Institutional change and London‘s urban policy agenda

This article starts from the premise that institutional arrangements have a strong influence on economic growth. It takes the case study of London and shows how the major shifts in the governance of London have altered the context within which decisions are made, using the example of urban policy. There has been increasing complexity in institutional arrangements over the last decade involving fragmentation, centralisation and weakening of local democracy. The dilemmas posed by these trends are explored through three aspects of recent change: the abolition of the Greater London Council, the development of city marketing and the competitions for urban regeneration funding.