| In studying urban governance, the presence of governing coalitions is a central topic. Governing coalitions are understood to be forms of cooperation between government bodies in the traditional sense and non-governmental organizations. By combining their resources, coalitions (in whatever shape) create a capacity to act or a governing capacity. That is: projects that otherwise would not have been realized, get done. Coalitions fuse resources from government, the private sector and civil society. Such coalitions are often acknowledged for empowering their participants. However, empowerment might be selective and arbitrary; only those organizations that hold relevant resources are able to join. By researching key urban renewal projects, this research aims to understanding how informal and hidden power relations determine the constitution and access to governing coalitions. The assumption is that governing coalitions might have a one-sided agenda, leading to socially unjust (and maybe predictable) outcomes. |
