The Effectiveness, Legitimacy and Robustness of Hybrid Livability Governance: The Case of Quartiersmanagement in Berlin

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors evaluate the effectiveness, legitimacy and robustness of the of the Quartiersmanagement governance model in Berlin, where, under supervision of the Land, private companies develop and implement urban development policies in conjunction with neighborhood residents and civil society organizations. As such, the Quartiersmanagement model is an illustrative example of hybrid governance since it combines state, market, and civil society logics in the development and implementation of policies. The results indicate that hybrid governance is not a solution for all seasons as regards the governance of livability since it can produce tensions between the various logics that are present in a partnership. At the same time, the analysis shows that some of these tensions are not necessarily the result of institutional aspects of the cooperation but also relate to how the people involved perceive and take up their roles in such governance arrangements. The data suggests that some of the complexities of hybrid governance can be negotiated by explicit and collective reflection on the roles and responsibilities that state, market and civil society have in local governance arrangements.