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1 – 10 of over 5000
Article
Publication date: 23 December 2020

Hanna Carlsson and Roos Pijpers

This paper analyses how neighbourhood governance of social care affects the scope for frontline workers to address health inequities of older ethnic minorities. We critically…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper analyses how neighbourhood governance of social care affects the scope for frontline workers to address health inequities of older ethnic minorities. We critically discuss how an area-based, generic approach to service provision limits and enables frontline workers' efforts to reach out to ethnic minority elders, using a relational approach to place. This approach emphasises social and cultural distances to social care and understands efforts to bridge these distances as “relational work”.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a two-year multiple case study of the cities of Nijmegen and The Hague, the Netherlands, following the development of policies and practices relevant to ethnic minority elders. They conducted 44 semi-structured interviews with managers, policy officers and frontline workers as well as 295 h of participant observation at network events and meeting activities.

Findings

Relational work was open-ended and consisted of a continuous reorientation of goals and means. In some cases, frontline workers spanned neighbourhood boundaries to connect with professional networks, key figures and places meaningful to ethnic minority elders. While neighbourhood governance is attuned to equality, relational work practice fosters possibilities for achieving equity.

Research limitations/implications

Further research on achieving equity in relational work practice and more explicit policy support of relational work is needed.

Originality/value

The paper contributes empirical knowledge about how neighbourhood governance of social care affects ethnic minority elders. It translates a relational view of place into a “situational” social justice approach.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 November 2018

Koen P. R. Bartels

Neighborhood governance has become a widespread approach to improving the quality of life in cities. The idea is that sustained interactions between public professionals and…

Abstract

Neighborhood governance has become a widespread approach to improving the quality of life in cities. The idea is that sustained interactions between public professionals and residents will better meet the needs of local areas and people. However, neighborhood working approaches purporting to provide tailor-made policies and solutions tend to perpetuate habitual practices and hegemonic institutions of hierarchy and competition. This chapter enquires how conditions can be created for different kinds of conversations and relationships to emerge that lead to innovative practices and sustainable change. I argue that public professionals need not only interact extensively with residents but should also engage in encounters with an open mind. Empirically illustrated with an innovative approach to neighborhood working in Amsterdam (the Netherlands), I explain how they can go beyond habitual practices by letting new shared views and actions emerge in-between them. Doing so fosters deeper institutional transformations toward a relational grounding for urban governance and public administration.

Article
Publication date: 23 February 2018

Alan H. Kwok, Douglas Paton, Julia Becker, Emma E. Hudson-Doyle and David Johnston

As disaster resilience activities are increasingly occurring at the neighbourhood level, there is a growing recognition in research and in practice of the contributions that…

1000

Abstract

Purpose

As disaster resilience activities are increasingly occurring at the neighbourhood level, there is a growing recognition in research and in practice of the contributions that community stakeholders can make in assessing the resilience of their communities. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process in deriving a disaster resilience measurement framework by soliciting the perspectives of stakeholders from urban neighbourhoods in two countries. The authors examined their community values, and their perspectives on both the concept of resilience and the essential elements that they believe would contribute to the resiliency of their neighbourhoods.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used an appreciative inquiry approach to draw out the perspectives of 58 stakeholders from nine focus groups in five urban neighbourhoods in New Zealand and in the USA.

Findings

Results of this research show common values and recurring perceived characteristics of disaster resilience across the study sites. A neighbourhood-based disaster resilience measurement framework is developed that encompasses individual/psychological, socio-cultural, economic, infrastructural/built, and institutional/governance dimensions of disaster resilience. In the process of developing the framework, the authors identified challenges in engaging certain segments of the population and in accounting for wider structural influences on neighbourhood resilience.

Research limitations/implications

Issues relating to inclusive community engagement and linkages to cross-scalar resilience factors need to be addressed in future studies.

Practical implications

Results of this research provide insights and guidance for policy makers and practitioners when engaging communities in the development of resilience metrics.

Originality/value

This study fills the literature gap in evaluating community values and stakeholders’ perspectives on disaster resilience when identifying metrics for resilience interventions in urban neighbourhoods. The proposed measurement framework is derived from cross-cultural and diverse socioeconomic settings.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 6 August 2012

Lorraine Johnston

Purpose – This chapter reviews the approaches to the decentralization of services and the devolution of decision-making to local structures outlined by the New Labour government…

Abstract

Purpose – This chapter reviews the approaches to the decentralization of services and the devolution of decision-making to local structures outlined by the New Labour government in the United Kingdom. The chapter draws upon earlier attempts by Town Halls in urban areas to introduce new forms of governance and decision-making as a way of providing a context to New Labour's plans.

Methodology/Approach – The chapter provides a detailed review and analysis of the literature and discusses the different models of governance and concepts of power and uses this analysis to identify 10 key lessons for policymakers.

Findings – The 10 key lessons for policymakers and practitioners that are identified and discussed include the role of local political leaders; the convergence of political and managerial leadership; defining the level and pace of community participation; and stressing the importance of continual training, learning, and evaluation.

Research implications – The chapter sets out a possible framework for review, research, and evaluation including cultural change, civil renewal, policy connectivity, and commitment and pace of change. The chapter defines these terms and the terms offer a way of looking at different initiatives and approaches at the level of City Hall.

Originality/Value of the chapter – The chapter sets the framework for a conceptual and empirical study of different approaches to double devolution within the United Kingdom and also outside of it.

Details

Emerging and Potential Trends in Public Management: An Age of Austerity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-998-2

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 12 November 2018

Abstract

Details

From Austerity to Abundance?
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-465-1

Book part
Publication date: 13 October 2008

Talja Blokland, Paul J. Maginn and Susan Thompson

In Western liberal democracies over the last decade or so, community development, housing policy and neighbourhood renewal have been increasingly underscored by a philosophy of…

Abstract

In Western liberal democracies over the last decade or so, community development, housing policy and neighbourhood renewal have been increasingly underscored by a philosophy of participatory decision-making (see Imre & Raco, 2003; Lo Piccolo & Thomas, 2003; Maginn, 2004). At one level, it appears that central and local governments have experienced a policy and democratic epiphany. This is reflected in a ‘new’ acknowledgment that ‘when citizens themselves are the key to the quality of neighbourhoods, a new avenue of policy intervention is opened up’ (Lelieveldt, 2004, p. 534; see also Crenson, 1983). In this context, participatory models of decision-making are seen as having the potential to ‘empower’ local residents who were previously the subject of ‘top-down’ or command and control forms of planning (Healey, 1999; Meredyth, Ewing, & Thomas, 2004; Barry, Osborne, & Rose, 1996; Rose, 1996; Dean, 2002). On another level, however, there is caution, suspicion even, about this paradigm shift. A perception exists that governments are essentially displacing, redistributing and/or retreating from their historical welfare responsibilities (Chaskin, 2003, 2001; Fraser, Lepofsky, Lick, & Williams, 2003; Pierre, 1999).

Details

Qualitative Housing Analysis: An International Perspective
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84663-990-6

Content available
Article
Publication date: 14 October 2021

Pieter Breek, Jasper Eshuis and Joke Hermes

Social media have become a key part of placemaking. Placemaking revolves around collaboration between multiple stakeholders, which requires ongoing two-way communication between…

Abstract

Purpose

Social media have become a key part of placemaking. Placemaking revolves around collaboration between multiple stakeholders, which requires ongoing two-way communication between local government and citizens. Although social media offer promising tools for local governments and public professionals in placemaking, they have not lived up to their potential. This paper aims to uncover the tensions and challenges that social media bring for public professionals at the street level in placemaking processes.

Design/methodology/approach

This study aims to fill this gap with a case study of area brokers engaged in online placemaking in Amsterdam. In total, 14 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted, focusing on area brokers’ social media practices, perceptions and challenges. The authors used an open coding strategy in the first phase of coding. In the second phase, the authors regrouped codes in thematic categories with the use of sensitizing concepts derived from the theoretical review.

Findings

The use of social media for placemaking imposes demands on area brokers from three sides: the bureaucracy, the affordances of social media and affective publics. The paper unpacks pressures area brokers are under and the (emotional) labour they carry out to align policy and bureaucratic requirements with adequate communication needed in neighbourhood affairs on social media. The tensions and the multidimensionality of what is required explain the reluctance of area brokers to exploit the potential of social media in their work.

Originality/value

Several studies have addressed the use of social media in placemaking, but all neglected the perspective of street-level bureaucrats who shape the placemaking process in direct contact with citizens.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2006

Chien‐Yuan Chen and Chris Webster

The purpose of this paper is to explore the idea of transplanting the institution of homeowner associations or similar to existing urban neighbourhoods in order to correct…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the idea of transplanting the institution of homeowner associations or similar to existing urban neighbourhoods in order to correct imbalances in patterns of incentives and responsibilities that threaten the liveability and sustainability of cities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper compares a recent published proposal for privatising existing neighbourhoods with the current Taiwan Government's attempt to assist shops on retail streets to create their own micro‐governance associations. The paper takes a strongly normative approach, using propositions from economic theory.

Findings

The paper identifies several crucial factors in designing an institution for privatising existing commercial neighbourhoods; notably the usage of coercive power and the efficient alignment of property rights.

Research limitations/implications

The discussion in the paper rests on a small number of case studies in Taiwan and on qualitative information collected by interviews with key informants. This information is sufficient to illustrate our normative theoretical arguments about institutional design.

Practical implications

The paper offers some useful insights for public officials and private entrepreneurs seeking solutions to the problem of regeneration using voluntary urban neighbourhoods management.

Originality/value

The paper is the first published work to explore the adoption of homeowner associations in commercial neighbourhoods. It is one of the few papers to analyse the issues arising, using an institutional framework based on the new institutional economics.

Details

Property Management, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2018

Barbara Bogusz

The paper aims to consider whether Neighbourhood Panning provides the appropriate output legitimacy for citizen engagement in the planning process. The Localism Act 2011…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to consider whether Neighbourhood Panning provides the appropriate output legitimacy for citizen engagement in the planning process. The Localism Act 2011 transformed the planning process by shifting decision-making powers away from the local institutions and transferring them to local people. Neighbourhood planning has created a new dynamic in planning by using “bottom up” governance processes which enables local people to shape the area where they live. Local referenda are used to inject output legitimacy in to neighbourhood planning, and this planning self-determination can be considered as “spatial sovereignty”, whereby the recipients of the planning decisions are also the primary stakeholders that have shaped planning policy.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper will examine how Localism, as an evolving concept of local governance, is enfranchising local communities to take control of planning and development in their area. The paper will draw upon the experience of the revised planning methodology introduced by the Localism Act 2011 and consider its impact on the delivery of broader public policy objectives contained within the National Planning Policy Framework.

Findings

Localism provides an alternative form of citizen engagement and democratic legitimation for planning decisions which transcends the traditional forms of participatory democracy, and recognises that other paths of democratic law-making are possible.

Originality/value

The paper argues that neighbourhood planning has created a paradigm whereby local planning preferences, as an expression of spatial sovereignty, do not necessarily align with the broader public policy objective to build homes in the right places.

Details

Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9407

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 July 2016

Kanerva Kuokkanen

This chapter concentrates on metropolitan governance, the use of projects (or ‘projectification’) in public administration and the development of metropolitan forms of citizen…

Abstract

This chapter concentrates on metropolitan governance, the use of projects (or ‘projectification’) in public administration and the development of metropolitan forms of citizen participation. The analysis is based on a case study from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area – a multi-actor policy programme called the Urban Programme, which included a specific participatory project named Citizen Channel. According to the analysis, the Urban Programme was a way to create consensus and collaboration between the municipalities of the area, whereas the Citizen Channel project created a ‘toolbox’ for metropolitan citizen participation. However, the relation between programme- and project-based development and municipal administration, especially the implementation of the results of short-term projects in permanent administration proved difficult. From the perspective of metropolitan ruralities, four kinds of conclusions are emphasised: the complexity and conflictuality of the issue of metropolitan governance; the use of relatively similar programmes and projects as policy tools both in urban and rural contexts; the ‘metropolitan dimension of everyday life’ of the inhabitants and its relation to municipal administrative cultures as well as the birth and strengthening of new actors such as local NGOs in projects. The originality of this chapter is to combine the frameworks of metropolitan governance, projectification and the development of citizen participation in an empirical study and to reflect them to the ‘metropolitan ruralities’ research.

Details

Metropolitan Ruralities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-796-7

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 5000