Objectives
European cities are faced with complex challenges in urban governance, integrating the many and varied voices of the city into governance frameworks. This is particularly the case in the arena of urban regeneration, where often conflicting public, private and civil society interests are involved in governance processes at the neighbourhood level. Despite a growing number of studies exploring governance in regeneration, there is a distinct lack of cross-national comparative research exploring the role of different stakeholders in regeneration in different institutional contexts, and importantly, the impact that these inclusive participatory processes at the local neighbourhood level have on wider governance mechanisms and outcomes at the city level and beyond. The key aim of this research therefore was to address this important gap in our understanding, with a cross-European comparative study of urban regeneration governance in France and the UK. The project aimed to critically examine stakeholder involvement in regeneration governance processes in the different national contexts, focusing on two key themes. Firstly, the research explored the role of different stakeholders in the governance of regeneration, in particular, the dynamics between public and private actors, as well as the potential for voices that are traditionally ‘unheard’ in urban governance arenas. Secondly, the project explored whether, and how, local participatory governance processes impact more broadly on wider city governance mechanisms within a multilevel governance setting, and ultimately, whether and how they influence the city’s ability to build a sustainable future, that is, a future that is ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive’. The overall project objectives were therefore:
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