April 27, 2010 at 10:15 am
· Filed under Creative Cities, Diversity, Economics, Master Planning, Planning, Real Estate, Revitalization, Urban Structure
The forces shaping our cities today are not municipal agencies but private organizations such as park conservancies, downtown associations, historic-preservation societies, arts councils, advocacy groups, and urban universities. Entrepreneurship also plays an important role. In projects large and small, real estate developers have replaced city planners and bureaucrats as the chief players on the urban scene, restoring neighborhoods, attracting residents to downtowns, helping to create the amenities that keep them there.
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Mike Fox wrote @ April 30th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
I agree with this, generally. I think talent has gravitated away from government, as top-down policy led planning has (a) lost some credibility, and (b) lost funding.
Private companies and arms-length agencies are more adept at coordinating multidisciplinary teams, adapting quickly to changing economic and social demands, and raising capital.
An obvious question is what role is there, if any, for government going forward. While localized projects are being successfully executed as described in this post, what about projects at the regional scale?
In the Toronto region the province has tried to take on this role. I’m not sure it will be successful and maybe private and quasi-public agencies are the way to go.
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