Dissertation•
Business Improvement Areas and the Justification of Urban Revitalization: Using the Pragmatic Sociology of Critique to Understand Neoliberal Urban Governance
01 Sep 2019-
About: The article was published on 2019-09-01 and is currently open access. It has received None citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Urban sociology & Social order.
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, the complex role of business improvement districts in current processes of inner-city restructuring and the function of BIDs in the implementation of new forms of social services is discussed.
Abstract: Our paper addresses the complex role of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in current processes of inner-city restructuring and the function of BIDs in the implementation of new forms of social ...
40 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the transfer of the Business Improvement District concept to South Africa from a discursive perspective and examine the ways in which the private sector (property and business owners) has justified the adoption of the model and how it has moulded the concept to Johannesburg's inner city.
Abstract: This article considers the transfer of the Business Improvement District concept to South Africa from a discursive perspective. It examines the ways in which the private sector (property and business owners) has justified the adoption of the model and how it has moulded the concept to Johannesburg's inner city. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, this paper focuses on legitimation strategies, locating them within broader social practices and power relations within the framework of urban revitalization policies implemented after the democratic transition. By focusing on legitimation strategies, and more particularly on their linguistic and semiotic aspects at the micro level, the article shows how the analysis of language use, particularly through a socio-cognitive approach (Van Dijk, 2009), can contribute to uncovering the opinions, attitudes, ideologies, norms and values of social actors. It can also offer insights into a local reinterpretation of a globally circulating model. The comparative analysis of two case studies highlights changing assumptions and attitudes, at least in local rhetoric, and demonstrates how the imported model has been reshaped not only by different discourses associated with various social practices but also by changing policy demands. By considering discourse as an instrument of the social construction of reality as well as an instrument of power and control, the chosen approach also underlines the way in which inequalities are reproduced and maintained in Johannesburg.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine four active Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in downtown Washington, DC and discuss the political and economic context of both the creation and operation of these four BIDs, and consider the extent that they have become an institutionalized form of metropolitan governance.
Abstract: Metropolitan areas have increasingly relied on the creation of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) as a way to focus on the special needs of retail and commercial centers. Whether part of the central city or a suburb, these relatively recent forms of organizations represent a new way to address sub-municipal issues. As such, they have become an important part of metropolitan governance and administration. The BIDs also clearly fit within the recent set of ideas represented by advocates of “new governance” that emphasizes both public/private partnerships and alternative institutional structures as strategies for addressing problems of metropolitan governance. This article examines four active BIDs in downtown Washington, DC. It presents the political and economic context of both the creation and operation of the four BIDs, relates them to new governance ideas, considers the extent that they have become an institutionalized form of metropolitan governance and finally, speculates on the extent tha...
40 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a new way of understanding local land-use conflicts, also called NIMBY, developing from justification theory and literature from the sociology of engagements, is presented, where the authors present a new approach to understand local land use conflicts.
Abstract: This article presents a new way of understanding local land-use conflicts, also called NIMBY, developing from justification theory and literature from the sociology of engagements. The article buil...
40 citations
TL;DR: The authors identifies Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) as new actors of urban policing and analyzes the relatively unknown contribution of their security divisions to public safety, and explains why police departments and debt-ridden municipalities have tolerated and sometimes even encouraged the intrusion of private security into public space.
Abstract: This article identifies Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) as new actors of urban policing and analyzes the relatively unknown contribution of their security divisions to public safety. Over the past two decades, property owners and corporate leaders in hundreds of business districts across the United States have banded together to change people’s negative perceptions about downtown. Contrary to all appearances, BIDs have not established a private crimefighting force, but instead have strived to eliminate all signs of physical and behavioral disorders to prevent crime and reassure the public. In doing so, the private sector has implemented the principles of the broken windows theory even before they influenced American policing. This innovative and non-confrontational approach that BIDs have opted for explains why police departments and debt-ridden municipalities have tolerated and sometimes even encouraged the intrusion of private security into public space.
40 citations