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Discourses of Partnership and Empowerment in Contemporary British Urban Regeneration

School of Social and Historical Studies, University of Portsmouth, Milldam, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3AS, UK, Rob.Atkinson{at}port.ac.uk

Drawing upon the work of Bourdieu, Foucault and Fairclough, this paper focuses on the discursive construction of partnership and empowerment in the official discourse of contemporary British urban regeneration. The paper argues that partnership and empowerment are not neutral terms but are discursive constructs, the meaning assigned to these terms is thus the result of the exercise of power, which in turn has a crucial role in structuring the discursive context within which urban regeneration partnerships operate. The paper's emphasis on official discourse constructs a top-down view of the regeneration process and the community's role in that process. These issues are investigated through a narrative which focuses on a key official document, Involving Communities in Urban and Rural Regeneration, providing guidance on community participation in urban regeneration partnerships. The paper concludes that the operation of these discursive constructs in urban regeneration reinforces existing social relations.

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