Urban development and the politics of dissonance

• Published in: Territory, politics, governance politics, governance, 2018-01, Vol.6 (1), p.81-103
• Main Authors: Phelps, Nicholas A., Valler, Dave
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Case studies; Colonies & territories; Conflict; desarrollo local; développement local; Economic development; gobernanza urbana; gouvernance urbaine; Governance; local development; planificación; planning; Politics; politique des villes; politique publique; política pública; política urbana; Public policy; territoire; territorio; territory; Urban development; urban governance; urban policy; 公共政策; 地方发展; 城市政策; 城市治理; 计划; 领域
• ISSN: 2162-2671; 2162-268X
• DOI: 10.1080/21622671.2016.1231629

Urban development and the politics of dissonance. Territory, Politics, Governance. A major reason for the peripheral treatment of political conflict in established theories of urban development derives from the tendency to underplay questions of territory and spatial governance. In this paper, we examine the implications of territorial discrepancy amongst governance arrangements and introduce the notion of 'urban political dissonance' in order to engage sustained patterns of conflict or incongruity. This focus implies examination of strategic action on the part of competing urban interests which may result in policy incoherence, institutional manoeuvring in pursuit of divergent objectives and difficulties in finding workable compromise, with potentially significant implications for economic development outcomes. An illustrative case study is presented of growth politics in Oxford, UK, where a central and unresolved dilemma over the physical expansion of the city has effectively defined the nature of development politics for a generation, leading to ongoing political conflict and policy incongruity.