify critical is- To construct an evaluative position, I and achievement in any sphere whilst sues and mobilise around these, there is draw on a discussion of the key modes valuing at the same time the efforts of a nostalgic association with a disinte- of creativity outlined above, and partic- everyone; and able to make links – be- grated past within the wider gover- ularly emphasise the generative as well tween ideas, between new projects and nance culture. In this past, the public as authoritative and controlling power other potentialities, and thus able to sphere was expressed through the of governance effort. spread the value of innovation. (largely male) representatives of the Open-mindedness would involve ac- working class, operating in many areas ceptance of diversity, an appreciation of DISP 158 17 2004

Level Dimension there are many examples of urban gov- ernance processes that exhibit these Specifi c episodes • Diverse range of actors characteristics. The value of Table 2 is • Open and diverse arenas as a diagnostic tool for helping policy • Stimulating, welcoming, respectful and knowledgeable analysts to assess how far an emerging ambiences; generative; insurgent potentials governance trajectory may be realising Governance processes • Diverse and mutually aware networks and coalitions; some of the values of those advocating loosely-coupled; fl uid transformations in governance to enable • Open, transparent and fl uid stakeholder selection processes more creative ideas and practices to • Open-minded, inclusive, informative and inventive discourses emerge in urban regions. These exam- • Facilitative and experimental practices, supporting self- ples, however, have difficulty in evolv- regulating processes ing into a governance culture. What ac- • Laws, formal competences and resource fl ow principles which tions might encourage “nutritious” inno- value local initiative and encourage experiment vations to develop and spread more widely? Governance culture • Appreciation of diversity; focused around the concerns of multiple daily live; emphasis on performance not conformance Building the Capacity for • Identity and open negotiation of values and ethics, beyond Imaginative Governance utilitarianism and consumerism; encouragement of open- minded tolerance and sensitivity It is here that the importance of a rich • Self-regulative and distributive; supportive and constraining understanding of the specific dynamics and history of a city region’s institutions Table 2: Qualities of Creative Modes of Ur- of governance is essential. The pro- ban Governance cesses and cultures of urban gover- nance cannot be changed by “formu- lae”, as the efforts in the UK at “mod- the constructive role and multiple foci governance requires some redundancy ernising” local governance and trans- and forms of conflict. Governance prac- (short-term inefficiencies) and learns forming the “urban agenda” are belat- tices would encourage self-management from failure as well as success. Formal edly discovering. The institutionalist ap- and self-regulation, but without down- laws would also provide an underpin- proach developed in Tables 1 and 2 in loading responsibility for skilled tasks ning anchor of rights and responsibili- this article and in other work on “institu- such as maintaining financial accounts ties. Sustaining such governance pro- tional auditing”, has real value in ex- and ensuring compliance with neces- cesses demands an appreciation that panding local understandings of local sary regulations. Regulatory infrastruc- there are many ways in which gover- particularities, potentials and vulnerabil- tures would be available to provide a nance actions can be achieved. Few ities in governance processes and cul- necessary minimum of ground rules to are inherently wrong. The critical judge- tures (Burns and Taylor 2000; Healey et safeguard health and safety, to protect ment is not focused on the formal design al. 1999; Murtagh 1999). Tables 1 and agreed environmental qualities, to en- of a governance process, but its modes 2 emphasise the levels of governance sure fair treatment between individuals as practised and how these relate to cul- dynamics and the power dynamics and to maintain collectively agreed turally accepted notions of legitimacy working through them. An analysis of lo- standards of one kind or another. But and accountability. A governance cul- cal dynamics using such a tool might these would operate with a facilitative ture, which encouraged these modes of help to identify the momentum of differ- attitude, helping all parties to develop governance, would perhaps combine ent governance possibilities and the their own capacities and projects but an appreciation of diversity with a com- barriers, opportunities and forces which shaped by the “grain” of the regula- mitment to social justice, appreciative of could carry forward discourses and tions. Rather than hitting a regulatory individual capacity to innovate but not practices which might lead to the kind of buffer to innovation, innovations might demanding conformity to too many governance culture outlined above. In- then be framed in interaction with re- norms and standards. Such a culture stitutional audits operate like scanning gulatory requirements, recursively pro- might be policed by values of tolerance, mechanisms, to get an idea of actors viding ideas for helpful regulatory non-violence, sensitivity to individual and arenas where some transformative changes. feelings and ways of seeing the world, energy is already evident, and areas, Formal laws, competences and re- appreciative of diverse cultural mores which seem isolated or bereft of mobili- source flow principles would give value and generous in understanding and em- sation capacity. “Inclusive” institutional to “bottom up” processes while redress- pathy. audits which search not merely for the ing distributive inequities. These laws Of course, this vision of governance most visible actors and arenas and the and principles, and their interpretation, could be seen as a utopian dream, im- most obvious sectors of society but would recognise that risky, experimental possible to attain in the “real world”. Yet which also seek out potentials in a wide DISP 158 18 2004

range of social arenas and groupings may emerge through creative serendip- nance culture need a different kind of have a real value in “making the invisi- ity, the coming together of various dy- approach to strategy than that which as- ble visible” (Sandercock 1998). namics to create a moment of opportu- sumes a simple linear relation between Attention is also needed to the inter- nity larger than the sum of the parts. But setting goals, designing strategies and action of exogenous forces and endoge- taking advantage of such a moment, “implementing” them. Strategy making nous ones, particularly as these play out and mobilising governance dynamics so too needs to be imaginative, sensitive, at the level of governance processes. that such a moment has a chance of ar- tolerant of diversity, sensitive to individ- The measure of the emergence of inno- riving depends a great deal on the uals and social groups and aware that vation in governance institutions is not availability of “strategic capacity”. This futures in complex city regions emerge the number of new actors or new arenas strategic capacity is sometimes called through the energies of the many, not through which governance activity oc- “leadership”, which directs attention to the designs of the strategic few. curs. Instead, attention needs to focus key actors and their capacities (Purdue on what kinds of discourses and prac- et al. 2000). But strategic capacity is as tices evolve in innovatory episodes, and much to do with a habit of perception Conclusion how these interact and struggle with among a group of people with the In this article, I have argued that gover- other discourses and practices, which power, imagination and institutional nance and creativity are not opposed are active in a city. This level is by sensitivity to see the potential in ongo- but are intertwined phenomena. Some no means to be equated with a ing processes, new initiatives and new modes of governance may restrict cre- homogeneous, integrated organisation, ideas. Such strategic capacity provides ativity in evolutions in economic and so- with similar discourses and practices the underlying judgement that makes the cial life and in ways of managing col- throughout. Even a municipal govern- “risky bets” of strategic intervention less lective problems of urban existence. ment organisation consists of multiple risky, encouraging and sustaining, pro- Others may help to release creative en- actors, arenas and ambiences, with di- mising new initiatives, building connec- ergy. The dynamic complexity, which verse discourses and practices, linked to tions where synergy is possible, dealing characterises contemporary urban con- different vertical and horizontal net- with tensions and blockages, which are ditions, has substantial innovative po- works. In one city region, the key may destructive of social energy and, impor- tential just because of its fluidity, flexibil- be to pull these various elements to- tantly, sustaining the hope, promise and ity, frictions and tensions. But this poten- gether, by linking networks, or diffusing “spirit” of a new governance culture in tial can all too easily be suppressed by knowledge. In another city region, the all kinds of arenas. too much standardised regulation and emphasis may be more appropriately As the literature on “urban regimes” too little attention to the sustenance of on strategic mobilisation of like-minded reminds us, such interventions cannot be multiple innovative energies. However, key actors who can drive forward new designed and judged in terms of a short- there is no simple equation between the discourses and act as carriers of ideas term fix. The timescale of governance characteristics of a “creative city” and that may later diffuse more widely. Else- transformation is that of a generation or “creative” modes of urban governance, where, it might be more appropriate to more. But this does not mean that ac- no “one size fits all” recipe. Modes of engage in a well-developed, locally rel- tivists and the strategically imaginative governance co-evolve with the dynam- evant and long-term training pro- should merely wait until an institutional ics of the cities in which they are lo- gramme for all “street level” and “front audit reveals that a strategic moment cated. I therefore argue that, whether desk” staff to make sure that new ideas has arrived. Strategic action, which cre- we are analysing the creative potential really translate into different practices. ates new modes of governance, works of evolving modes of governance in par- In another city region, the critical task through lots of small interventions ticular places or whether we are actively may be to repair broken relations be- around particular projects and initia- involved in transforming modes of gov- tween politicians and officials, or be- tives, in networks, in discourses and ernance to encourage more creativity tween officials in the public sector and practices. Some of these will grow into and innovation in our city, it is helpful to representatives of the business and vol- something larger, but it is never possible understand urban governance in terms untary sectors. Or the challenge may be to predict, in complex systems, which in- of the different dimensions through to break-up these relations, or merely to tervention will be the most productive. which it is experienced (episodes, gov- work outside them. The important thing is that sensitive in- ernance processes and governance cul- terventions keep on happening, provid- tures). Rather than proposing a “recipe” Strategy, Imagination and ing the “ground” of both memory and for producing creative modes of gover- Mobilising Power practice on which new patterns eventu- nance, I suggest qualities to be encour- Some of these perceptions and interven- ally build. If the quality of governance aged in efforts at transforming urban tions may happen even though partici- process and culture is a key part of the governance in each of these dimen- pants are not quite conscious of the soft infrastructure to sustain the creative sions. The overall message of such an strategic significance of what they are life of a city region, then interventions to analysis is that modes of urban gover- doing. Governance transformations build a richer and more flexible gover- nance with the capacity to release cre- DISP 158 19 2004

ative energies, encourage innovative sium Local Planning and Change, Lilleham- HAJER, M. and WAGENAAR, H. (eds) practices, move beyond narrow concep- mer, August 2003. My thanks to all the com- (2003): Deliberative Policy Analysis: Under- tions of “development” and give space mentators for their contribution to this discus- standing Governance in the Network Soci- to multiple activities need to discover a sion. ety. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. complex balance between self-regula- HALL, P. and TAYLOR, R. (1996): Political sci- tion and re-distribution, between being ence and the three institutionalisms. Political supportive in multiple ways and con- Studies, vol. XLIV, no. 5, pp. 936–57. straining where essential, between References HARVEY, D. (1989): From managerialism to openness and transparency and accept- entrepreneurialism: the formation of urban ing the likelihood of critique and BLOWERS, A. (2002) Political modernisation governance in late capitalism. 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Creative Governance in Dynamic City Regions Dealing with a “Wicked Problem” in Milan

In Italy, the housing problem is becoming For this reason it is very important to the emergence of experimental third-sec- more worrisome, not only for the lowest- understand the conditions and chal- tor initiatives, which needed financial lenges for the emergence of creative an- support in order to make a significant income people, but also for larger seg- swers to public problems: How is a pub- impact. ments of the middle class. At the turn of lic problem defined, who takes the re- Starting from 1996, Cariplo Founda- the millennium, traditional public policies sponsibility to act, and what is creativity tion has been giving this funding pro- are in a crisis and the residential market in a multi-actor system? gram approximately four million Euros is unable to respond to new social needs. In this paper, I will take a typically per year within the Lombardy region, wicked problem [1], that of social hous- but very soon its management realized For Milan, a core city of 1.3 million in- ing in a very dynamic city region like that this was just a drop in the sea. Try- habitants in a dynamic city region, it is Milan, and I will try to understand how ing to understand what kind of more estimated that 50,000 households lack a creative answer to this problem has structural action a bank foundation adequate housing. Increasing fragmenta- been developed through the mobilisa- could develop in this sector, the Cariplo tion of the public sphere has transformed tion of various actors with differing posi- Foundation asked the Department for tions in terms of their public statute. Or, Architecture and Planning of the Techni- the government process, making it now in other words, I will try to understand cal University of Milan for support in the even less transparent and understand- why a mobilisation of semi-public and exploration of alternatives. able than before. Traditional public ac- private actors has allowed to raise the I will present here the evolution of the tors are more or less paralyzed in deal- issue and to find creative solutions, even project and the reasons that have led to ing with housing: one of the most crucial though the traditional public actors the definition of a proposal that is now were more or less paralyzed in dealing in the implementation phase. problems facing the public sphere today. with one of the most crucial public prob- This paper will present an initiative that lems. deals with the housing problem in a cre- It is very important, from my point of 1 The Housing Problem in Italy ative way by mobilizing semi-public and view, to analyse the process through In Italy, the housing problem is becom- private actors. Based on the experience which an innovative, creative solution to ing progressively more worrisome, not a public problem is produced at a “mi- only for the lowest-income people, but gained through the case study, it can be cro” level, in order to introduce some also for large segments of the middle-in- concluded that creative governance is fa- “macro” considerations about the con- come population, which cannot afford cilitated when a process of social experi- ditions for the development of creative to buy a house or apartment particularly mentation is allowed to find solutions to governance. in metropolitan areas. cope with emerging social problems. This case originated through research Traditionally, the housing problem has conducted by the Department of Archi- been treated through three principal tecture and Planning of the Technical modes of intervention: The last 20 years have been character- University of Milan for the most impor- • Public housing, produced and mana- ized by growing fragmentation in the tant bank foundation in Italy: the ged by major provincial authorities [3] public sphere, that is, increasing com- Cariplo Foundation [2]. This institution with very low rents, that was concentra- plexity, the multiplication of government is very active in the Lombardy Region in ted in larger metropolitan areas to sa- agencies, and growing presence of pri- many fields, from supporting the inter- tisfy the demand of immigrants during vate actors (Balducci 2003). All have ventions on cultural heritage to sustain- the phase of accelerated economic de- transformed the government process in ing cultural and scientific institutions velopment, from the 1960s to the early a direction that is less transparent and and helping the third sector in deliver- 1980s; understandable. In order to determine ing social services. In the past few • Owner occupation at limited costs, how responsibilities are dispersed and years, Cariplo Foundation has opened particularly developed by the coopera- what is particularly lacking, one strat- a new track of funding in the field of so- tive system with a growing support from egy is to analyze the evolution of social cial housing, supporting third-sector ini- the State. In the post-war period, this problems and design a strategy to cope tiatives particularly directed to aiding has been a policy with multiple objecti- with them. the development of housing projects for ves: to favour economic development In a way we could say that the open- immigrants and low income people. through the building sector, to favour a ing of the field of public policy to a num- The reason for the funding program’s linkage to political parties that were be- ber of other perspectives has enlarged inception, on the one hand, was a hind the cooperative organizations, to the “black box” that traditionally was growing consciousness about the impor- allow a process of social emancipation seen in the policy process between the tance of the housing crisis, together with through the acquisition of the property raising of a new demand and the imple- the perception of the incapacity of pub- of the house, even in middle- and low-in- mentation of public action in the politi- lic actors to come to efficient solutions, come groups; cal system (Easton 1953). but on the other hand, there was also • Rent control in the private housing DISP 158 22 2004

stock through successive initiatives of If we look at the national context, we then on it began to decrease: during the blockage and then with the general law can observe that we have 5 social hous- 1970s by 54,000 units per year, during called “fair rent” in 1978, successively ing units for every 100 households in the 1980s by 124,000 units per year modified in 1992 and 1998. Italy (IReR 2003, Ballarotto and Coppo and finally in the 1990s by 80,000 The first line of intervention, public 2000), a figure much lower than the Eu- units per year. housing, has shown a number of weak- ropean average of 17 units per 100 Today in Italy there are four million nesses over time: (i) for the reduction of households. Many European countries households that live in rented houses out public resources invested in this direc- exceed 20 social housing units per 100 of a total number of 20 million house- tion; (ii) for the rigidity of the public households, like the Netherlands and holds. Their income is on average 30% housing model that produced huge man- Germany. At the same time it must be un- lower than that of households that own agement problems; (iii) for the incapac- derlined that it is not a case of absolute the housing in which they live. However, ity of the system to offer an exit path scarcity. Italy has, in fact, one of the high- their incomes are very polarized, be- from public housing once the economic est percentages of holiday house owner- cause in the same group there are (i) the conditions of the families allow this; and ship: 27 per 100 households against a households that live in public housing finally (iv) for the incapacity to respond European average of 15. stock; (ii) those that cannot afford to buy to emerging new demands and particu- Housing stock is not inadequate in a house at the current market level, such larly to the greater needs. quantity but it is geographically and so- as young couples, elders, households The second line of intervention, more cially poorly distributed, and this mirrors with a single income, immigrants; (iii) vital and dynamic, has concentrated re- the processes of social polarization and the groups that increasingly live tem- sources in owner occupancy, a solution fragmentation that are infiltrating Italian porarily in our cities, like students, and that is no longer able to respond to the society. executives of international enterprises majority of social housing needs today. Another issue is the fact that social and mobile workers, who tend to raise The third one, rent control, protected housing units are owned by public hous- the expectations of the market because those that were in the favourable condi- ing authorities or municipalities. Since they are able (for various reasons) to tion of renting an apartment at an af- the period of the 1950s and 1960s pay very high rents. The rental market is fordable fee for quite a long period of when a variety of private investors were therefore constrained between an inac- time, but provoked almost a complete in- also active in this sector, the presence of cessible public housing sector and a terruption of private investments in so- non-institutional public actors in the field speculative private sector, which is also cial housing, even beyond any reason- has almost disappeared, in great part difficult to access. able economic rationality [4]. due to the restrictions imposed by laws The situation in the sector of rental At the turn of the millennium, tradi- to regulate housing rents. housing, due also to its limited dimen- tional public housing policies are all in From this point of view, social housing sion, is characterized by many distor- a crisis and the market is not able to re- in Italy is part of the more general prob- tions that worsen the problem (Balducci spond to new social needs at all. Within lem of the progressive reduction of hous- and Rabaiotti 2001): the public sector, the capacity of exiting ing stock for rent. It is all too evident that • The low-income market segment, as from traditional models is very limited. only rental housing can respond to the mentioned above, has disappeared, Furthermore, from the mid-1990s the demand of middle- and low-income peo- while this in the past provided access to funding from the State has been inter- ple. The housing stock for rent, which housing [6]. rupted together with the fiscal system used to account for 50% of the total • The fact that social housing is only that supplied its resources [5]. stock until the beginning of the 1960s, owned by the state and that it is so In Milan, just to give a picture of the is reduced now to a mere 20%. While scarce is the reason why a family that situation, we estimate that 50,000 in Europe there is an average of 40 gains access tends to remain there inde- households lack adequate housing, but housing units for rent per 100 house- finitely, introducing a rigidity in this sec- given the almost complete lack of a pub- holds, in Italy we can count 25 of them. tor that is even superior to that we can lic housing policy, they are expected to And countries like France, Great Britain, see in the sector of owner occupiers [7]. remain in the same situation, with the the Netherlands and Germany go be- • This in turn is why on the one hand only option of abandoning the city to yond 50 rented units per 100 house- we have 600,000 households that live find a place to live in the outskirts of the holds. in privately rented houses, with an in- metropolitan area where housing is The current situation of rental housing, come of less than 10,000 Euros per more affordable. is the outcome of a process that has year and that devote more than 40% of Today, the only available means to been developing over the last 30 years: their income to rent, and on the other cope with the problem is to obtain one as has been observed (Ballarotto and hand we have 200,000 households in of the few apartments in public housing Coppo 2000), during the 1950s the public housing with an income higher estates that become available (less than rental housing stock increased by than 20,000 Euros that devote to rent 500 per year in Milan) and that are not 84,000 units per year, during the less than 5% of their income (Ballarotto illegally occupied. 1960s by 70,000 units per year; from and Coppo 2000). DISP 158 23 2004

A system that was based upon the Cariplo Foundation, which gave us the 10% of all households; multiple discom- progressive expansion of private prop- opportunity to continuously collaborate fort affects 6% of the households in the erty has reached its limits. The housing with the technical staff of the Foundation Lombardy region and it involves immi- problem is evidently becoming a prob- as experts in the field. grants two to three times more often lem for urban life, for the exclusion of The feasibility study in which we have than the native population. significant groups of the population, been involved has been articulated in • Housing exclusion identifies situati- and for the efficiency of the local econ- various research operations: ons in which various barriers prevent omy in general. In fact, the progressive • Gathering and organizing informa- access to housing for groups of people expulsion of the population that cannot tion about housing demand. that find themselves at the edge of so- afford the housing market in great met- • Gathering and organizing informa- ciety, experiencing a process of exclu- ropolitan areas like Milan is producing tion about the dynamic of social hou- sion that begins with homelessness. This urban sprawl and congestion problems sing supply. is particularly relevant for immigrants (in Milan, for example, a core city with • Surveying secondary sources about who are outside the network of public a population of 1.3 million people, the role of the third sector in the field of assistance (Tosi 1993, 2000). 900,000 cars crossing the city’s bound- social housing in Europe and the United As far as the supply side is con- aries every day); and the incapacity to States. cerned, we have already seen that in find a solution to the housing problem • Defining a strategy to cope with the the rented housing sector the number of for immigrants and low-income people problem. units has been progressively reduced. In is transforming metropolitan cities into • Testing the strategy with experts, po- addition, we can observe a process of places that are demographically less di- tential actors involved and opinion lead- polarisation. verse, older and that discriminate im- ers. We could say that the components of portant urban workers. All this results • Defining an institutional profile of the the housing problem are twofold: on the not only in a problem of social cohesion subject that has to develop the strategy. one hand we have the general problem but also in a diminished capacity to host • Developing an economic feasibility of a lack of housing for moderate fees, and encourage new energies that are study and proposal concerning the juri- and on the other hand, we have a spe- important for the vitality of the urban dical framework to be set up. cific lack of housing solutions for low- system. and very low-income people. These are two distinct, even if connected problems 3 The Context of the Initiative: that call for different specifically tar- 2 The Cariplo Foundation Initiative Social Housing Supply and Demand geted policies, either for the actions di- The Cariplo Foundation is the most im- Our analysis has demonstrated that the rected to lowest-income groups, or for portant bank foundation in Italy. From housing demand has changed toward the actions directed to the reactivation the second half of the 1990s, the Foun- greater fragmentation. It is more com- of the housing market for rent that affect dation has restructured its approach to plex. New profiles have appeared, old moderate income groups. donations and is trying to be more problems have consolidated, and new strategic, complementary and not substi- social groups are involved. tutive of public action, supporting the We can observe at least three differ- 4 What we can Learn development of the non-profit sector ent categories of reasons for social from International Experiences with the intention of fostering its work in housing demand: Our survey on international experiences the development of Italian society. In this • Risk and vulnerability identifies situa- has allowed us to observe some interest- approach, the support of new initiatives tions of weakness, particularly econo- ing features of housing policies. Just to in the field of social housing has been mic weakness, that makes the housing sum up very briefly, the most important one of the main activities. For many situation of a household precarious; we observations are the following: years, the Cariplo Foundation repeat- have seen that more that 40% of all hou- • In the United States the absence of a edly launched bids for innovative proj- seholds living in rented homes devote robust federal housing policy is partly ects in the field of social housing, but af- more that 20% of their income to pay compensated by the vitality of the non- ter a few years, the management real- the rent and this figure even doubles for profit sector, which is very active in the ized that the problem required a more the lowest income households. development of initiatives that are targe- strategical intervention if they really • Inadequacy identifies situations ted to the population that is excluded by wanted to make a difference in the where housing does not satisfy the the market system. It is also interesting to framework that I have illustrated above. needs of the household, due to the unfit- note that starting from the direct re- Our group at the Technical University ness of the housing itself or to the emer- sponse to the housing need, these non- of Milan became involved because we gence of new needs; overcrowding, the profit organisations undergo a process have been designing one of the most structural deterioration, and the inade- of development toward the wide variety successful integrated social housing quacy of housing are different dimensi- of services they offer for the population schemes in Milan, also funded by the ons of discomfort that concern about they house in their initiatives. It is very DISP 158 24 2004

important to notice that even with very li- simplified and poor supply system. task of acquiring or realizing buildings mited public welfare policies, the Ame- • To articulate the typology of the sche- to be rented, promoting new schemes, rican society has been able to develop mes to be developed, considering also and maintaining the financial equili- a variety of non-public ways of coping the demand that comes from specific ty- brium that will allow a minimal gain for with the housing problem. pes of people who are looking for spe- the investment [8]. • Generally speaking, we can also ob- cific, often complex and integrated hou- • The third sector organisations that serve an increased presence of non-pu- sing solutions: the psychologically and should become the managers of the blic subjects in the field of social hou- physically disabled, elderly, homeless, estates that are produced by the Social sing in Europe. The network of implied temporary workers and students. Housing Investment Fund and be com- actors shows a growing articulation in • To give birth to an authoritative new mitted in a series of parallel actions to quantitative and qualitative terms: finan- subject capable of gathering resources sustain the families that live there. Their cers, managers, builders, designers. from an area of potential financers who activities should be intermediated by the • The role of public institutions seems to want to invest part of their capital in pro- Social Housing Foundation for the In- move from that of the provider of the so- jects with strong social content, without vestment Fund. lutions to that of the subject, which en- denying a limited gain. Having featured this structure in a first ables the search for solutions through • To constitute an actor that could play phase, we have been involved in a fea- the mobilisation of a much wider num- the role of the “social housing devel- sibility study in a second phase that has ber of frequently non-public actors. This oper” for the third sector, on the one involved intensive interaction and net- is true in France for the Caisse Depots et hand, sustaining the housing initiatives working with potential investors, entre- Consignations, for the Housing Corpo- of the non-profit organizations and on preneurs, the cooperative system, the ration in the United Kingdom, for the re- the other hand, helping these in beco- third sector, experts in real estate fi- lationship between the State and the ming active on a larger scale, acquiring nance, planners, public administrators, housing associations in the Nether- new competencies in the field of ma- and lawyers. lands, in Germany and also again in nagement of social housing estates. From the position of a university insti- Great Britain. Diversification, stronger • To stimulate and integrate the action tution already active in socially oriented relationships between public and non- of the public subject, giving the oppor- projects, we have been able to get ac- profit organizations, the integration of tunity to be more reactive toward new cess to the most relevant expertise and different dimensions in the support that housing needs and helping the develop- to key persons that helped us to develop is given to the part of the population that ment of a new governance perspective the project and check its feasibility seri- suffers with a housing problem, all these in the field of social housing. ously. appear to be interesting features of a • To establish direct or indirect forms of At the end of the consultation process, process of redesigning the forms of so- warranty for private owners to favour we prepared a draft Statute for the So- cietal intervention in this field that is part the renting of empty housing stock for cial Housing Foundation, a business of the more profound transformation of social purposes. plan for the Social Housing Investment government activities toward a gover- Fund and an action plan for the first pe- nance perspective. riod of activity. 6 A Structure with Three Subjects The project is now under construction. In order to pursue the aforementioned The Social Housing Foundation as been 5 A proposal for objectives, we have created a proposal constituted in 2004 and it is working on the Italian Context through a series of discussions with the a first scheme of 650 apartments that Based on these reflections, we have pro- steering committee of the bank founda- experiments with the activity of the In- posed to Cariplo Foundation a number tion that is based on three main sub- vestment Fund and the involvement of of objectives to be pursued by the new jects: the third sector. initiative: • A new Foundation for Social Hou- • To propose to the community, in a sing, directly promoted by the Cariplo phase of weakness of public policies Foundation, that should structure the ma- 7 An Example of Creative and of distorted market functioning, to nagement and warranty of the project, Governance: What could be make the theme of social housing a prio- a body of coordination and planning, Learned? rity in a balanced society that needs to an institution that is devoted to foster the With the aim of presenting this case for integrate those who are disadvantaged capacity of the third sector in the ma- a discussion about creative governance, with respect to the housing market. nagement of the new social housing I would like to point out some more gen- • To foster the production of a supply of schemes. eral aspects of the process. The illus- social housing, in a quantity that could • The Social Housing Investment Fund, trated case seems to be a good exam- make a difference in the enlargement of an instrument to gather financial resour- ple because we can see a new initiative opportunities for those who are looking ces coming from the Cariplo Foundation that takes place dealing with a relevant for a solution and feel trapped in a too and other institutional investors, with the social problem in a creative way. DISP 158 25 2004

We can imagine that if the project is ularly crucial in a situation in which a to- ditionally made with investigations successful, the city region of Milan will tally new initiative has to be launched. about technical and economic feasibil- one day have new semi-public institu- But it is even more important in a situa- ity, our main activity has been an explo- tions (the Social Housing Foundation tion of fragmented powers in which re- ration of the political feasibility of the and the Social Housing Investment sponsibilities are so dispersed. new initiative. Fund), capable of providing housing so- Secondly it is important to underline As a consequence, the most relevant lutions that are significant from a quan- that the project’s creative approach was knowledge is that that is produced in the titative point of view and innovative significantly based on a period of social interaction rather than the scientific from a qualitative point of view. We can experimentation of a third sector associ- knowledge known in advance (Lindblom foresee the realization of medium- and ation that tried to find innovative solu- and Cohen 1979). small-size schemes, geared by third sec- tions to find a shelter for immigrants. The role of the expert required to al- tor associations, which are in a closer These bottom-up experiments have been low the development of a creative solu- relationship with inhabitants, and inte- transformed in action through the activ- tion in a situation of great complexity grated with other kinds of accompany- ity of the Cariplo Foundation, which has seems to be that of the activist, the retic- ing services. They will be able to find been able to foster the opportunity of ulist, the reflective practitioner (Schön the required financial resources to de- generalizing experimental interventions 1983) that helps a process of social velop the initiative and to give economic through its selective support. Without conversation about a problem, using actors in Milan the opportunity of invest- the small social experimentation of the technical expertise to support in a politi- ing some of their assets in projects that 1990s and the support of the Cariplo cal capacity. have significant social value without be- Foundation, even the first definition of Finally it is important to reflect upon ing just charity donations. an opportunity could not have been the relationship with the public institu- If we reflect upon what were the con- made. tions in charge of dealing with the spe- ditions that allowed for the development Thirdly, experts have played a signifi- cific aspects of the housing problem: in of this project, we have to recognize the cant role in the generation of the idea. this case the Municipality, the Housing people responsible for generating the Given the commitment of the Presi- Authority and the Regional Government. idea. dent, the technical staff invested in look- All of them define the social housing It was the technical staff of the Cariplo ing abroad (particularly in the US), and problem in a different way, linked to the Foundation that originally expressed the they became convinced that Italy was history of their traditional approach. need for doing something more than just ready for a new kind of action. With this Since the beginning, we have consid- funding a few initiatives of non-profit or- objective they searched for experts to ered that a condition of success for the ganizations in this field. This has found develop the general idea of “doing new initiative is the relative autonomy of the interest of the Foundation’s Presi- something more” and being more effec- the project from direct involvement of dent, who from the beginning has al- tive. public actors and from the use of public ways acted as a real leader for the ini- They chose us not only because we money. tiative. This is partly linked to the fact represent a prestigious university institu- Beyond the difficulties that derive from that during the years of the project’s de- tion active in the field of urban policies, the approach of different institutions, it velopment, the Foundation, and its Pres- but also because they had known and must be said that the social housing cri- ident in particular, has been engaged in trusted us for our past involvement in the sis is also due to the fact that this is an an open conflict with the central na- development of a successful experimen- emerging need, which is not treated by tional government that wanted to limit tal initiative: a social housing scheme the market and is not able to become a the power of the bank foundations in or- that had been funded by the Cariplo strong political demand. In this situation der to give more financial resources to Foundation in the previous years. it has been more and more difficult for municipalities for their daily activities. In Trust is crucial, because if we look at our public institutions to mobilize them- this context, the project became a flag- the way in which we have developed selves and devise a strategy to cope ship project to demonstrate the useful- our two feasibility studies, we are very with the problem. ness of a free bank foundation capable far from a traditional consultancy rela- This does not mean that once an inde- of looking at emerging needs and inter- tionship in which experts give technical pendent strategy has been defined this vening effectively. support to the ideas and objectives of could and must construct a positive rela- We can therefore see here the simul- the client. Our main activity has been to tion, as actually happens with ordinary taneous presence of process and con- lead a process of reflection and probing public policies. The regional pro- tent objectives that reinforced the initia- (Lindblom 1990) a possible institutional gramme for social housing calls for the tive; the group formed by the President design with the steering committee of mobilization of a new type of actors and the technical staff of the bank foun- the bank foundation, its government able to produce social housing beyond dation became the pivotal backbone of bodies and with all of the other actors the bureaucratic and cumbersome hous- the process. This role is very important potentially affected or involved in the ing authorities and municipalities, and in any policy development and is partic- project. While the feasibility study is tra- the Cariplo Foundation initiative goes DISP 158 26 2004

exactly in that direction. The feasibility empty looking only at the revenue that could LINDBLOM, C.E. (1990): Inquiry and study shows that the support of munici- come from reevaluation over time, not con- Change. New Haven, Yale University Press. sidering rent at all. palities for the provision of land is es- LINDBLOM, C.E. and COHEN, D.K. (1979): [5] Since the 1960s and up to 1994, the fis- sential to the project and cooperation is Usable Knowledge: Social Science and So- cal system to fund social housing was based now developing. cial Problem Solving. New Haven, Yale Uni- upon a specific tax called GESCAL (Gestione Looking from this case study perspec- versity Press. Case Lavoratori) that was paid in equal parts tive, we could say that the development by employers and employees only in the em- RITTEL, H. and WEBBER, M.M. (1973): of creative governance is facilitated ployed work sector (Avarello 1998). Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. when there is a process of social exper- [6] “In Great Britain in the thirties there was In: Policy Sciences, vol. 4. imentation to cope with emerging prob- not shortage of housing, because from five SCHÖN, D. A. (1983): The Reflective Practi- lems, when there are institutions that are Shillings to five Pounds there were rooms for tioner. New York, Basic Books. ready to support social experimentation every kind of needs. Jack Common tells TOSI, A. (1993): Immigrati e senza casa. I about his infancy in Newcastle: At that time and express an interest in coping with problemi, i progetti, le politiche. Milan, families moved continuously. There were these problems by going beyond the tra- Franco Angeli. ditional approach; when they invest in a houses to be rent everywhere.” (Ward 2000) [7] If we analyse the age structure in public TOSI, A. (2000): Politiche abitative sociali process of constructing the proposal as housing estates, we can easily observe an in- per gli immigrati, relazione per il CNEL, Or- an exploration centred upon political verted and regressive age pyramid. This is ganismo Nazionale di Coordinamento per le feasibility; when they use a new kind of due to a population that arrived in cities al- politiche di integrazione sociale degli expertise in which interactive knowl- most in the same period between the 1960s stranieri. Roma. edge is critical; and when the design of and 1970s, young with many children, that WARD, C. (1999): Il bambino e la città. a new relationship with formal public in- is now getting old within the same apart- Crescere in ambiente urbano. Napoli, l’An- ments due to the absence of an alternative. stitutions is a relevant part of the cre- cora. ative effort. [8] The feasibility study shows that it is possi- These are just first thoughts that can ble, over a period of 19 years, to guarantee help us understand the conditions of de- the Investment Fund a gain of two points above inflation if appartments of 60m2 are Prof. Dr. Alessandro Balducci veloping creative governance experi- built and rented for 310 Euros a month, Department of Architecture and Planning ences. Much more has to be done. which is considered widely affordable. Politecnico di Milano Via Bonardi 3 I-20133 Milano Italy References [email protected] Acknowledgement AVARELLO, P. (1998): Dopo la fine dei fondi I thank Gabriele Rabaiotti for his suggestions ex-Gescal edilizia pubblica in cerca di un and help in reflecting upon our common ruolo. Edilizia e Territorio, 19. practice. BALDUCCI, A. (2003): Policies, Plans and Projects. Governing the City-region of Milan. Notes In: DISP, 152. [1] The definition of “wicked problem” was BALDUCCI, A. and RABAIOTTI, G. (2001): given by Rittel and Webber 1973, to de- Politiche per l’affitto sociale: una necessità scribe many social problems that in their per società e per la città. In: Territorio, 16. view are almost untreatable as opposed to BALLAROTTO, R. and COPPO, M. (2000): the “tamed problems” of engineering and sci- Le cooperative nel nuovo scenario del mer- ence. cato delle locazioni. Presented at the Confer- [2] The project was conducted by a team that ence “Dalla casa alla città”, Florence, Octo- included Dr. Gabriele Rabaiotti, Prof. Anto- ber 2, 2000. nio Tosi, Dr. Gian Franco Fraz, Dr. Guido Scarselli, Dr. Gian Luca Nardone and myself EASTON, D. (1953): The Political System. as team leaders. The economic feasibility New York, Knopf. study and the design of the Social Housing CNEL (1997): Il sistema abitativo nei Paesi Fund was developed by Reddy’s Group, a dell’Unione Europea. Documenti, bozza di specialized consultancy agency in the field of stampa, Roma. real estate, directed by Ig. Alberto Lunghini. [3] Today, Milan’s provincial authority has COPPO, M. (1998): Abitazione che cambia, the ownership of some 90,000 apartments, affitto che manca. Ricerche e servizi per il with very serious management problems. territorio, Confcooperative Federabitazione. [4] For a long period of time, a significant IReR (2003): Verso l’edilizia sociale. Milan, proportion of private stock has remained Guerini Associati. DISP 158 27 2004 Marco Magrassi

Development Funding as a Catalyst for Urban Reform in Southern Italy

The effectiveness of development pro- easily becomes a dodgy buzzword car- first is that, to be achieved, they require grams for cities and microregions is often rying the danger of overstating immate- municipalities to upgrade their strategic, rial, non-measurable and potentially operational, and organizational prac- hindered by the limited capacity of mu- self-referential objectives while penaliz- tices, demanding an increase in local nicipal governments. This paper formu- ing primary and tangible development technical knowledge. Second, while lates hypotheses on how to increase mu- goals [1]. Nevertheless, the perhaps they do not represent direct project out- nicipal capacity and institutional per- tautological but unmistakable evidence puts, they may be interpreted as pre- formance by leveraging national and re- pointing to “lower development benefits conditions for more efficient and effec- for dollar spent” in the presence of a tive development planning. Lastly, they gional development policies. In the con- weaker public sector, suggests that introduce new forms of inter-governmen- text of EU-funded programs in Southern pragmatic and careful attempts to tal dialogue – horizontally, vertically, Italy, specific initiatives were devised to strengthen institutions in less-developed and with the private sector. comprehensively enhance strategic and areas are worth the risk. The analysis that follows introduces technical cooperation within small-town From the early 2000s, the strategy led cases explaining how these objectives by the Department for Development Poli- were pursued and, to some extent, ac- municipal networks and increase the fi- cies (DDP) of the Italian Ministry of complished recently in Italy. Specifi- nancial contribution of the private sector Economy and Finance has increasingly cally, our empirical evidence derives in urban development projects. Their re- targeted institutional constraints of de- from the design and implementation of sults underscore the ability of develop- velopment effectiveness. In particular, in the Community Support Framework for ment funding to be a powerful tool to in- cooperation with the European Union the period 2000 to 2006 (CSF), a 50 (EU) and regional governments, the DDP billion grant-investment program co- duce innovation, create technical capac- has undertaken a systemic and direct financed by the EU and the Italian gov- ity and improve the overall performance strategy to address governance issues in ernment in the seven Regions in South- of municipal institutions. However, our less-developed Southern Italy. ern Italy that represent the priority de- findings also point to relevant risks in in- While initial DDP activities focused on velopment area in the country due to stitution and capacity building strategies, triggering institutional improvements in their weaker socioeconomic perform- national and regional government bod- ance (following the EU definition, here- such as nurturing rent-seeking and unac- ies [2], this paper analyzes preliminary after referred to as “Objective 1 Re- countable behavior within local technoc- results of policy initiatives that have suc- gions”). racies that give higher priority to their in- cessfully fostered more effective devel- The CSF experience allows a rich and stitutional survival and aggrandizing opment planning at the municipal level. insightful perspective on regional/mu- than to direct outcomes of development The explicit questions that we examine nicipal dynamics as its massive finan- include the following: If development cial endowment comes with relevant projects. Careful sequencing and fine- and institutional goals should be com- conditionalities. First, the CSF has tuning of incentive schemes for municipal bined, then what are the key ingredients granted a unique opportunity to regions empowerment, and close central/re- of a “right incentive” for municipal inno- and cities of all sizes to establish and fi- gional supervision of local institutional vation? What are the risks and the sunk nance their project priorities with non-re- systems contribute to mitigating the risks costs of using development policy to ex- imbursable, abundant and guaranteed plicitly pursue institutional objectives in funding (i.e., not subject to political or while maximizing the institutional results. addition to direct project outputs? How budgetary cycles). Second, the CSF also can these risks be identified, anticipated established clear EU set rules (including and mitigated? strategic requirements, administrative 1 The Shift from Regional to To evaluate these broader issues, we and procurement regulations, project Municipal Institution Strengthening concentrate our analysis on two con- cycle approach, monitoring procedures, “Institution building,” “strengthening,” crete objectives in regional and urban etc.) that must be followed in accessing or “empowering,” are just few exam- development widely recognized to be a and managing funds – rules that in and ples in the rich taxonomy used to label priority in Italy and elsewhere: of themselves imply small and larger the increasing amount of resources that • Mainstreaming effective inter-munici- changes in how institutions carry out development organizations devote to pal cooperation for area planning in their mandate. Finally, the CSF has pro- programs for improving the perform- medium- and small-town networks (see vided all levels of government with an ance of public sector agents. It must be section 2). opportunity to go beyond and to be acknowledged, however, that endeav- • Increasing private sector financial en- more innovative in using development ors to strengthen government institutions gagement in urban development initiati- funding as a picklock for institutional in their development action are shad- ves (see section 3). change. This paper focuses on this last owed by a range of difficulties and pit- Despite clear differences, these objec- issue, presenting cases where national, falls. Specifically, “institution-building” tives share some crucial features. The regional and local authorities have vol- DISP 158 28 2004

untarily (i.e., not required by the EU) ing slowly in its concrete application coordinate and streamline operational and creatively leveraged the CSF devel- during the first few years after being en- and administrative procedures. Most of opment program to improve municipal acted. Considering that approximately the Objective 1 Regions used this frame- institutional performance. 70% of municipalities in Southern Italy work to promote procedures of inter-mu- have a population of less than 5,000 in- nicipal cooperation functional to proper habitants, the inability – or unwilling- ITPs design and implementation. Rela- 2 Mainstreaming Effective ness – to build partnerships continued to tive to the other Regions, however, Sicily Inter-Municipal Partnerships limit the policy performance of territo- and Basilicata went promptly farther In the year 2000, the central govern- ries structurally penalized by scale con- with respect to the breadth and depth of ment passed new legislation (Law straints (demographic, economic and in- their institutional action, identifying ITPs 267/2000) [3] establishing an innova- stitutional). as a valuable opportunity to enact the tive normative framework to enhance By inducing a sudden acceleration of new legislation. Indeed, the two re- cooperation and partnerships among inter-municipal cooperation, the imple- gional governments required participat- municipal governments. This legislation mentation of the CSF greatly contributed ing municipalities to formalize the insti- [4], aimed at inducing municipalities to to overcome this standstill. The change tutional, operational and administrative join efforts in service delivery, infra- largely occurred as a result of a new aspects of their project-oriented partner- structure investment planning, and other project scheme, the Integrated Territorial ship in accordance with Law 267/ local functions through associative struc- Projects (ITPs), devised by the central 2000. Table 1 and Figure 1 illustrate the tures, was expected to be particularly government within the CSF and explic- features and geographical boundaries beneficial for territories with small and itly directed at enhancing the participa- of the inter-municipal partnerships in fragmented municipal networks. tion of municipalities in development these regions. Law 267/2000 is a new attempt to policies. ITPs generally involve groups Municipalities in each association solve a crucial but long-standing issue. of small municipalities [5], and finance signed a contractual agreement defin- In this respect, a 1970 analysis by a dozens of multi-sectorial investments in ing objectives, rules and procedures leading Southern-Italian economist and each project (including all types of in- regulating the partnership [7]. More im- intellectual, Manlio Rossi-Doria, now frastructure, vocational training, enter- portantly, each association established sounds prophetic. Commenting on the prise subsides, environmental protec- a technical coordination unit (the Ufficio role of municipalities within the process tion, etc.). ITPs are “territorial” for their Comune) to be responsible for all proj- of constitutional creation of regional strong bottom-up mechanism for project ect-related technical activities (e.g., en- governments in Italy, Rossi-Doria wrote: design and implementation in geo- gineering and oversight of infrastructure “The decisive step [to prevent regional graphically defined areas. The concept investment, procurement, disbursement, centralism] will be an explicit recogni- of their “integration” means that all in- administrative tasks) and play a pivotal tion that the individual municipality in vestments in each ITP should contribute, role in ensuring the operational func- Southern Italy is a too small and inexpe- interacting with each other, to a com- tions of the institutional agreement. This rienced unit to tackle the major tasks en- mon development strategy identified by unit has a coordinator and a small tech- countered by communities engaged in local actors in response to concrete nical staff, co-financed by CSF funds development planning, territorial re- needs and opportunities. While multi- and municipalities. The associative structuring, and mutual coordination. sectorial and locally based approaches structure allows all municipalities to con- Thus, even leaving to single municipali- can hardly be seen as groundbreaking tribute to the strategic and political ties responsibilities over minor tasks concepts in the development field, they phases of the decision-making process. strictly concerning its own citizens, all certainly constitute a challenging nov- Considering the small size of municipal- services and activities related to eco- elty in Southern Italy. Originally devised ities (shown by the median population nomic development should be dealt as pilot initiatives, ITPs have met an un- in Table 1), the associations created in- through area-based unions of municipal- expectedly strong demand from re- stitutional and administrative economies ities with technical and political bodies gional and municipal institutions. In of scale allowing local institutions to ac- that should be responsible for all tasks early 2004, a total number of 139 ITPs cess qualified technical services that that are beyond the capacity of a single – proposed by municipal networks and they could not afford internalizing. one. This policy will certainly require approved by regional governments – While the initial, explicit mandate for legislation that currently does not exist were in the process of implementation. these associations concerned ITP design […].” Investments totaled 4.7 billion Euro and and implementation, this process has Thirty years later, Law 267/2000 rep- involved 1,951 municipalities (87% of generated additional effects, as many resents a sound, well-conceived attempt the total number in the seven regions). partnerships started to undertake coop- to fill this normative gap. Still, municipal In the CSF guidelines, the central gov- erative initiatives well beyond the man- governments in Southern Italy did not ernment [6] required municipalities par- agement of their EU-funded projects. take immediate advantage of the oppor- ticipating in ITPs to define and formalize This trend toward long-term institutional tunities provided by the new law, mov- a unified project delivery mechanism to consolidation is already generating visi- DISP 158 29 2004

ble results in Basilicata, where several Sicily Basilicata associations are autonomously expand- ing their mandate for initiatives in e-gov- Number of associations 26 8 ernment, tourism, or one-stop shops for Number of municipalities 320 129 enterprise services. The regional gov- Median municipal population 4,904* 2,414 ernment itself is building on this process Territorial coverage (%) 82 % 100 % to initiate thorough institutional reforms Municipal coverage (%) 86 % 100 % by formally turning the associations and Average partnerships size 12 16 their territories into the strategic and op- Min 4 6 erational units for all future planning Max 28 27 and public policy. Source: DDP Evaluation Unit on Regional and Municipal Data (2003). The evidence from these two regions (but other Objective 1 Regions are fol- *Due to data availability, the figure refers to all Sicilian municipalities. lowing their steps) presents promising Table 1: Features of ITP municipal associati- results with respect to the long-standing ons in two regions. institutional need for more effective lo- cal development planning and policy- making in Southern Italian micro-re- gions. To summarize, the encouraging results include the broad use of new na- tional legislation; the establishment of approximately 120 stable inter-munici- tions, their possible role beyond ITP ex- a general observation: While the con- pal associations; and the learning ecution – and therefore, their long-term solidation of new agencies and the in- process within municipalities that en- institutional sustainability – looks more crease in technical capacity at the mu- gaged in the definition of a common de- uncertain than in Basilicata. The ac- nicipal level must be interpreted favor- velopment strategy and that, for the first tivism and power of project partnerships ably, the sharp power shift from elected time, divided and mutually delegated are often driven by the technical unit, officials (i.e., the provincial bodies but operational and administrative tasks. whose coordinator bases his/her au- also the smaller municipalities in the as- These dynamics will display their bene- thority as much on the considerable sociations) to a “development technoc- fits even where the associations turn out grant funding that he/she manages as racy” observed in some localities to be temporary and disappear upon on the political mandate received from causes concerns in terms of institutional ITP completion (indeed, the territorial the mayors. In Sicily, the discretion and accountability and democratic legiti- unit defined for ITPs does not necessarily magnitude of this power is often op- macy. This risk is aggravated by the fact trace the optimum boundaries for all fu- posed by other sub-regional elected that the influence of these technocracies ture planning). Moreover, in the most bodies, such as the nine regional does not undergo political scrutiny. Un- positive experiences, the associations provinces [8], which are rarely involved like elected bodies, ITP associations and are proposing themselves as new sub- in ITPs, and view the associations and technical units count on completely free- jects for a future development policy be- their technical units as a threat to their of-charge European and national yond the contingent needs of CSF im- constitutional mandate. This case allows money and have little involvement in plementation. thorny and politically costly local issues, Two relevant risks, however, have sur- such as imposing taxation or delivering faced in this process. First, there are ordinary services to citizens. signs that the technocratic agencies cre- The second, more general risk con- ated through ITPs at the local level may cerns the relationship and balance be- attempt to gain a monopolist position in tween institutional goals and the pro- channeling all public funding and, by ject’s development benefits. The main, doing so, come in conflict with elected declared objective of the ITPs’ complex bodies. As a consequence, and this is scheme is generating better outcomes in the second danger, these agencies can terms of increased infrastructure, im- become more engaged in their institu- proved public services, and other deliv- tional survival and aggrandizing than in erables for improving local welfare. Pos- delivering the development outputs for sible rent-seeking behavior of ITP techni- which they had been originally created. cal staff could materialize in attempts to The experience in Sicily underscores capture additional public funds, in- the first threat. Although Sicilian munici- crease the technical dependence of palities have established 26 associa- Figure 1: Boundaries of ITP associations. smaller municipal administrations, and DISP 158 30 2004

consolidate their monopoly over public that absolute priority would be given to the new legislation on PF. This lack of investment spending in the area. All this investments that secured private capital experience could have skewed the could distract project managers from fo- through project financing. Despite this merit-based process in favor of larger cusing on effective ITP implementation. emphasis, the initial results of CSF im- and more experienced municipalities Taken to the extreme, these threats could plementation in terms of private sector (Naples and Salerno). Acknowledging negatively affect project performance in co-financing have been significantly be- this risk, the Region set up a permanent terms of timing and quality of their ex- low expectations. Project Financing Technical Unit to pro- pected outcomes. In turn, if ITPs fall An autonomous initiative of the Cam- vide information and free technical sup- short of reaching their development ob- pania Region, involving the five larger port to municipalities engaging in pub- jectives, their failure could easily dimin- urban areas [10], represents an encour- lic-private partnerships. This unit helped ish institutional accomplishments and aging exception. Campania’s ROP to level the playing field and allow undercut the credibility and existence of granted each of the five cities significant smaller cities to compete for the addi- the inter-municipal associations. funds for a municipally designed inte- tional funds. In general terms, these risks point at grated project for urban development. Table 2 reports the financial and sec- the possible tendency of institution-build- The Region, however, did not immedi- torial data resulting from the efforts to ing initiatives to shift toward self-fulfill- ately allocate all the available project identify and set up PF operations in the ing and self-referential processes. To resources to the municipal governments. five cities. While all cities initiated the prevent this drift, after having built in- Instead, approximately 100 million technical preparation and bidding centives for the municipal decentraliza- Euro (or 40% of total resources avail- process for the operations, only some of tion of development policies, national able for the five urban projects) were set them were able to match the ultimate and regional government institutions aside for a merit-based fund – the re- performance-reserve criteria that, as must exert effective control and supervi- gional performance-reserve – aimed at mentioned, required the formal conclu- sion, acting as a sort of “antitrust au- enhancing investments in project financ- sion of the public bid (with the official thority” for public investment funding at ing [11]. Inspired by the EU and na- selection of the winning private opera- the sub-regional level. Also, sanctions tional performance-reserve systems ap- tor) within the established deadline. and incentive systems should constantly plied to the entire CSF structure (see Table 3 displays the final results, show- operate to redirect the process when- [2]), this incentive mechanism estab- ing that only a total of three out of five ever convoluted institutional spirals at lished that the reserve funds would be municipalities ultimately matched the cri- the local level endanger the accomplish- distributed to municipalities according teria. ment of real and tangible municipal de- to their capacity to successfully mobilize As demonstrated by these figures, the velopment targets. and commit private capital for public Campania Region’s initiative to cre- Careful institutional engineering, and semi-public infrastructure. Specifi- atively adapt pilot national policy gradual internalization of new compe- cally, funds would be awarded accord- schemes and leverage development tencies within municipal administra- ing to the timeliness and magnitude in funding to mobilize private sector fi- tions, transparency in the rules of the the municipal effort measured by the fol- nancing has obtained significant suc- game, and clear and enforced perform- lowing criteria: cess. Although only a portion of the total ance standards, are all elements that • The ability to open and conclude pu- private funds was secured by the pre-es- can help the simultaneous pursuit of in- blic bidding processes (i.e., officially at- tablished deadline, the “excluded” mu- stitutional growth and development ob- tributing the project to the winning pri- nicipalities – far from abandoning the jectives. The second case that will now vate operator) applying the new legisla- PF investments – kept advancing in proj- be described represents a good exam- tion on project financing by the dead- ect preparation, indicating that most of ple of such a process. line of June 2003. the 140 million Euros in private funds • The amount of private financing mo- shown in Table 2 will be captured and bilized calculated as a percentage of to- invested within the CSF implementation 3 Increasing Private Sector tal public funding initially allocated to period. The amount of private financing Financial Engagement the urban integrated project in the indi- mobilized for investments with public in Urban Development vidual city [12]. and semi-public purposes undoubtedly The enhancement of public-private part- The incentives, in fact, were as strong represents a first, important result of this nerships for infrastructure and service as the results. During 2002, municipal initiative [13]. investments represents one of the ex- governments began to identify potential Beside this financial accomplishment, plicit goals of the CSF. All Objective 1 investment in project financing (PF) to the regional government’s initiative has Regions incorporated this aim in their advance toward their targets. Most city induced significant results in terms of in- Regional Operational Programs (ROP) governments, however, were for the first stitutional enhancement. The process, in- [9], implementation guidelines, and time coping with pricing methodologies, deed, pushed municipal governments to project selection criteria in 2002. cost and benefit analysis, financial undertake, in many cases for the first Specifically, the Regions established planning and legal issues required by time, all of the complex technical and le- DISP 158 31 2004

Number of Private Funds Public Funds Total Table 3, parking or cemetery facilities) Operations with easily quantifiable revenue streams and more straightforward legal and Commercial/productive facilities 3 93.3 35.2 128.5 contractual arrangements. Naples and Sports and leisure facilities 2 10.2 30.8 41.0 Salerno were in effect penalized for de- Public parking 6 30.1 14.4 44.5 veloping more ambitious and innovative Cemeteries 2 15.4 − 15.4 operations (e.g., the multi-service tourist Total 13 149 80 229 harbor or the trade/convention center) that required more time and technical Source: DDP Evaluation Unit on Regional and Municipal Data (2003). and financial depth [14]. Table 2: Project financing operations propo- sed by cities in Campania (in million Euro). 4 Conclusions Effective inter-municipal cooperation Private Funds Private as % Award Investment Type and stronger private sector involvement Mobilized of Public Funding represent common desiderata in the pol- ? ? ( millions) Funds ( millions) icy debate on regional and urban de- Avellino 11.5 66.6 % 45.1 – Swimming pool velopment. In less-developed Southern – Cemetery Italy, the pursuit of these goals has been Caserta 9.9 54.1 % 45.8 – Parking and commercial site historically hampered by technical, or- ganizational, and cultural constraints Benevento 1 5.8 % 4.4 – Parking facility within regional and, especially, munici- – Cemetery pal governments. These limitations in lo- Naples 0 0 % 0 – Tourist harbor cal governance systems greatly reduce – University relocation the potential benefits of development Salerno 0 0 % 0 – Indoor stadium policy in cities and micro-regions by – Trade/convention center causing inefficiencies in the use of in- – Neighborhood upgrade vestment funding. While forward-looking urban leader- Source: DDP Evaluation Unit on Regional and Municipal Data (2004). ships have occasionally taken au- Table 3: Campania performance reserve for tonomous initiatives to improve plan- municipal project financing: final results. ning tools and institutional practices in individual cities, our analysis focuses on the comprehensive and systemic policy gal steps experienced in the structuring the system of rules governing the per- undertaken by Italian agencies to di- of PF operations. The technical staff formance-reserve system allowed the re- rectly confront these obstacles [15]. within the administrative bodies also gional government to avoid political Our findings reveal that central and learned how to price new public goods, pressures while moving ahead with very regional governments are effectively how to trigger fair competition between sensitive decisions. In particular, the taking advantage of EU funds to de- private operators, how to dialogue and transparency and the clarity of the per- velop initiatives that spur across-the- negotiate with local economic actors to formance-reserve system helped prevent board structural and behavioral innova- initiate a mutually advantageous eco- inter-governmental conflicts when the re- tion of municipal governments in seven nomic and financial process. All these gion denied award funding to two mu- regions of the South. The institutional de- elements equate a net increase in the nicipalities, Naples (the regional capi- sign, the number and the future technical capacity of city administra- tal) and Salerno, which are not only the prospects of the inter-municipal partner- tions. two bigger cities but were also led by ships in the regions of Basilicata and A third result concerns the improve- the same political coalition as the re- Sicily (with other regions now follow- ments in inter-governmental relations. In gional government (while two major ing), and the amount of private capital this instance, the Campania Region con- “winners” were ruled by a coalition of captured in the Campania Region, indi- solidated itself as a credible, coopera- opposing political orientation). The ex- cate the positive results of this strategy. tive institution by providing assistance clusion of the two main regional urban Development funding was successfully and support that were crucial in ensur- areas from performance-reserve funding used to implement innovative national ing that smaller, less experienced city highlights the one negative and proba- legislation, to promote the creation of administrations could effectively com- bly unintended effect of the incentive new and more efficient planning and pete at the same level as larger cities. A scheme. Winning municipalities have coordination bodies for urban networks, related and meaningful outcome is that presented simpler projects (as shown in to foster horizontal and vertical cooper- DISP 158 32 2004

ation, and to initiate new forms of dia- on urban growth as well as by reduced 2003, this merit-based incentive system re- logue and interaction with the private municipal learning – would have ob- warded central ministries and regions with sector. This strategy was made possible tained them award funding. This experi- considerable additional development financ- by further decentralizing the delivery ence calls for the very careful design of ing according to their capacity/ability to reach a set of predefined targets, many of mechanism of a significant portion of incentive schemes, trying to anticipate which implied planning, organizational and the EU-funded CSF investment program and avoid negative side effects that may administrative reforms. See Anselmo et al. for 2000 to 2006. The shift of manage- diminish the innovative impact on local (2004), Making Administrations account- ment responsibilities from the regional institutional practices. able: the Experience of the Italian Perfor- to the municipal level allowed the tailor- Second, the case of ITP inter-munici- mance Reserve System, proceedings of the ing of project schemes and incentives. pal partnerships shows that, in pursuing 2004 Annual Conference of the European This shift also established sanctioning institution building, policy-makers must Evaluation Society, Budapest, http://eu- mechanisms that compelled city admin- always be aware of and prevent poten- ropa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/source/ istrations to step up their practices and tial distortions in local democratic docconf/budapeval/work/anselmo.doc. capacity to confront new and challeng- processes. External funding may nurture [3] Testo Unico sull’Ordinamento degli Enti ing tasks, which are now widely consid- rent-seeking and monopolistic inclina- Locali, National Law No. 267/2000. [4] The framework, objective and tools es- ered to be desirable innovations. tions of new local technocracies that tablished in this legislation are similar to the An additional indication of these re- can impose themselves as exclusive bro- one enacted in France through the Loi forms is that incentives for institutional kers between small municipalities and Chevènement in 1999. upgrade must be carefully balanced ac- European, national and regional [5] Less than 20% of ITPs concerns single cording to specific targets. The financial sources of funding. Close supervision cities, representing the 20 to 25 larger urban incentive for project financing per- and regulation from central and re- areas in Southern Italy. These one-city ITPs (a formed well in larger urban areas en- gional authorities is crucial in ensuring total of three in the regions of Sicily and dowed with sufficient critical mass in the proper functioning, accountability Basilicata) are not considered in the data terms of economic actors as well as pre- and even some sort of “fair competition” presented in Table 1. existing municipal capacity. The same within local institutional systems for the [6] Specifically, the Department for Develop- scheme applied to networks of smaller management of public investment. Fi- ment Policies (DDP). [7] In reference to ITPs, the terms “associa- municipalities (such as most ITP areas) nally, the analysis constantly reminded tion” and “partnership” are used here inter- would have probably encountered seri- us that institution building (for and be- changeably. ous limitations in public capacity and yond municipal governance) is not an [8] The intermediate level of government be- private sector demand to be properly ultimate but instrumental policy objec- tween regions and municipalities. managed. In other words, to avoid over- tive that serves the achievement of con- [9] ROPs are the strategic and investment- shooting for unobtainable goals, the crete public benefits, and not vice versa. planning documents that articulate on re- gap between the existing situation and gional bases the CSF investment plan. the expected institutional objective must [10] Namely: Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, be cautiously assessed in the design Naples, and Salerno. stage. Finally – and taking the risk of Acknowledgements [11] The legislation on public works estab- lished through the so-called Legge Merloni stating the obvious – results were maxi- I wish to thank Fabrizio Barca, Head of the (2004) and its evolution dates up to 2002. mized when the creative and collabora- Department for Development Policies, for his [12] Financial distribution criteria for the ini- tive spirit engaged the entire inter-gov- initial advice and ability to play devil’s advo- tial resource allocation combined a fixed ernmental chain, with the central gov- cate to enhance this paper’s analytical quota for the five cities (50%), while the ernment, regions, and municipal organ- depth. I am also grateful (once again) to other half was attributed according to demo- izations cooperating from the very be- Paola Casavola, Tito Bianchi and Bruno Ba- graphic density. Also the ex-ante distribution ginning of policy formulation. roni – colleagues in the DDP Evaluation Unit of the performance-reserve funds between Our cases also warn us on the poten- – for their valuable comments and intellectual the five cities followed demographic criteria. tial risks of using development funding support. It was also established, however, that if a city to influence municipal institutions and was unable to reach the targets, and there- decision-making. First, the performance- Notes fore lost part or all funds to which initially en- titled, these resources would be re-distributed reserve mechanism in Campania pun- [1] For example direct project outputs, such between the better-performing cities. This in- ished the more innovative municipalities as improved transport systems, extended so- troduced a strong and innovative element of relative to the sector and type of project cial services, wage or employment increases, competition between the cities as someone’s financing. If the cities of Naples and better air or water quality, etc. loss could also correspond to someone else’s Salerno could start again, perhaps they [2] The national and European performance gain. would discard their daring investment reserve systems, applied to the EU funding [13] Given the limited scope of this paper, ideas to select easier, more “traditional” program for 2000 to 2006, probably consti- we are intentionally avoiding any comment operations that – even though charac- tute the most visible example of DDP commit- on the policy debate over desirability, ad- terized by lower developmental impact ment to institutional objectives. In 2002 and vantages, and risks of project financing or, in DISP 158 33 2004

general, of private sector participation in public and semi-public services. [14] This shortcoming could be overcome by mitigating the “all or nothing” mechanism of the performance reserve or introducing a cri- teria favoring sectorial innovativeness of PF investments. [15] It is the case, for example, of Palermo and Catania (Sicily) that, using EU funds, are engaged in the preliminary stages of metro- politan strategic planning, spearheading this new policy tool in Southern Italy. Though cer- tainly interesting, these experiences are too isolated, localized, and unripe for systematic analysis and conclusive policy recommenda- tions.

References

ANSELMO I., BREZZI M., RAIMONDO L., and UTILI F. (2004): Making Administrations accountable: the Experience of the Italian performance Reserve System. Proceedings of the 2004 Annual Meeting in Budapest of the European Evaluation Society; http://europa. eu.int/comm/regional_policy/sources/doc- conf/budapeval/work/anselmo.doc CAMPANIA REGION (2003): Parere tecnico in merito all’assegnazione della quota premi- ale per programmi di recupero e sviluppo ur- bano. In: Official Regional Bulletin (BURC) n. 58, 09/12/2003, Naples: Italy. DEPARTMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT POLI- CIES (2004): 2003 Annual Report on Ac- tions in Under-Utilized Areas. http://www. dps.tesoro.it/rapporto_annuale_2003.asp, Ministry of Economy, Rome: Italy. FORMEZ (2003): Modelli di Gestione per i Progetti Integrati Territoriali. Rome: Italy. OECD (2004): Building new Forms of Coop- eration for Territorial Development. Official Document GOV/TDPC no. 2004-1, Paris: France. ROSSI-DORIA, M. (1970): La dimensione re- gionale. In: Scritti sul Mezzogiorno, pp. 59–65, L’Ancora del Mediterraneo, Naples: Italy.

Marco Magrassi Evaluation Unit Department for Development Policies Ministry of Economy and Finance of Italy Via Nerva 1 I-00187 Roma Italy [email protected] DISP 158 34 2004 Alain Thierstein, Simone Gabi

When Creativity Meets Metropolitan Governance

When creativity meets governance, scapes or metropolitan regions. The Or- cused creativity approach within the chances are that this meeting will gener- ganization for Economic Cooperation action model for metropolitan gover- and Development (OECD) defines gov- nance. ate energy towards good metropolitan ernance today as “the organization and governance. However, creativity is a administration of regional authorities scarce resource, and the connectivity be- and institutions on the most varied levels 2 Metropolitan Governance Today tween creativity and governance does as well as the corresponding processes The pressing need for continuously not materialize automatically. Only an of decision-making, cooperation, and learning and developing adequate exertion of influence” (OECD 2001). forms of governance is especially true action-oriented approach can make each But, as most observers of politico-institu- for metropolitan regions. Since they are fruitful for the other. We elaborate the tional development will agree, good the major centres of spatial develop- “model for metropolitan governance” metropolitan governance is a scarce re- ment, economic activities and social in- and hypothesize that creativity has to be- source as well. The OECD definition teraction, they are the critical “hot come part of the three interconnected points to aspects that are critical for this spots” for future social and spatial de- paper’s debate on creativity and gover- velopment. The challenge for metropoli- structuring systems of governance, i.e., nance. Governance actors are con- tan governance as an ongoing change strategy, structures and culture. fronted with the need to develop proce- process takes shape when we look at The particular links between governance dures and structures in order to tackle the tasks and well-known problems at and creativity are creative people and the the complex and intertwined problems hand in metropolitan regions. This creative culture and artefacts they pro- of metropolitan regions. Following these process is characterized by a lack of lines, Benz and Fürst (2002) explicate metropolitan design qualities and poor duce, such as tools for the visualization that through institutional learning there identification of the population with the and design of landscapes. A “reality is the expectation that experiences stem- living and working environment and check” shows that it takes certain prem- ming from governance projects eventu- community life. There is a parallel ten- ises to connect creativity to governance: a ally will transform into a lasting renewal dency to turn central business districts high level of pressure for innovation that of public law and public administrative and historic centres into theme towns structures. and create islands of high-scale working exceeds the sunk cost of no-action, a This paper explores the interrelation- and living environments, while social process design that allows space for mu- ships between these two notions, which segregation pushes less fortunate mem- tual learning and creative exploration, both seem to be of a rare kind. We hy- bers of society towards deprived loca- and “change agents” in the form of open- pothesize that good metropolitan gover- tions. The discourse on the qualities and minded people. nance has to be understood as an inter- “readability” of urban cultural land- active, multi-level learning process. scapes developed and intensified in the Therefore, we present an action model 1990s. While US scholars coined the that helps conceptualize how gover- terms “suburban sprawl” and “edge nance on various spatial levels can be city” (Garreau 1991), in Germany, peo- 1 Introduction managed more effectively. By distin- ple referred to metropolitan regions as According to the Oxford English Dictio- guishing three interconnected structur- “Grossräumig wuchernde Stadtland- nary (OED Online 2004) creativity is ing systems, that is, governance strat- schaft” (Blotevogel 1998; Fürst 1994) defined as the ability to create or bring egy, governance structures and gover- or “Zwischenstadt” (Sieverts 1997), into being, to produce where nothing nance culture, the action model offers while in French-speaking areas, the was before. Creativity has an over- openings for integrating creativity as an terms “métropolisation” and “rurbanisa- whelming appeal to everybody: Who explanatory determinant into the model tion” (Bassand 1997) emerged. does not want to be creative or to pos- (Section 2). Section 3 links creativity For many observers from the Euro- sess a creative faculty? However, it ap- with territorial and metropolitan eco- pean Union, the Swiss Federal system is pears that in everyday economic and nomic development. Section 4 explores a role model for the solution of their own political life, all too many activities and how creativity can be put to use for development dilemmas. Nevertheless, deeds seem to lack exactly that most good metropolitan governance with the the current Swiss situation does show a wanted ability. Thus, creativity displays help of our action model. A case study fragmentation of jurisdictions and the the character of a scarce resource. then helps identify the manifold obsta- deficiencies in the governance capacity What happens when creativity, as a cles of connecting creativity to gover- for solving inter-community, inter-canto- scarce resource, meets metropolitan nance (Section 5). Finally, Section 6 nal and international problems (OECD governance? draws preliminary conclusions on the in- 2002, Thierstein et al. 2003). Compa- Metropolitan governance is a com- terrelationship between creativity and rably late in the European context, the mon-life political process that is happen- governance by postulating the use of an Federal Government of Switzerland ing everywhere in urbanized land- action-focused and an instrument-fo- turned to the problems and governance DISP 158 35 2004

The three structuring systems must be interdependent if a governance reform is to be efficient and effective. Improve- regeneration ment of metropolitan governance means a simultaneous and mutually coordi- optimisation nated development of strategy, struc- strategy tures and culture. For planning practitioners and schol- ars alike, it is evident that strategy, struc- structures tures and culture do not emerge out of a perfectly rational and logical interplay. Power relations and self-interest go culture along with any individual or institutional endeavour. As Figure 1 indicates, the long-term viability of a metropolitan re- gion needs explicit management of gov- resources ernance processes. Looking at structuring systems and management processes alone will not do the job. The development of metro- Figure 1: The action model for metropolitan politan regions rarely follows a smooth governance path. Rather frequently, turbulent phases of radical structural change are fol- lowed by phases of incremental and challenges of city-regions. As late as on three interconnected structuring sys- continuous optimization before the next 1997, with the revision of the Federal tems (see Figure 1). First, we briefly look phase of basic renewal or regeneration Constitution, the Federation took more at the three structuring systems: sets in again. Therefore, it becomes im- account of the concerns of the urban ag- • The strategy helps orient and focus portant to be aware of which develop- glomerations. The Federal Council’s a region‘s activities. The strategy de- ment mode a region is in (Figure 1). The 2001 agglomeration policy is a mile- scribes the tasks that arise from a regi- two modes of optimization and regener- stone that we will refer to later in this pa- on’s concept of itself, including the ation pose different challenges to metro- per. functions that the region intends to fulfil. politan governance. We hypothesize This glance at the situation of gover- Thus the focus is on “doing the right that metropolitan regions that are in a nance today leads us to postulate the things” and we speak of the “gover- state of regeneration are especially in need for a governance model. The nance strategy” of the action-oriented dire need of the use of creativity as a OECD (2001) maintains that improved model. tool for improving governance. Our ac- metropolitan governance would not re- • The structures denote relatively stable tion model thus offers multiple opportu- sult solely from the reform of institutions arrangements in time and space. This nities to explore particular functions for and finances; it is rather a question of means both information and manage- creativity. changing behaviour and governance ment systems in the sense of sets of rules culture as well. Thus, changes in gov- that support the fulfilling of functions, as ernment institutions need to be based on well as developmental and procedural 3 From “Creative Destruction” an evolutionary, process-centred – and organization. The structures help co- to “Creative Spaces”? not a deterministic – understanding of coordinate and fine-tune all the region’s Metropolitan regions have come into spatial development. To adapt gover- relevant activities. The focus is on focus with regard to their role as eco- nance to the tasks of spatial develop- “doing things right” and we speak of nomic drivers. Indeed, this regional ment and control in metropolitan re- the “governance structure” of the action- view has traces in Joseph Schumpeter’s gions, we developed an action model oriented model. work. He highlighted the crucial role by applying elements of the St. Gall • Culture means behaviour patterns, in of the single entrepreneur who is shap- management concept (Schwaninger particular, cultural attitudes, values, ing the fate of the economy by inventing 1997; Rüegg-Stürm 2002; Thierstein et principles and norms, recurring routines and creating new products, new pro- al. 2003). This model views institutional and trusted forms. Common culture and duction processes and developing new change in a comprehensive way as it behaviour help create identity and a management techniques and organiza- (1) points to the need for explicit man- sense of belonging. We speak of the tional structures (Schumpeter 1934). agement processes, (2) distinguishes “governance culture” of the action-ori- New, young firms will form while estab- two development modes, and (3) relies ented model. lished and “institutionalized” firms will DISP 158 36 2004

vanish, thus producing a cycle of “cre- metropolitan regions and city centres range of knowledge-intensive industries, ative destruction”. Schumpeter argued (Grabher 2001; Scott 2001). such as high-tech sectors, financial ser- that those who succeed at innovating Over the last 20 years, the founding vices, the legal and health care profes- are rewarded by having a temporary model of the central-place city has been sions, and business management.” monopoly over what they have created. replaced by the network city and the It is important to bear in mind that This control, in turn, is the lever that network cities system (Batten 1995), alongside the “elite” of the creative allows innovators to gain an enhanced with considerable consequences for the class, there is another social group that position in the market and related governance of such institutional systems. is called the “service class”. The service temporary profits or “economic rents” In general, researchers assume that it is class is the flip side of the international- from their innovations (Schumpeter the knowledge-intensive business activi- ized networking process of generating 1950). Ever since Schumpeter, the no- ties that propel the development of re- added value in larger metropolitan city- tion of the creative entrepreneur has centralization on a larger spatial scale regions. The service class lives back to been coupled with the innovation (Dümmler et al. 2004). In the trail of back with the creative class and is thus process of the firm, thus producing globalization and the race for innova- a constitutive part of what Saskia swarms of researchers that approached tion, regions and urbanized city-re- Sassen (2001) calls the global cities. this inter-linkage from the firm level as gions, as well as countries with few nat- The creative economy and the cre- well as from the inter-firm level (Aber- ural resources, such as Switzerland, will ative class are always spatially an- nathy, Clark 1985). depend on using knowledge and cre- chored. Florida lays out a ”geography Schumpeter was mainly preoccupied ativity as the most important raw mate- of creativity” with a new geography of with the fate of the creative and innova- rial for the competitiveness of their com- class that is concentrated in urbanized tive entrepreneur who is replaced by the panies and their societies. areas. To understand this new geogra- manager and the managerial corpora- When we look at changing modes of phy of creativity and its effects on eco- tion. Later, regional economists and ge- spatial and territorial development, the nomic outcomes, he identifies the three ographers began to apply his notion of notions of the “knowledge society” in “Ts”, the three necessary preconditions creative destruction to the meso-level of general (Storper 1992) and the “knowl- for successful urban or regional devel- regional development. Richard Florida edge economy” in particular (Florida opment: “technology, talent and toler- (1996) examined the role of new forms 2002) come to our attention. Florida ance” (Florida 2002: 249). It seems ob- of production organization in the (2002) states that the knowledge econ- vious to us that the governance issue process of regional economic transfor- omy is under-girded by a new set of in- could profit from the three Ts of the cre- mation. He argued that there is a geo- stitutions that have emerged just to sup- ative class. The first field of application graphic or regional element to the trans- port the production and transmission of is using creative technologies for sup- formative forces, which Schumpeter innovative ideas. That “social structure porting the process of managing metro- identified as “gales of creative destruc- of creativity” comprises “(1) new sys- politan governance, while the second is tion”, as new forms of production or- tems for technological creativity and en- involving the talents of people who form ganization transform older regions. Up trepreneurship, (2) new and more effec- the creative class. The third field of ap- to then, the term “creative” was still tive models for producing goods and plying the three Ts is a more profound used more in analogy to Schumpeter’s services, and (3) a broad social, cul- openness of society to entrepreneurial notion of “creative destruction”. Re- tural and geographic milieu conducive individuals coming from all geographi- gional studies have tried different ap- to creativity of all sorts” (Florida 2002: cal corners and all walks of life (Florida proaches to describe and explain con- 48). As a consequence, the rise of the 2002). In other words, it is diversity of centrations of innovative activity and en- creative economy has a profound effect lifestyles and the clustering of talents trepreneurial dynamism with evolution- on social groups or classes, thus leading that produces what economists call “ur- ary approaches that include the notion to the formation of the “creative class”. banization economies” – and what we of technological trajectories and path Hence, Florida distinguishes between would like to put into use for the man- dependency. In the 1990s especially, two components (Florida 2002: 69): agement of metropolitan governance. concepts such as the “learning region” • The “super-creative core” includes To sum up, knowledge- and creativity- (Florida 1995; Morgan 1997), “re- scientists and engineers, university pro- intensive business activities are more gional systems of innovation” (Cooke et fessors, poets and novelists, artists, en- and more the driving forces for eco- al. 1997; Asheim, Isaksen 1997), as tertainers, actors, designers and archi- nomic development. Richard Florida’s well as “innovative and creative mi- tects as well as “the thought-leadership (2002) three Ts cluster in metropolitan lieus” (Maillat 1995; Fromhold-Eisebith of modern society: non-fiction writers, city-regions and urban centres. In turn, 1999) were being discussed. Finally, editors, cultural figures, think-tank re- metropolitan regions are the ones that the analytical and normative debate be- searchers, analysts and other opinion- display the most challenges to gover- gan to focus more on the concentration makers.” nance. We hypothesize that it is self-evi- process of creative industries (Caves • The “creative class” includes “crea- dent to bring the issues of governance 2000), start-up firms, and the people in tive professionals who work in a wide and creativity together and assess or ex- DISP 158 37 2004

plore their potential interrelationships. sualizing and designing landscapes in of view, images are processes rather The above-mentioned action model for an age that is characterized by move- than products or objects. Soja’s (1996) metropolitan governance produces the ment. The core idea is that landscape concept of “thirdspace” gives a hint that conceptual framework for doing so: the architecture has always been bound to visualization and design tools do not au- model indicates that creativity is able to a strong pictorial and aesthetic tradi- tomatically deliver an answer to the play a distinctive role for the three struc- tion. Thus, using the moving image of question on how to connect creativity turing systems of strategy, structures and videos is considered an adequate and and metropolitan governance. culture. modern design approach that allows Thus, the general question arises of dealing with the character of urban pe- the connectivity and adequacy of form ripheries. According to Girot (2004: and function, of strategy and structure. 4 When Creativity meets 201), “movism is about looking at the This leads us back to the action model Governance – an Explorative world in a different, sometimes de- for metropolitan governance: It concep- Approach ranged way, to bring forth reactions tualizes governance using the three in- The link between creativity and gover- and maybe even true sentiment in de- terconnected structuring systems of gov- nance assumes shape as we take a sign”. ernance structures, governance strate- closer look at two particular elements of The internationally known architects gies and governance culture. Our mo- creativity: creative people and creative Herzog, de Meuron, Meili and Diener del thus provides an understanding of tools. Both have the potential to be in- have established the Institute for the the interface where creativity is chan- gredients and contributors for the Contemporary City at ETH Zurich. They nelled into the actions of governance. process of change in governance. Mem- have chosen a visual approach on a re- The mindset and lifestyle of creative bers of Florida’s “creative core” are gional scale as they come up with sce- people can become part of the culture likely to be able to act as change agents narios, images and maps to visualize of governance, whereas the instruments to trigger transformation in the existing possible futures for Switzerland. Their and tools add to governance strategy system. People who belong to “creative declared long-term goal is to “change and structures. The action model is industries” have a cultural background the map in the head of Swiss popu- about the management of a change shaped by hybrid business experiences; lation”. With this approach, they at- process that offers openings for creativ- they are used to accommodating tempt to overcome existing standards ity to connect with governance. change processes, are accustomed to and political structures as they create vi- different high-level technologies, and sions and convince the observer with other languages as well as the ability to the power of their images. However, 5 Reality Check: “bring odd ends together”. They are fa- critics see a vacuum on the political Obstacles for Connecting cilitators, modulators and transformers level as they observe a missing ex- Creativity to Governance between the worlds of old economy change with institutions on the federal, In the preceding sections, we looked at hardware and network economy soft- cantonal and community levels (Tages- creativity and governance and the con- ware. Anzeiger 27.2.2003: 59). nectivity of both. The question remains From an instrument-based perspec- Both approaches, however valuable as to whether there is a demand for cre- tive, creative people generate and use they are within their own profession and ative tools in the “real world” and creative artefacts. Referring to the field for the interested audience, leave ques- whether non-creative actors can deal of spatial development, spatial design tions as to how the activities and prod- with creative tools and relate to people and spatial planning, visualization tools ucts are adequate for actual entrance to from creative industries. Thus, in this serve as helpful means to generate solu- the strategies and culture of governance section, we check our ideas against the tions for spatial processes. They deliver and how these will lead to changes in background of the reality of governance moving and still pictures, virtual real- spatial development. The specific image as experienced in a current project. time visualization or theme-world narra- language does not necessarily “hit the As mentioned in the first section, the tives. The products of creativity are thus mark” of those who are in charge and Swiss Federal Council launched its ag- support instruments for building the in- have the power over spatial develop- glomeration policy in 2001 as part of terface between creativity and gover- ment. Danahy (2004), based on Soja’s an effort to support the cantons and nance. (1996) concept of “thirdspace”, points communities in their activities to improve Two fields of research at ETH Zurich out that, in spatial planning and design, horizontal and vertical cooperation. The provide examples for creative people besides the representation of spaces substantial goal of the policy is to and the use of their creative tools, and the interpretation of the meaning of strengthen the economic attractiveness namely visualization and sensualization spaces, there is a third dimension of ne- of the densely populated, urbanized re- methods in spatial development. gotiation concerning contemporary ur- gions and provide higher life-quality for Landscape architects from ETH Zurich ban landscapes. Danahy considers me- the inhabitants. In an initial phase, to have developed the “movism” approach dia as a means of enabling dialogue get cooperation started and provide im- (Girot 2004). It is a specific mode for vi- and negotiation. According to his point pulses for innovative projects in agglom- DISP 158 38 2004

eration areas within a very limited budget, the Federation is technically Best Practice Model «Networkcity Glattal» and financially supporting and encour- aging “best practice models” all over Switzerland (Federal Council 2001). The best practice model „Networkcity Glattal“ in the Zurich Metropolitan Re- gion is one of 24 selected projects within this policy package. The project location is “Glattalstadt” (literally Glatt Valley City), a part of the Zurich Metro- politan Region comprising eight commu- nities. This densely populated area be- tween Zurich International Airport and the City of Zurich is one of the largest and most thriving economic centres in Figure 2: Map of 24 best practice models in Switzerland. Changing dynamics have the Swiss Agglomeration Areas (shaded brought along the need for solutions for grey) future spatial, economic and social de- Source: Federal Office for Spatial Develop- velopment and the call for innovative ment 2003, www.are.admin.ch/are/de/ raum/agglomerationstatistik/index.html, governance. adaptation: L. Glanzmann, NSL The project is in the hands of the as- sociation „glow.dasGlattal“, a group of executive members of the Glattal com- as a predefined product. They de- is pursuing matching interests, as it ex- munities, mostly mayors, who felt the scribed the desired outcome as a «com- plores the specific application of city need for an informal interest platform in mitment package and action agree- and landscape photography in plan- addition to existing institutions. They put ment“, produced by all the participants. ning processes. Even though photogra- the project on the basis of a wider proj- To meet the objectives of the project phy is a well-known means of visualiza- ect organization by including represen- leaders and participants, the process tion, it took a number of negotiations tatives from the cantonal and federal management team has helped design a with the project leaders and participants levels. In addition, the association has best practice model process as a shared to agree to the contribution of the pho- mandated an external process manage- working and learning process. They tographers to the project. Subsequently, ment team of university members. The structured it over several workshops, some of the best practice model mem- team provides support through develop- meetings and working phases that pro- bers changed from tolerating the pho- ing strategies and adequate working vided a creative and cooperative work- tographers to actually using profes- methods. The participants of the best ing atmosphere. A look at the “lessons sional photography as a working tool. practice model are members of political learnt” from this process sheds some The main value of photography for boards and administrative units on com- light on the gaps between the worlds of politicians and planning administration munity, regional and cantonal levels creativity and governance. was that the selection of themes trig- from the fields of environment, traffic The best practice model process gered, clarified and supported discus- planning, settlement development, so- shows that there is a bias towards sion on spatial issues. The discussion on cial issues, as well as experts and rep- known planning tools and procedures. what should be photographed became resentatives of interest groups. Visualization and interactive modera- a medium for communication. The distinctive character of the project tion methods are helpful, but have to be The above example shows that the is its dual objective. On the content applied in adequate doses. Many par- mutual benefits path of creativity and level, the goal of the actors is the shap- ticipants are suspicious of an overload governance has just begun. Applying ing of an attractive, liveable region in of visualization and moderation tech- creative approaches needs to take into the urbanized landscape. On the niques that differ from the regular meet- account the resistance to change or the process level, the actors aim to establish ings in the usual political and adminis- “sunk cost”, as economists put it. The ac- forms of cooperation such as organiza- trative routines. tors in the best practice model have tional structures and roles for communi- In order to add a more visual and cre- deeply rooted routines, institutions, in- cation as well as a shared perception of ative approach to the best practice sider networks and notions about what problems and tasks. The actors explicitly model, the process management team should or should not be done. Along- declared they wanted a learning project teamed up with a photography project side a broad basis of knowledge, rou- with an open process, not an additional of the Zurich Polytechnic Institute for De- tines and existing networks, this situa- planning project with a “hard” structure sign and Art. The photography project tion causes an atmosphere of competi- DISP 158 39 2004

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Some Preliminary Conclusions to communicate, and to learn and bene- FEDERAL COUNCIL (2001) (Bundesrat): Ag- When creativity meets governance, fit from each other. It is necessary to glomerationspolitik des Bundes, Bern. chances are that they generate energy have “change agents” in the form of FEDERAL OFFICE FOR SPATIAL DEVELOP- towards good metropolitan gover- open-minded people on either side who MENT (2002): Agglomerationspolitik: nance. However, creativity is a scarce can serve as a “man-machine-gover- Modellvorhaben: URL: http://www.are. resource, the connectivity between cre- nance” interface. admin.ch/are/de/raum/politiquedesagglo ativity and governance does not materi- merations_5/index.html. DISP 158 40 2004

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Experiences and Insights Taken from Regional Cooperation

Regional cooperation is not only a magic word – it is more or less hard work. But how can one bring the actors of a region to cooperate with each other, and how can one successfully implement regional cooperation at all? This article is not about presenting lump-sum recipes for success, but rather it will report experi- ences and insights gained through re- gional cooperation over three decades in three different communes. In the forefront of successful regional cooperation is vol- untary participation, the concentration on solvable projects, the collective and equitable completion and financing of projects, the emphasis on mutual respect Figure 1: The model of structural policy cal- in the work process, and the building on led “Model of the Five Pillars”. Source: Bun- desstadt Bonn trust and success. The focused integration of external actors and moderators, the commitment to alliances and cooperation and Bonn a “federal city” (“Bundes- crises, structural crises, migration, un- with the state are as important to the ba- stadt”). employment, and natural disasters (i.e., sic requirements of successful regional floods). Whoever sees a crisis as a chance is also ready to bring together cooperation as steering it in a clever Creating Regional Competencies different perspectives: each can con- manner. A region is able to gain influence out- tribute his or her own. Especially capa- side its boundaries only with convincing bilities and potentials of the past can be This article is reprinted by permission of Verlag competence. A field of competence is analyzed for their suitability for the fu- Müller+Busmann, Wuppertal, from polis – Zeit- established by the following factors: ture, ultimately in order to develop a schrift für Stadt und Baukultur, No. III/IV, 2004 (in Critical mass of projects. common and fitting goal for the region. print). • • Networking of research and produc- If politicians, citizens, businesses, in- Translation: Arley Kim, Zurich tion. stitutions – in short, the actors in the re- • Top-level institutions and organizati- gion – are to be reached, one has to de- This article reports experiences and in- ons (private or public), playing a lead- scribe the goal in a compact, under- sights of regional cooperation, which ing role in their respective branches. standable, and compelling way. It has the author has gathered as City Govern- • Shared information and the coopera- to address and investigate identity, the ment Building Officer in three German tion of economic constituents. characteristics and the consciousness of cities: It is not difficult to recognize that a re- the region and has to come across as vi- • From 1973 to 1982 in Neustadt am gion is more in the position to fulfill these sionary as possible. Bonn’s concept for Rübenberge as a “lightweight” repre- requirements than an individual city. the future, formulated shortly after the senting a small community of 40,000 in decision was taken to remove the par- the midst of the “heavyweights” of the liament and the larger part of the gov- nearby city (Hans Adrian), county (Ul- Recognizable Start ernment to Berlin (see Figure 1) can be rich Große-Suchsdorf) and region (Hans It is difficult to begin regional coopera- illustrated by showing the region resting Lothar Schulz) of Hannover. tion “just like that.” Regional coopera- on five pillars as the basis for future ac- • From 1983 to 1990 in Wolfsburg as tion needs a recognizable start. Most fit- tion. an “equal” with Braunschweig and ting is a crisis situation that requires Salzgitter in a multipolar structured re- people in a region to work together. Cri- gion. sis, in this sense, means chance: It is an Building Trust and • Since 1990, in the region Bonn/ advantage when all involved have a Fostering Communication Rhein-Sieg/Ahrweiler, which was ex- positive attitude towards the future. And Regional cooperation has to begin with panding at the time due to the decision there are enough crises to make for a confidence-building communication. As to make Berlin the capital of Germany good beginning, for example, finance a result, one should only tackle “solv- DISP 158 42 2004

able” problems in the beginning. Acting larly, in order to enable the elected bod- ment level than the impulsive and like this, one will notice that there are ies to step into the process if necessary power-drawn political level. many more problems that can be solved as well as to encourage communication together than one had thought before. It across borders at the level of political is much more successful to tackle eight parties. Furthermore, politicians can Voluntary Cooperation and solvable problems out of ten between only dispose of a well-rounded opinion “Structured Chaos” the partners, leaving aside the two un- that is necessary for responsible deci- The voluntary aspect of voluntary coop- solvable. In Germany, we tend to take sion-making when supplied with accu- eration means that only those who want on the unsolvable problems in order to rate information. to advance the common cause are in- entrap and exhaust ourselves. Instead, volved. Unnecessary ballast in the form each has to consider the situation and of coerced labor and grumblers should problems of the partner-communes and Modesty as Opposed to Egoism be minimized. As the basis for regional try to create win-win situations. In doing Each member should bring a modest at- cooperation, voluntary participation has so, larger and more important communi- titude to the collaboration: the bigger the advantage of creating commonalities ties have to be open to and approach the city, the more modest it should be! such as the same starting position and smaller ones. Often due to past experi- Each of the partners of the regional co- dedication to shared goals, which one ence, the smaller partner is rightly suspi- operation must recognize that bad con- should cultivate and build upon. The cious of the larger. In this case, estab- ditions in a neighboring community can means to do so include the following: lishing mutual respect is the decisive fac- also negatively impact his own commu- • Regular meetings of neighboring cen- tor. For example, one of the most impor- nity and vice versa. One should also ters. tant foundations of European collabora- recognize and continually reinforce that • Invitations to cultural events. tion following World War II was the es- self-interest hinders regional coopera- • Joint informational events, excursi- tablishment of mutual respect between tion and can even sabotage it. Egoism ons, and campaigns. the bigger countries like France, Ger- and power struggles truly poison volun- It is important to create a kind of team many as heavyweights on the one hand, teered regional cooperation. spirit among the participants. Each and small countries like Luxemburg on member should further the undertaken the other hand. task by supporting the actor involved Regular and frequent communication Professional Restraint is Called for and not cling to fixed roles. breaks down barriers and builds up Especially in the beginning, regional co- At least in the beginning, one should trust. A common telephone/fax/e-mail operation should be carried out in a re- restrain from perfectionism following the list should be available at every time served manner, with an emphasis on slogan, “Rather ordered chaos as op- and emphasize the fact that communi- professionalism: The higher the quality posed to chaotic disorder.” Perfection- cation is the key to regional coopera- of the technical, communicative and so- ism hinders creativity and wastes en- tion. The collective establishment of vir- cial expertise of the people involved, ergy. Positive thinking, on the other tual communication structures can com- the more successful cooperation can be. hand, is essential as it boosts activities. plement the actual real communications The high discrepancy between expecta- In addition, a readiness to be flexible, and support and advertise the common tions and reality is one of the most im- agile and mobile is also a resource for identity to the inside as well as to the portant causes of political disappoint- common activities. This means an open- outside. ment. Because the process of regional minded attitude as well as the willing- cooperation is highly vulnerable to dis- ness to play an active role, albeit as a turbances and distortions, participant host or guest of negotiations, meetings Information as credibility and reliability is called for. and conferences. Beyond their official a Trust-building Measure Public relations, when necessary, should purposes, these functions are important Good and diligent reciprocal exchange only be undertaken after a successfully elements that help actors to build up per- of information builds trust as one of the completed opening phase in order to sonal relationships as well as to get a di- foundations of regional cooperation. A minimize the risk of superficial talk jeop- rect impression of potentials and prob- permanent agenda item of regular meet- ardizing the collaboration. Discussions lems of other towns or cities of the re- ings must be to share information and to as to who is more important or has more gion, e.g. by guided site-visits. Critique report new news from the outside. If re- privileges or clout, a typically annoying must be minimal, constructive and com- gional cooperation is conducted by aspect of politics, are extremely coun- municated in a friendly manner. All par- planning departments, the councils of terproductive. “Being in the spotlight” ticipants should see themselves as “care- all the cooperating communities have to under the watchful public eye tends to takers”, observing and patiently win- be continuously kept up-to-date. No one encourage such behaviours. Maybe this ning over the support of others. If there should strive for the “upper hand” and is why regional cooperation can be bet- are enough regional “caretakers”, then provoke power struggles. As a result, ter attained in the more serious and pro- one can tolerate the one or the other councillors have to be informed regu- fessionally oriented planning depart- “grumbler” in the regional community. DISP 158 43 2004

City of Bonn: Residents1: 309,732 + 5.3 % [1991–2003] Employed persons3: 215,500 + 14.8 % [1991–2002] Region²: Residents1: 1,031,555 + 12.3 % [1991–2003] Employed persons3: 462,100 + 15.6 % [1991–2002] in comparison NRW: + 3.8 % [1991–2003] + 4.4 % [1991–2002]

Commuter surplus [2002] + 50,000 Unemployment rate [April 2004] 7.4 % in comparison: NRW 10.4 %; BRD 11.1 % Balance of company start-ups [1991–2003] + 7.109 % (start-ups minus failures) Public and private services (excl. public management) 74 % of the compensation of socially insured workers [2003] 27.8 % increase [1991–2003] Purchasing power [2003] 118.7 = 14.1 % above the national average Housing development City of Bonn: 157,3744 + 16,958 = + 12.1 % [1991–2003] Region2: 462,4594 + 71,521 = + 18.3 % [1991–2003]

1 on 30.06.2003 2 Bonn/Rhein-Sieg/Ahrweiler 3 at the workplace 2002 4 Apartments as of 31.12.2003

Table 1: Statistical information overview. Sources: Jahreswirschaftsbericht Bundesstadt Bonn 2003; Statistikstelle und Planungsamt der Bundesstadt Bonn; LDS NRW; Statisti- sches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz

Open Organization one small piece of the larger puzzle of a Future of the City and Region of Bonn” One should not try to start regional co- cooperating region. In the end, it is im- included a common housing strategy for operation with tight organizational portant to think spatially even if this re- thousands of family homes and apart- rules. They tend to encourage struggles quires disregarding communal bound- ments, a joint Internet website http:// for power and influence. At meetings, it aries. Transboundary institutions such as www.umzug-nach-bonn.de, the regional is conceivable that the respective host industrial and trade associations, cham- online planning system (rops), signifi- takes over the preparation, moderation bers of commerce, and businesses are cant regional transport projects as well and organizes the issues at hand. In exemplary models of regional coopera- as the regional policy on retail develop- Bonn, the organizational framework tion and should be included into the re- ment and the fostering of city/town-cen- came together almost “by itself” and gional communication network. Joint tres (“Regionales Einzelhandels- und was only later officially documented by projects are especially appropriate in Zentrenkonzept”), all of which had im- the partners in a contract after ten suc- the following areas: mediate practical impacts. cessful years of cooperation. • Concept/Identity/Characteristics/ The regional cooperation must bear Consciousness visible fruits, because successful projects • Housing development help to build trust and this, in turn, is the Building Alliances • Industrial development foundation for the tackling of more com- The volunteerism in regional coopera- • Economic promotion plex themes. In any case, it is crucial to tion offers the possibility of linking all in- • Job market choose realizable projects at the begin- tercommunal projects, including two- • Transportation ning of the partnership. sided, three-sided and multilateral ones, • Cartography/Planning documenta- to a network of alliances based on dif- tion ferent legal foundations. A legal basis • Supply and waste disposal infrastruc- Joint Project Financing for common action may consist in a ture Financing joint projects often turns out jointly commissioned task, a public con- to be the first most important test of a re- tract, a registered society, a limited com- gional cooperation's sincerity. There- pany, public association for special pur- Projects over Texts fore, it is important not to take on an ex- poses, etc. It is decisive, however, that One should work towards success in tremely costly project at the very begin- alliances, no matter which legal form is practice as opposed to theory, espe- ning, as it is necessary to share the ex- applied, are not used against one of the cially in the take-off phase of regional penses for joint projects among all part- cooperating neighbors. Each aspect of cooperation. “Projects over texts” is the ners. To do so, it is helpful to use the res- the cooperation should be self-con- motto. In the region of Bonn, the initia- ident ratio, which means the more resi- sciously understood and maintained as tives for the concept “Five Pillars for the dents a community has, the higher the DISP 158 44 2004

share of the expenses. The collaboration can profit from the recognition that the part each community has to take on for a joint project is relatively inexpensive. Taking up the financial burden together also supports the philosophy of commu- nication at the same level: Who pays participates in decisions. As a result, a constructive climate of equality among the participants can grow.

Staging It matters how regional cooperation is staged or made to come across to the public. Participants should approach and coordinate special characteristics of the process together. At the begin- ning, it is important how the coopera- tion itself is launched. Staging is also helpful for acknowledging the successful completion of collective projects and for public relations. This is also relevant for political processes, for example, through common meetings of planning committees and their delegators, ac- cordingly. Since politicians tend to be overly focused on their constituency and area of jurisdiction and are not used to workwith other communes, concerted discussions in related committees pro- vide the chance to take on responsibility together and demonstrate this to the public.

External Moderation for Complex Problems The resolving of complex issues should Figure 2: Map of the region of Bonn/Rhein- be moderated by an external expert. Sieg/Ahrweiler. This discourages positioning for power and builds trust. External moderation en- hances the quality of professional ex- Regional cooperation cannot be built on The State as Partner change, because it aids in goal orienta- deceit and disappointment, and it is use- The participation of the State, albeit at tion and encourages more precise for- less to open old wounds from the past. a central or sub-central level, in regional mulation of the outcomes and their effi- If, however, regional expertise and suc- cooperation cannot be taken for cient and prompt realization. cess can be expanded and built upon, it granted. In any case it would be point- can provide fertile soil for further collab- less and misguided to try to work on re- orations. Solved problems, not unsolved gional cooperation in direct confronta- Cooperation on the Basis of ones, form this soil. In general, also the tion with the government. It is essential Shared Success innovative reassessment of problems that one should win over the State as a Regional cooperation should work to- can also contribute to a constructive cli- partner, because its ideological and wards the future and at the same time mate, of course without falling into the even more its material support can build on the strengths of the individual trap of “senseless chatter”. Ultimately, strengthen the regional cooperation. In members. One should maintain a posi- one can say that a vital region is built on the cooperation process across political tive attitude towards the collaboration. vital cities and vital landscapes. boundaries in the region of Bonn (Nord- DISP 158 45 2004

rhein-Westfalen and Rheinland-Pfalz), Dipl.-Ing. Sigurd Trommer we involved the governments at the re- Stadtbaurat gional and, as far as possible, also at Bundesstadt Bonn the national level (see Figure 2). The Stadthaus, Berliner Platz 2 D-53111 Bonn success of the regional collaboration in- [email protected] spired and encouraged the state author- ities to take on pilot projects, such as re- gional budgeting for the promotion of housing construction, and to test their ef- fectiveness based on the example of the region of Bonn.

Incorporating External Actors External actors, such as private institu- tions, businesses, and organizations are almost “born” advocates for regional cooperation, because the delimiting and segregating nature of communal boundaries is foreign to them. At the same time, they are important interme- diaries to interested citizens in the re- gion. Thus it is a great advantage to in- tegrate these external actors into the re- gional collaboration process by involv- ing them in certain projects. For exam- ple, actors in the region of Bonn have been particularly successful to integrate investors, banks, housing-related com- panies, tenant associations as well as house-owner associations in the issue of developing a common housing strategy.

Conclusion Experiences and insights from the praxis of regional cooperation show that the voluntary entry to this process requires people with courage, dedication, pa- tience, and persistence. There is a good chance to achieve success and progress. The feature of voluntarism re- sults in a variety of alliances that, in the course of time, can make up a coherent mosaic of intelligent regional coopera- tion. Whether or not this kind of strategy towards cooperation is ultimately more effective in reaching common goals than institutionalizing a region or its problems beforehand, only time will tell.