Testing Governance: Partnerships, Planning and Conflict in Waterfront Regeneration

This paper explores issues of urban governance through a case study of a major, waterfront regeneration project in an English city (Bristol). The first part of the paper sets the development of this project within the broader theoretical context of urban regime theory and changing structures of governance in the city. The paper then outlines the attempts to build a city-wide consensus in Bristol around a viable development project in a situation marked by strongly conflicting views and contrasting visions of urban space. Political and planning processes are explored in some detail to identify the strengths and weaknesses of local governance structures. The paper concludes with some comments on the relevance of the case study for debates on urban regime theory.