Business Improvement Districts as Governance for Urban Regeneration -Policy Lessons from Experiences of the U.S. and the U.K.-

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the Business Improvement Districts(BIDs), which have been widely adopted by cities in the U.S. and other developed countries as governance for regeneration of urban commercial districts. Cases of the BIDs in the U.S. cities including the City of New York have inspired researchers, policymakers and urban planning practitioners. From 1990s, the BIDs were accepted as as alternative policy measure for revitalization of urban commercial areas. The literature generally defines BIDs as pubic-private partnerships or governance system which is to manage urban commercial districts by stakeholders including tenants, merchants and local government. The focus of management is the improvement of commercial environment and amenities in the district. The main source of financial resource is the fees from stakeholders. This study is to analyze the Long Island Partnership BID in the City of New York, and the Better Bankside BID in the Metropolitan London under each nation s legal institution. In the recent years, the Korean government and legislature have been in the process of constructing new statutes for BID-like districts. From the case and institutional studies of the U.S. and the U.K., this study suggests the following recommendations: To introduce BIDs in Korea, a new statute is inevitable; the stakeholders like tenants and merchants should bear, at least a part of, the financial burden; legal arrangements should be introduced to ensure accountability of the BID management; appripriate authorities and authonomy should be endowed in managing BIDs; and the government should constitute education and training system for managers of BIDs.