Power, responsibility, and governance in Britain's new urban policy

Competition became a major feature of urban policy in Britain during the 19 90s. The stimulus of competition was intended to improve regeneration polic ies, partly by galvanizing the collective resources of local actors. This a rticle draws upon the findings of recent empirical studies of regeneration programs and partnerships to consider the implications of competitive urban policy for the theory and practice of governance. It is argued that promot ing partnerships ar,tong local institutions and improving the quality of re generation schemes through competition require positive support from centra l government. The responsibility for tackling difficult urban problems cann ot simply be devolved to under-funded local initiatives.