Forging Collective Capacity for Urban Redevelopment: “Power To,”“Power Over,” or Both?

Abstract

This paper explores the dynamic of cooperation between economic and political elites in a public‐private partnership that was created to guide the redevelopment of downtown Santa Cruz, California, following the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. While the public‐private partnership was instrumental in the success of post‐earthquake reconstruction of the central business district, the consensus and cooperation between progressive political leaders and local business elites in this “partnership” were often more apparent than real. This occurred not only because of the longstanding tensions between the local pro‐growth coalition and progressive political leadership of the city but also because the public‐private partnership became a mechanism for potential regime transformation. Thus, the “collective capacity” needed to proceed with post‐earthquake redevelopment of the central business district was “forged” in two senses: It was created to effect necessary redevelopment, but it was also counterfeit. Political elites sought to limit both the scope and the duration of the partnership to check the increasing power of economic elites in the aftermath of the earthquake. Although regime theory acknowledges the relationship between “power over” and “power to,” I argue that its emphasis on the latter overlooks critical sources of conflict in the creation and implementation of local urban development policy. Consequently, I further argue that an analysis of both conceptions of power is necessary to understand not only how local development policies are enacted but “who benefits” from them.