This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Turok, I. Articles by Hopkins, N. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Competition and Area Selection in Scotland's New Urban Policy

Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow, 25 Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RS, Scotland, UK, I.Turok{at}socsci.gla.ac.uk

Nick Hopkins

Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow, 25 Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RS, Scotland, UK

Competition has become increasingly important as a method of allocating resources in urban policy, particularly with the shift towards decentralised, area-based strategies. This has created uncertainty about the rules of the game and aroused suspicions of arbitrary manipulation of area selection. In this paper, we investigate how area regeneration bids are assessed. We examine the reshaping of the Scottish Urban Programme under Programme for Partnership and the targeting of support on fewer priority areas. How were the successful areas chosen, and how fair and consistent were the procedures? We reveal discrepancies between the criteria put forward in the official guidelines and the outcome. Bid quality and social need seem to have been downplayed in relation to other considerations. The conclusion suggests how the policy might recover credibility and how government support for urban regeneration might be enhanced.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?