| Public-private partnerships in urban revitalization are key instruments of local government policy in the United States. These partnerships include both formal legal arrangements between local governments, real estate developers, and local community organizations, as well as less formal but intensely negotiated relationships between these three entities, in the process of developing a real estate project. Two differing interpretations exist among theoreticians and practitioners in conceptualizing the dynamics of public-private partnerships. Prevalent theories in the political economy of urban development argue that private sector developers dominate the process of negotiations over the development process, with local governments compromising their stewardship of the public interest, and with the interests of local communities being marginalized. At the same time, many private-sector developers avoid low-income urban development, perceiving the process to be fraught with conflict, thereby potentially frustrating attempts by local government to revitalize such communities. To gain a better understanding of relevant theoretical and policy-oriented issues this dissertation focuses research on public-private partnerships in mid-sized shopping center developments in low-income areas of Los Angeles County. It uses a questionnaire survey of 33 such shopping centers that have been developed since 1985, and case studies of four developments. The case studies utilize in-person interviews of developers, local government officials and community representatives, as well as documentary research. The study found that much of the theoretical literature is inapplicable to mid-sized urban development projects in low-income areas. At the same time, while conflicts do occur, ranging from benign to extreme, the relationships among the three entities appear to more of co-equal partners than either practitioners or theoreticians have anticipated. The research indicates that a political process model of these relationships is appropriate. Further it was found that community organizations have an increasing ability to influence the course of public-private partnerships, to the point that they may have become a structural force within the political economy of urban development. Additional research is recommended to validate the study's findings. |
