Mechanisms of mutation: policy mobilities and the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone

In this article I trace the mutation of the enterprise zone model into a post-disaster recovery tool, using a case of the implementation of the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone in Louisiana. From 2006 to 2011, the GO Zone program provided tax incentives to individuals and businesses in the United States Gulf Coast area affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Drawing on government reports and analyses, I show that the implementation of GO Zone tax incentives was fraught with intense conflict and ignited political battles over the spatial delineation of policy. In analyzing a range of mutation activities, I show that GO Zone program implementation pitted less-damaged areas against more severely damaged cities-biasing the allocation of bonds and incentives toward wealthy economic sectors, thereby effectively bypassing heavily damaged areas such as New Orleans. Overall, I find that competition and emulation were the dominant mechanisms of policy mutation, both of which operated through a confluence of political struggle and ideational contestation. I conclude the paper by arguing for greater critical research into the conflictual, contested, and contradictory dynamics of policy mutation across shifting socio-spatial landscapes.