Privatising the governance and management of existing urban neighbourhoods

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the idea of transplanting the institution of homeowner associations or similar to existing urban neighbourhoods in order to correct imbalances in patterns of incentives and responsibilities that threaten the liveability and sustainability of cities. Design/methodology/approach -The paper compares a recent published proposal for privatising existing neighbourhoods with the current Taiwan Government's attempt to assist shops on retail streets to create their own micro-governance associations. The paper takes a strongly normative approach, using propositions from economic theory. Findings -The paper identifies several crucial factors in designing an institution for privatising existing commercial neighbourhoods; notably the usage of coercive power and the efficient alignment of property rights.Research limitations/implications -The discussion in the paper rests on a small number of case studies in Taiwan and on qualitative information collected by interviews with key informants. This information is sufficient to illustrate our normative theoretical arguments about institutional design. Practical implications -The paper offers some useful insights for public officials and private entrepreneurs seeking solutions to the problem of regeneration using voluntary urban neighbourhoods management. Originality/value -The paper is the first published work to explore the adoption of homeowner associations in commercial neighbourhoods. It is one of the few papers to analyse the issues arising, using an institutional framework based on the new institutional economics.

Surrendering the environment for capital gain and Olson’s group theory: A case study of the dissolution of housing co-operative societies in Hong Kong

“…Most works that used Olson's theory in urban development dealt with urban and housing management decisions (Chen & Webster, 2006;Lai & Chan, 2004;Yau et al 2008). This is a research gap that this paper, based on publicly verifiable data, intends to fill.…”

“…also considered that quantity (of units and, hence, owners in a building) is a factor that affects a building's safety performance. Chen and Webster (2006) applied the ideas of Olson's theory to discuss problems of voluntary governance in their paper on privatizing urban neighbourhoods. However, neither conducted any empirical test as their research focus lied elsewhere.…”

Common Interest Development and the Changing Roles of Government and Market in Planning

“…In commercial areas, the Taiwanese government is now preparing to allow street associations, which are similar to HOAs, to manage several prestigious retail streets (Chen and Webster, 2006). In the industrial context, the NangKang Software Park (NKSP) is the first government-led industrial park to be controlled totally by a HOA, which has worked well thus far.…”

Do institutions matter in neighbourhood commons governance? A two-stage relationship between diverse property-rights structure and residential public open space (POS) quality: Kota Kinabalu and Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia

“…A number of strengths and desired results were observed (Ostrom 1990;Agrawal 2001), particularly on POS (Chen and Webster 2006;Lee and Webster 2006;Colding et al 2013) in the case of common property regime or selforganisation collective action (e.g. via committee associations on resource governance).…”

“…Moreover, local users have a better understanding, sensitivity and specialised knowledge of their needs and environment than an external top-down government approach or private enterprise; hence, they have the ability to craft institutions that complement their present change, necessity and circumstances, such as management and consumption rules as well as sanctions on the violator (Tucker 1999;Chen and Webster 2006). In terms of management and control, those users that are closer to a local POS ) may effectively undertake their tasks as they are the persons who are at a better position or more likely to communicate with other users, and invest time in maintaining and monitoring the users as compared to a private or state regime (see, subsidiarity principle) (Van Laerhoven 2010).…”