PARCOUR explores how previously used land is redeveloped. The project includes nine case studies across three countries: Brazil, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Previously developed land, or brownfield sites, offer towns and cities the opportunity to create new infrastructure that can be used as public, office or industrial space and housing to meet the needs of the community. PARCOUR is designed to provide new ways of understanding the importance of how the redevelopment process is governed, with a particular focus on the contracts between the public sector bodies and private developers who deliver the new schemes. The project is designed to explore how the public can benefit from public-private contracts in terms of what is delivered through the partnership. The important question to be answered is: how does using contracts impact on public accountability and the public interest?

Contracts are increasingly used as planning tools to regulate the actions of public, private, and civil actors involved in urban regeneration. The contractual relationships between these actors instigate a specific form of governance. PARCOUR argues that there are important implications of contractual planning for sustainable urban development, public accountability, and the public interest at large.

I was the Principal Coordinator for PARCOUR with the Human Geography, Planning and International Development department at the University of Amsterdam as the project coordinator.

To what extent does private sector involvement in urban regeneration serve and support sustainable urban development?

To what extent can public accountability and the public interest be incorporated in contractual arrangements?

How are public accountability and the public interest defined and embodied in contractual planning tools dealing with regeneration projects, and what does this mean in practice?

To analyse the contractual relationships in urban regeneration projects

To understand the impact of contractual governance arrangements on the redevelopment of urban areas

To explain the regulatory roles played by actors and instruments involved in urban redevelopment

To identify the benefits residents can reap from contractual governance

To define contractual planning tools that serve public accountability and the public interest

The four-year EU funded FP7 DIVERCITIES research project was interested in how to create social cohesion, social mobility and economic performance in today’s hyper-diversified cities. Contemporary European cities are more diverse than ever before. Immigration, socio-economic inequalities, spatial segregation and a diversity of identities and lifestyles are all contributing factors. The challenges faced by urban policymakers and institutions to meet the needs of Europe’s increasingly diverse population are numerous and complex. Through in-depth research in 14 countries, DIVERCITIES aimed to find solutions and suggestions for policymakers on how best to work with and take advantage of diversity’s assets to provide dynamic neighbourhoods that provide opportunity for all. Research was undertaken in 14 deprived neighbourhoods in 13 European cities and Toronto.

I was one of the founding members of the DIVERCITIES research network, member of the DIVERCITIES Scientific Steering Committee and lead reseachers for the Toronto case study.

Over the course of the project six International Consortium Meetings were held. Fourteen in-depth city books, seven policy briefs with recommendations and 12 newsletters were published along with flyers and a literature review. The concluding Governing Urban Diversity Conference held in Rotterdam in February 2017 brought together the research with keynote addresses from leading researchers, interactive workshops, field trips and a Diversity Mini-Festival showcasing the talents from the Rotterdam research area.

The final publication was the Handbook for Governing Hyper-diverse Cities, which I co-edited with my colleagues Gideon Bolt, Larissa Pluss and Walter Schenkel.