Facilitating Institutional Reform in England: Reconciling City-regions and Community Planning for Efficiency Gains?

Abstract

Considerable debate has taken place in England around the concept of the city-region. While there is contestation over the terminologies and interpretations of city-regionalism, this paper considers the extent to which it can offer a more integrative set of arrangements for community planning practices in England. Community planning is concerned with securing institutional efficiencies and sustainable development gains in the context of local service provision and integration. Attention is drawn to the extent to which the convergence of these two parallel processes may either exacerbate or ameliorate the institutional barriers to securing efficient and effective community planning. The paper argues that the effective translation of city-regionalism into practice is influenced by (i) variance in the territorial imaginaries/operational boundaries of local institutions and the impact on city-regional governance structures; (ii) the consistency of approach to city-regionalism that is evident within central government and the impact of national policy guidance on the establishment of functional city-regions and (iii) a lack of vertical integration between community planning and city-regional working. These impinge on the extent to which an effective “spatial fix” can be secured locally and the ability of community planning to act as a “decongestant” within an increasingly congested state.