Two networks, one city: Democracy and governance networks in urban transformation

Abstract

Governance networks are increasingly important in urban planning, in policy implementation and in service provision, and are often organized to improve efficiency and innovation in the pursuit of some public purpose. We argue that their democratic merits, in addition to their efficiency and output aspects, must be taken into consideration if they are to be understood as legitimate problem solvers on behalf of a local democratic authority. Here we draw on entrepreneurial and deliberative perspectives on urban governance, and work out criteria for assessing network performance. The insights of both perspectives are needed, we argue, to study legitimacy in contemporary urban policies, and we ask whether it is possible to strike a balance between democratic procedural standards and producing the desired outcomes. Empirically we compare the performance of a network with a strong entrepreneurial orientation with that of a network with a deliberative orientation, both located in the same city and operating within the same time frame.