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Reconstituting the state: City powers and exposures in Chicago’s infrastructure leases

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  • Philip Ashton

    (University of Illinois at Chicago, USA)

  • Marc Doussard

    (University of Illinois, USA)

  • Rachel Weber

    (University of Illinois at Chicago, USA)

Abstract

In the 2000s, cities across North America began leasing existing infrastructure to global investment consortia. Previous evaluations of infrastructure leases focus on the lack of transparency of the privatisation process and the terms of the arrangements negotiated by the public sector and the private concessionaires. In this research, we argue that such approaches fall short by failing to investigate the significant repositioning of the local state relative to financial markets produced by their involvement in major asset lease deals. We develop this argument through a case study of the institutional transformation of the City of Chicago, the US’s most aggressive instigator of infrastructure asset leases. Even as the concession agreements seemingly protect the City from the claims of investors, creditors and counterparties and provide it with new powers, they enmesh the City in a set of financial relationships that expose it to liabilities not accounted for in lease agreements and create an institutional bias towards managing the collateral effects of financialisation.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip Ashton & Marc Doussard & Rachel Weber, 2016. "Reconstituting the state: City powers and exposures in Chicago’s infrastructure leases," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(7), pages 1384-1400, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:53:y:2016:i:7:p:1384-1400
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098014532962
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Antoine Guironnet & Ludovic Halbert, 2016. "Book review : Rachel Weber (2015) From Boom to Bubble. How Finance Built The New Chicago," Working Papers hal-01336517, HAL.
    2. Manuel B. Aalbers, 2017. "The Variegated Financialization of Housing," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 542-554, July.
    3. Antoine Guironnet & Ludovic Halbert, 2016. "Book review : Rachel Weber (2015) From Boom to Bubble. How Finance Built The New Chicago," Post-Print hal-01336517, HAL.
    4. Antoine Guironnet, 2019. "Cities on the global real estate marketplace: urban development policy and the circulation of financial standards in two French localities," Post-Print halshs-02297204, HAL.
    5. Manuel B. Aalbers & Jannes Van Loon & Rodrigo Fernandez, 2017. "The Financialization of A Social Housing Provider," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 572-587, July.

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