Twenty‐five years of urban policy in Britain—partnership, entrepreneurialism or competition?

This article raises a set of questions about the design of urban policy—the target of policy, the balance of power between national and local government or public, private and community sectors, the relationship between need and opportunity and between partnership and competition. It analyses the answers that different administrations over the past 25 years have provided to these questions. Finally, current problems are highlighted: resources, uncertainty, partnerships, departmental barriers, competition and lessons from abroad.