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作者

来源

URBAN STUDIES,Vol.54,Issue1,P.68-84

语言

英文

关键字

built environment; governance; iconic architecture; neoliberal governance; post-politics; urban mega-project; urban regeneration; SPACES; CITY

作者单位

[Vento, Amparo Tarazona] Univ Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Lanark, Scotland. Vento, AT (reprint author), Univ Glasgow, Sch Social & Polit Sci Urban Studies, 25 Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RT, Lanark, Scotland. E-Mail: Amparo.TarazonaVento@glasgow.ac.uk

摘要

Drawing on the literature of post-politics and post-democracy, the literature of neoliberalism as mode of governance and the study of the city of Valencia's long-standing emphasis on the development of prestige mega-projects of iconic architecture as a means to achieve economic regeneration and urban revitalisation, this paper evaluates the social and economic effects of urban mega-projects and analyses them as conduits of neoliberal globalisation and de-politicisation of the public sphere. On the one hand, an urban policy based on the use of mega-projects represents a turn from welfarism to entrepreneurialism which, beyond the evident urban transformation and re-imaging, results in an increase in social inequality, the creation of precarious jobs, and an underinvestment in social services. On the other hand, the mechanisms used to implement mega-projects - including both exceptionality measures and privatisation of management through the creation of semi-public delivery bodies - result in a lack of transparency and democratic control, which in turn lead to more authoritative and privatised forms of decision-making. Moreover, mega-projects - through their focus on expertise and technocracy and a populist politics and discourse constructed around them - play a crucial role in the erosion of democracy and the establishment of a consensual politics where ideological struggle does not exist.