International policy transfer: Business Improvement Districts and Enterprise Zones in the UK

Abstract

Reflecting broader ideological foundations, economic conditions and politics, the nature of public policy in the UK has changed over time. In the post-war period, for example, a broad social democratic philosophy prevailed, which generally influenced the practical arrangements for British regional and local public policy, planning, and governance. This context informed institutional and organizational dynamics of urban regeneration across the UK. Drawing on elements of Keynesian economic thinking, initial urban regeneration initiatives were effected through, for example, hypothecated public expenditures, provision of community facilities, housing and transport infrastructures, and policies to support and diversify industrial zoning (Roberts and Sykes 2000). The turn to a neo-liberal ideology in the UK in the mid-1970s reflected a combination of globalization, international ideological influences, and various interpretations of policy transferability (Giddens 2000). These general factors, combined with a market critique of perceived performance of earlier urban regeneration policy in the UK, triggered a questioning of established modes of state intervention. This prompted a turn to business-led and land and property development-infused models to secure physical urban regeneration.