Sense of place: Global cities II (CLARKE)

Question 1

Urban policy

Public policy devolved to city authorities

Answer 1

Varies by city/country
In UK most policy is governed by Whitehall compared with Germany which has lots of provincial governments

Changes over time:
– Centralisation
– Decentralisation/devolution

Traditionally forged by local politicians and civil servants in conversation with
– National equivalents
– Local constituents

Question 2

The challenges of globalisation

Answer 2

• Mobility of money and people
• Investment/disinvestment
– From managerialism to entrepreneurialism (Harvey 1989)
• Immigration/emigration

Question 3

The opportunities of globalisation

• Urban policy mobility (McCann 2011)

Driven by:

Answer 3

– Demand (local politicians, business people…)

– Supply (governmental organisations, journalists…)

Question 4

Case study: town twinning (Clarke 2010, 2012)

Answer 4

• Formal relationships between towns or cities located in different nation- states
• Devices for producing topological proximity between topographically distant places
• Repertoires of formal agreements, exchange visits, trade delegations, joint projects

Question 5

History of town twinning

Answer 5

• Invented in Western Europe after WW2 to promote peace.
• Used during the 1950s to construct European union.
• Used since the 1970s in pursuit of international development.
• Used since the 1980s in pursuit of local economic development.
• Used since the 1990s to circulate urban policy.
• A growing phenomenon.
New twinnings by decade, LGA 2007

Question 6

Lessons: urban policy mobility works best:

Answer 6

– When sensitive to geographical context
– When experimental
– When between long-term partners who understand, trust, and respect one another