Green Spaces of Self‐Interest Within Shared Urban Governance

Abstract

Municipal governments in Western Europe and the United States historically built and programmed public, urban park spaces to promote citizenship in accord with middle class values. In many cities these decades‐old green spaces have recently fallen into disrepair as fiscally austere governments cut parks budgets. Shared governance for green space is a new solution to parks disinvestment whereby responsibility for their upkeep is redistributed among corporations, non‐profits, and local residents. Individual citizenship status in this process is not gained by patronizing parks as in the past, but by assuming responsibility for rebuilding and reprogramming them. But while shared governance increases the number of stakeholders in decision making, its democratic potential is often subverted by entrepreneurial growth coalitions that wield disproportionate power to make market‐based, urban environmental decisions. An extension of what counts as governable green space comes with an increase in entrepreneurialism – from the largest waterfront redevelopment projects to the smallest gardens on vacant neighborhood lots. The uneven distribution and quality of green space under market forms of shared governance is intensified as ‘communities of self‐interest’ arise around green spaces in some locations whereas others continue to be disinvested in the absence of direct state support. I provide three examples of green space renovation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to further demonstrate that shared governance arrangements possess democratic potential despite the injustice of their exclusivity as currently negotiated.

Urban Governance of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

“…Biodiversity and ecosystem services are often unequally distributed within the city (Li et al 2005a , b ); low income and minority groups tend to have lower access and be disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards (Bullard 1997 ;Adamson et al 2002 ;Wolch 2007 ;Boone 2010 ;Perkins 2010 ). Poor people may be perceived as responsible for environmental degradation in spite of having a relative low per capita impact (Zérah 2006 ; D'Souza and Nagendra 2011 ) or having been allocated environmentally risky sites (Ernstson et al 2010a ).…”

Of parks and politics: the production of socio-nature in a Gujarati town

“…Gandy (2003) describes landscape architects' ambitions to contribute to the "education" and "civilisation" of marginalised communities perceived as morally corrupt, and foster a more democratic society through the creation of Central Park in New York in the second half of the 19th century. The work by Perkins (2010) shows how urban park creation at the same time in the USA more generally was a response to labour unrest. As such parks were part of an attempt of urban elites to assimilate working-classes to middle-class values and were inscribed in a moral reform movement aimed at discouraging alcohol consumption of working-class members during leisure time.…”

Putting community to use in environmental policy making: Emerging trends in Scotland and the UK

“…In the context of budget cuts LAs are increasingly keen to use community groups to address funding shortages (Mathers et al, ). Communities groups are encouraged to carry out the maintenance and upkeep of urban greenspaces formerly provided by the state (Perkins, ). This community engagement is akin to what Catney et al () term BS (Big Society/bullshit) localism where greenspace publics are produced instrumentally as a governmental tool to prop up ailing local service provision.…”

“…In the context of budget cuts LAs are increasingly keen to use community groups to address funding shortages (Mathers et al, 2015). Communities groups are encouraged to carry out the maintenance and upkeep of urban greenspaces formerly provided by the state (Perkins, 2010 In other instances, the formation of publics has emerged from a discourse of resistance and reclamation or protection and conservation. A wide range of examples show communities creating new greenspace by reclaiming vacant land for food production, biodiversity or as leisure spaces (see Garnett, 2000;Kurtz, 2001;Smith & Kurz, 2003;Ghose & Pettygrove, 2014a).…”