Policy makers in Pittsburgh, Birmingham and Rotterdam are confronted with rapidly changing social and economic environments. Public and private sector organizations in the three cities are increasingly addressing regional issues strategically and joining together in partnerships to promote competitiveness and economic growth. Local communities are linking to regional economies as companies restructure and strategy-makers recognise the benefits of urban regeneration as an important condition for economic prosperity. The book covers the complexities of modern governance under such circumstances, the diversity and patterning of public-private partnerships and networks and the changing economic development strategies of city governments and regional and local organizations.

Policy-makers in Pittsburgh, Birmingham and Rotterdam are confronted with rapidly changing social and economic environments. Public- and private-sector organizations in the three cities are increasingly addressing regional issues strategically, and are joining together in partnerships to promote competitiveness and economic growth. This book covers the complexities of modern governance under such circumstances, the diversity and patterning of public-private partnerships and networks, and the changing economic development strategies of city governments and organizations.

In this volume scholars from around the world discuss the innovative forms of collaboration between public and private actors that contribute to making our cities more liveable. It offers helpful insights into the practices of partnerships and the ways in which partnerships can contribute to a more liveable urban environment. The liveability of our cities is a topic of increasing relevance and urgency. The world’s cities are becoming congested and polluted, putting pressure on affordable housing and causing safety to become a major problem. Urban governments are unable to address these major challenges on their own, and thus they seek cooperation with other governments, companies, civil society organizations, and citizens. By focusing on examples such as greenery in the city, affordable housing, safety, neighbourhood revitalization, and ‘learning by doing’ in urban living labs, this book asks two key questions. How do partnerships between public and private actors contribute to the liveability of cities? Under what conditions are partnerships successful, and when do they fail to yield the desired results?

Policy-makers in Pittsburgh, Birmingham and Rotterdam are confronted with rapidly changing social and economic environments. Public- and private-sector organizations in the three cities are increasingly addressing regional issues strategically, and are joining together in partnerships to promote competitiveness and economic growth. This book covers the complexities of modern governance under such circumstances, the diversity and patterning of public-private partnerships and networks, and the changing economic development strategies of city governments and organizations.

The New Localism provides a roadmap for change that starts in the communities where most people live and work. In their new book, The New Localism, urban experts Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak reveal where the real power to create change lies and how it can be used to address our most serious social, economic, and environmental challenges. Power is shifting in the world: downward from national governments and states to cities and metropolitan communities; horizontally from the public sector to networks of public, private and civic actors; and globally along circuits of capital, trade, and innovation. This new locus of power—this new localism—is emerging by necessity to solve the grand challenges characteristic of modern societies: economic competitiveness, social inclusion and opportunity; a renewed public life; the challenge of diversity; and the imperative of environmental sustainability. Where rising populism on the right and the left exploits the grievances of those left behind in the global economy, new localism has developed as a mechanism to address them head on. New localism is not a replacement for the vital roles federal governments play; it is the ideal complement to an effective federal government, and, currently, an urgently needed remedy for national dysfunction. In The New Localism, Katz and Nowak tell the stories of the cities that are on the vanguard of problem solving. Pittsburgh is catalyzing inclusive growth by inventing and deploying new industries and technologies. Indianapolis is governing its city and metropolis through a network of public, private and civic leaders. Copenhagen is using publicly owned assets like their waterfront to spur large scale redevelopment and finance infrastructure from land sales. Out of these stories emerge new norms of growth, governance, and finance and a path toward a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive society. Katz and Nowak imagine a world in which urban institutions finance the future through smart investments in innovation, infrastructure and children and urban intermediaries take solutions created in one city and adapt and tailor them to other cities with speed and precision. As Katz and Nowak show us in The New Localism, “Power now belongs to the problem solvers.”