Mixed communities: a new approach to spatially-concentrated poverty in England

This article examines the adoption, by the New Labour government, of a mixed communities approach to the renewal of disadvantaged neighbourhoods in England. It argues that while there are continuities with previous policy, the new approach represents a more neoliberal policy turn in three respects: its identification of concentrated poverty as the problem; its faith in market-led regeneration; and its alignment with a new urban policy agenda in which cities are gentrified and remodelled as sites for capital accumulation through entrepreneurial local governance. The article then draws on evidence from the early phases of the evaluation of the mixed community demonstration projects to explore how the new policy approach is playing out at a local level, where it is layered upon existing policies, politics and institutional relationships. Tensions between neighbourhood and strategic interests, community and capital are evident as the local projects attempt neighbourhood transformation, while seeking to protect the rights and interests of existing residents. Extensive community consultation efforts run parallel with emergent governance structures, in which local state and capital interests combine and communities may effectively be disempowered. Policies and structures are still evolving and it is not yet entirely clear how these tensions will be resolved, especially in the light of a collapsing housing market, increased poverty and demand for affordable housing, and a shortage of private investment.

Regional representations in the EU:between diplomacy and interest mediation

What are regional representations in the European Union? What do they hope to achieve? Since the mid-1980s, sub-state actors in the EU such as county councils, Länder, Autonomous Communities, local, municipal and city authorities have been opening representative offices in Brussels – mini 'embassies' for their territories. Although on the surface these representations might look the same, in practice they operate according to very different dynamics. Whilst some rival national governments for a stake in EU policy development, others have more modest ambitions. This book offers a comprehensive assessment of the burgeoning phenomenon of regional representation in the EU. Considering evidence from old member states as well as those which joined the EU more recently, it looks at where strategies and aims differ, positioning various 'types' of representation closer to the work of embassies or to that carried out by lobbying groups. The author also considers how regional representations contribute to our understanding of multi-level governance in the EU.

Back to the local? Recalibrating the regional tier of governance in England

By contrast to the far-reaching devolution settlements elsewhere in the UK, political agreement on the governance of England outside London remains unsettled. There is cross- party consensus on the need to 'decentre down' authority to regions and localities, but limited agreement on how this should be achieved. This paper explores the welter of initiatives adopted by the recent Labour government that were ostensibly designed to make the meso-level of governance more coherent, accountable and responsive to meeting territorial priorities. Second, it explores the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition's programme of reform that involves the elimination of Labour's regional institutional architecture and is intended to restore powers to local government and communities and promote local authority co-operation around sub-regions. Labour's reforms were ineffective in achieving any substantial transfer of authority away from Whitehall and, given the Coalition's plans to cut public expenditure, the likelihood of any significant recalibration in central-local relations also appears improbable. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.