Empowerment or abandonment? Prospects for neighbourhood revitalization under the big society

This article explores the impact of recent trends towards privatism through a study neighbourhood governance in Baltimore and Bristol and considers its for the big society in the UK. The self-help ideology of the big society been prevalent in Baltimore for many years and the city’s experience profound difficulties in substituting volunteering for government-led . The article concludes that the Baltimore experience is a warning to policy-makers, posing a major dilemma.