Steering local housing production: evaluating the performance of governance structures

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical framework that allows us to evaluate the performance of dynamic governance structures. In housing development processes, governance structures—markets, hierarchies and network or relational structures—change as the process proceeds, and so do the goals that are set by all stakeholders, including local authorities. A framework for evaluation is set out that takes account of this temporal component. It is applied empirically to three case studies in the city of Arnhem (The Netherlands). The paper concludes that the effectiveness of steering housing production by local authorities depends on choosing appropriate governance structures, setting realistic goals, and a local authority that acts accordingly. Many of the choices with regard to goals and governance structures are not made autonomously but are structured by the spatial and institutional context in which they operate. A systematic evaluation of the performance of governance structures, within their context, could improve local government’s capacity to steer housing production.