Review of Carolina Sternberg 2023: Neoliberal Urban Governance. Spaces, Culture and Discourses in Buenos Aires and Chicago. Cham: Palgrave

In her new book, Carolina Sternberg examines the role played by neoliberal urban governance in bringing about the physical and social transformation of two major cities: Buenos Aires and Chicago.She shows how the boundaries of urban redevelopment in these two cities have moved into new and as yet uncharted territory: that of impoverished, racially segregated and deeply stigmatized communities.Sternberg deciphers the complex institutional processes, structures and arrangements through which urban redevelopment in these city spaces is currently being realized, arguing that 'this new phase of redevelopment is not merely a decisive and determined urban project but the result of something humanly and adroitly crafted among an assemblage of actors: city officials, local boards, developers, architects and real estate agents' (p.3).In other words, according to Sternberg, this latest phase of urban redevelopment is not simply about the production and rationalization of new public policies and procedures.Rather, it represents the materialization of a complex, multiscalar discursive space in which the impoverishment, stigmatization and institutional neglect within these cities' most deprived urban areas are viewed as obstacles to development.These must therefore be transformed in order to serve the cities' 'goglobal' agendas as they strive to become the next major locations for global tourism, culture and capital investment.In the book's introduction, Sternberg sets out the theoretical framework for her analysis, where she combines research on 'cultural economies', 'neoliberal urban governance', 'gentrification-led redevelopment', the 'post-political turn' in urban geography and 'policy mobility' into a coherent analytical-theoretical paradigm.She then dedicates three chapters to each city for a detailed empirical analysis of the redevelopment efforts taking place in a number of deprived and racially segregated community areas.In the final chapter, Sternberg draws out some general conclusions from her research that are particularly relevant for work on neoliberal urban governance in comparative urban geography.