The past few years have seen a proliferation of skills analysis in urban regeneration in England. In France, in contrast, researchers have linked questions of skills to the styles and form of public-sector work. This paper reworks the debates in the two countries to provide a comparative analysis of neighbourhood management. There are three main sections and themes: the implications of a bottom—up perspective in the study of policy implementation; the emergence in France of the chef de projet as an ideal type figure of transversal working; and finally, in relation to England, the fragmentation and diversity of policy initiatives, agencies and funding streams. This fragmentation and diversity have implied, in turn, an emphasis on flexibility and generic rather than specialist skills in urban regeneration.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Astier, I. ( 1997) Revenu minimum et souci d’insertion. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer.
2.
Bailey, N. ( 2005) The great skills debate: defining and delivering the skills required for community regeneration in England, Planning, Practice & Research, 20(3), pp. 341-352.
3.
Ball, M. and Maginn, P. ( 2005) Urban change and conflict: evaluating the role of partnerships in urban regeneration in the UK, Housing Studies , 20(1), pp. 9-28.
4.
Baron, C. and Nivolle, P. ( 2005) L’inventivité au quotidien des missions locales et PAIO, Publications Dares, Premières informations et premières syntheses, 34(1).
5.
Béhar, D. and Estèbe, P. ( 1996) Le chef de projet et le sous-préfet à la ville, Espace et sociétés, 84/85, pp. 37-43.
6.
Blanc, M. and Sipp, J.-F. ( 2000) Etude sur les métiers de la ville et du développement social urbain, Report for la Délégation Interministérielle à la Ville, Universités Henri Poincare, Nancy I and Nancy II.
7.
Brévan, C. and Picard, P. ( 2000) Une nouvelle ambition pour les villes: de nouvelles frontières pour les métiers. Délégation Interministerielle à la Ville, Paris.
8.
CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) (2003) Building sustainable communities: developing the skills we need. CABE, London .
9.
Cabe (2008) Creating successful masterplans: a guide for clients, 2nd edn. CABE, London.
10.
CES-l’ANRU (Comité d’évaluation et de suivi, l’Agence nationale pour la rénovation urbaine) ( 2008) Rapport: rénovation urbaine : 2004-2008: Quels moyens pour quels résultats?La Documentation Française , Paris.
11.
Cochrane, A. ( 2004) Modernisation, managerial-ism and the culture wars: reshaping the local welfare state in England, Local Government Studies , 30(4), pp. 481-496.
12.
Cole, I., Robinson, D. and Kane, S. ( 1999) Changing demand, changing neighbourhoods: the response of social housing landlords. Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield.
13.
Cousin, O. ( 1996) Les mutations du travail social: de la transformation du public aux changements dans les modes de prise en charge, Sociologie du Travail, 96(2), pp. 141-161.
14.
Diamond, J. ( 2001) Managing change or coping with conflict? Mapping the experience of a local regeneration partnership, Local Economy, 16(4), pp. 272-285.
15.
Donzelot, J. and Estèbe, P. ( 1994) L’État-animateur: essai sur la politique de la ville. Paris: Éditions Esprit.
16.
Epstein, R. ( 2005) Gouverner à distance: quand l’état se retire des territoires, Esprit, November, pp. 96-111.
17.
Eymard-Duvernay, F. and Marchal, E. ( 1994) Les règles en action: entre une organisation et ses usagers, Revue Française de Sociologie, 35(1), pp. 5-36.
18.
Foley, P. and Martin, S. ( 2000) A new deal for the community? Public participation in regeneration and local service delivery, Policy & Politics , 28(4), pp. 479-491.
19.
Gaudin, J.P. ( 1999) Gouverner par contrat: l’action publique en question . Paris: Presses de Sciences Po .
20.
Geddes, M. ( 2006) Partnership and the limits to local governance in England: institutionalist analysis and neoliberalism, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 30(1), pp. 76-97.
21.
Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L. ( 1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New York: Aldine deGruyter .
22.
Goodchild, B. and Cole, I. ( 2001) Social balance and mixed neighbourhoods: a review of discourse and practice in British social housing, Environment and Planning D, 19(1), pp. 103- 122.
23.
Hall, S. ( 2003) The ‘third way’ revisited: ‘new’ Labour, spatial policy and the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal , Planning, Practice & Research, 18(4), pp. 265-277.
24.
Harrison, T. ( 2000) Urban policy: addressing wicked problems, in: H. Davies, S. M. Nutley and P. C. Smith (Eds) What Works? Evidence-based Policy and Practice in Public Services , pp. 13-41. Bristol: Policy Press.
25.
Haworth, A., Manzi, T. and Kemeny, J. ( 2004) Social constructionism and international comparative housing research, in: K. Jacobs, J. Kemeny and T. Manzi (Eds) Social Constructionism in Housing Research, pp. 159-185. Aldershot: Ashgate.
26.
Healey, P. ( 1998a) Building institutional capacity through collaborative approaches to urban planning, Environment and Planning A, 30(9), pp. 1531-1546.
27.
Healey, P. ( 1998b) Collaborative planning in a stakeholder society , Town Planning Review, 69(1), pp. 1-21.
28.
HM Government (2008) Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities: Statutory Guidance. Department of Communities and Local Government, London (http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/885397.pdf).
29.
House of Commons, Communities and Local Government Committee (2008a) New inquiry and call for evidence, planning skills. Press Notice Session2007-08 , 22 January (http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/clg/clg_200708_pn18.cfm; accessed February 2008).
30.
House of Commons, Communities and Local Government Committee (2008b) Planning Matters: Labour Shortages and Skills Gaps. Eleventh Report of Session 2007-08 Volume I: Report, together with formal minutes, HC 517-I. London : The Stationery Office.
31.
ICC (Institute of Community Cohesion) (2007 ) Promoting sustainable communities and community cohesion . The Academy of Sustainable Communities, Leeds.
32.
Jeannot, G. ( 2008) Les fonctionnaires travaillentils de plus en plus? , Revue française de science politique, 58(1), pp. 123-140.
33.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2002) Response to The Learning Curve: developing skills and knowledge for neighbourhood renewal. (http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/learning-curve-developing-skills-and-knowledge-neighbourhood-renewal ; accessed March 2009).
34.
Kagan, C. ( 2007) Interpersonal skills and reflection in regeneration practice , Public Money & Management, 27(3), pp. 169-174.
35.
Kitchen, T. ( 2007) Skills for Planning Practice. Basingstoke : Palgrave.
36.
Lipsky, M. ( 1971) Street-level bureaucracy and the analysis of urban reform , Urban Affairs Review, 6, pp. 391-409.
37.
Lister, S., Perry, J. and Thornley, M. ( 2007) Community engagement in housing market renewal: a good practice guide. Chartered Institute of Housing, Coventry.
38.
Maillard, J. de ( 2000) Les chefs de projet et les recompositions des l’action publique, un nouveau métier urbain, Annales de la recherche urbaine, 88, pp. 7-18.
39.
Maillard, J. de ( 2002a) Les associations dans l’action publique locale: participation fonctionnalisée ou ouverture démocratique? , Lien social et politiques, 48, pp. 53-65.
40.
Maillard, J. de ( 2002b) Les travailleurs sociaux en interaction politiques sociales urbaines, mobilisations des professionnels et fragmentations, Sociologie du travail, 44(2), pp. 215-232.
41.
Maillard, J. de ( 2004) Réformer l’action publique: la réforme de la ville et les banlieues. Paris: LGDJ.
42.
McGregor, A., Glass, A., Higgins, K. et al. (2003) Developing People-Regenerating Place: Achieving Greater Integration for Local Area Regeneration. Bristol : Policy Press.
43.
Nicholls, W.J. ( 2006) Associationalism from above: explaining failure through France’s politique de la ville, Urban Studies , 43(10), pp. 1779-1802.
44.
NRU (Neighbourhood Renewal Unit) (2002) The learning curve: developing skills and knowledge for neighbourhood renewal . ODPM, London.
45.
NRU (2004) Transformation and sustainability: future support, management and monitoring of the New Deal for Communities programme. Programme Note25, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, London.
46.
NRU (2005) Strengthening links between local strategic partnerships, New Deal for Communities and neighbourhood management initiatives. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister , London.
47.
ODPM (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) ( 2004) Skills for sustainable communities. The Egan review. ODPM, London.
48.
Péraldi, M. ( 1995) Le cycle du fusible, pour une histoire sociale du DSU à Marseille, Les Annales de la recherche urbaine , 68/69, pp. 68-79.
49.
Sabatier, P.A. ( 1986) Top-down and bottom-up approaches to implementation research: a critical analysis and suggested synthesis, Journal of Public Policy, 6(1), pp. 21-48.
50.
SEU (Social Exclusion Unit) (2000) National strategy for neighbourhood renewal: a framework for consultation . Cabinet Office, London.
51.
Shalin, D.N. ( 1986) Pragmatism and social interactionism, American Sociological Review, 51(1), pp. 9-29.
52.
Skelcher, C. ( 2000) Changing images of the state: overloaded, hollowed-out , congested, Public Policy and Administration, 15(3), pp. 3-19.
53.
Southern, A. ( 2001) What matters is what works? The management of regeneration , Local Economy, 16(4), pp. 264-271.
54.
Sprigings, N. ( 2002) Delivering public services under the new public management: the case of public housing, Public Money & Management , 22(4), pp. 11-17.
55.
SQW Ltd and partners (2004) Neighbourhood management pathfinder programme: national evaluation annual review 2003/04 key findings. Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, London.
56.
SQW Ltd and partners (2007) Neighbourhood management: empowering communities, shaping places: review 2006/7 . Research Report No. 37, Department for Communities and Local Government, London .
57.
Stébé, J.-M. ( 2005) La médiation dans les banlieues sensibles . Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
58.
Stewart, M. ( 2000) Local action to counter exclusion: a research review , in: Joining It Up Locally: The Evidence Base, Report of Policy Action Team 17, Vol. 2, pp. 13-78. DETR , London.
59.
Stewart, M. and Howard, J. ( 2004) Mainstreaming in NDC areas: evidence from the national evaluation 2003/04. Research Report No. 25, Sheffield Hallam University.
60.
Strauss, A. ( 1978) Negotiations: Varieties, Contexts, Processes, and Social Order. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass .
61.
Taylor, P., Turok, I., Kirkpatrick, D. and Rosengard, A. ( 2004) Skills and competencies for community regeneration: needs analysis and framework. Communities Scotland, Edinburgh (http://www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/pubcs_008581.pdf ; accessed March 2008).
62.
Tiesdell, S. and MacFarlane, G. ( 2007) The part and the whole: implementing masterplans in Glasgow’s New Gorbals, Journal of Urban Design, 12(3), pp. 407-433.
63.
UTF (Urban Task Force) (1999) Final report towards an urban renaissance. Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, London (http://www.urbantaskforce.org/UTF_final_report.pdf ).
64.
White, G. and Dickinson, S. (SQW Ltd) with Miles, N., Richardson, L., Russell, H. and Taylor, M. ( 2006) Exemplars of neighbourhood governance. Department for Communities and Local Government, London .
65.
Williams, P. ( 2002) The competent boundary spanner, Public Administration, 80(1), pp. 103-124.
66.
Wivekens, A. ( 1999) Le souci du territoire, les groupes locaux de traitement de la délinquance, Les annales de la recherche urbaine , 83/84, pp. 81-88.
