Importing Ideas: The Transnational Transfer of Urban Revitalization Policy

Abstract

This article demonstrates that the business improvement district (BID) is a model for urban revitalization that policy entrepreneurs have deliberately transferred, both intra- and inter-nationally. Data collected via personal interviews and organizational surveys reveal the origins of the BID model, why and how it was successfully transferred to eight different countries, and the types of conditions that prevent its adoption. Special attention is given to the application of the BID model in the United States and the Republic of South Africa for the purpose of illustrating how entrepreneurs apply new policies in contexts with divergent histories, and political and socio-economic conditions. This study does not test or expand policy transfer theory. However, through a detailed description of the work done by urban revitalization policy entrepreneurs, it seeks to make a modest contribution to the policy transfer literature. It also intends to augment the burgeoning BID literature by identifying key policy agents, documenting their successes, examining their failures, and considering their motivations.