Abstract
The rapid onset of the recession in the UK in 2009 is likely to have profound implications for English spatial policy. The neo-liberal emphasis on supporting, and catering for, the expansion of the globally competitive London and the South East region is coming under strain as growth falters. The future of spatial policy seems uncertain as does the emphasis on what has been termed sustainable community-building. This paper explores and assesses the politics of assumption-building that have underpinned spatial policy practices and thinking in England under the Labour government. It examines and highlights some of the key challenges and difficulties that now face policy-makers and explores the possibility that we are witnessing the emergence of new forms of neo-Keynesianism. It shows that as the core assumptions of the 1990s and 2000s break down, so new opportunities are opened up for alternative, less growth-oriented agendas. The paper concludes by highlighting areas for further research and sketching out possible futures for the sustainable communities agenda.
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Notes
Definitions taken from the Collins English Dictionary (1993, p. 273).
This is not the case in the devolved territories of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland where spatial development strategies have represented a key element of post-devolution politics.
The Northern Way is a partnership of development agencies and local authorities operating in the north of England that seek to ‘work together to improve the sustainable economic development of the North towards the level of more prosperous regions’ (Northern Way 2009, p. 1).
The plans also involved the established of 9 Pathfinder Market Renewal Areas in cities in 9 areas of the Midlands and North of England. These programmes were designed to revive housing markets in inner city locations (see Allen 2008 for a broader discussion).
These predict and provide models have also been re-enforced by broader trends in the management of the public sector. The modernisation of the welfare state under Labour has gone hand-in-hand with the mobilisation of public management techniques that seek to codify, standardise, and operationalise policy programmes (see Clarke and Newman 1997). Practitioners are now required to meet targets as set by central government ministers and civil servants and to demonstrate this in concrete, material terms. The net effect has been to bring monetary rules and auditing technologies, as set by the Treasury, to bear on all aspects of spatial planning.
The Conservative opposition has already expressed its willingness to abolish RDAs if elected. Other organisations such as the Taxpayers’ Alliance (2008) have also singled them out as an example of wasteful spending under the Labour government.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Cian O’Callaghan and two anonymous referees for their constructive and encouraging comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Thanks also to Catherine Durose, James Evans, Katie Jones, Marc Parés, Lawrence Pratchett, Emma Street, and Erik Swyngedouw for their supportive comments, thoughts, and suggestions on a presentation based on the paper. The final version is, of course, the responsibility of the author alone.
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Raco, M. A growth agenda without growth: English spatial policy, sustainable communities, and the death of the neo-liberal project?. GeoJournal 77, 153–165 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-009-9327-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-009-9327-0