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Governing investors and developers: Analysing the role of risk allocation in urban development

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  • Frances Brill

Abstract

This article argues that urban governance, and academic theorisations of it, have focused on the role and strategies of real estate developers at the expense of understanding how investors are shaped by regulatory environments. In contrast, using the case of institutional investment in London’s private rental housing (Build to Rent), in this article I argue that unpacking the private sector and the development process helps reveal different types of risk which necessitate variegated responses from within the real estate sector. In doing so, I demonstrate the complexities of the private sector in urban development, especially housing provision, and the limitations of a binary conceptualised around pro- and anti-development narratives when discussing planning decisions. Instead, I show the multiplicity of responses from within the private sector, and how these reflect particular approaches to risk management. Uncovering this helps theorise the complexities of governing housing systems and demonstrates the potential for risk-based urban governance analysis in the future.

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  • Frances Brill, 2022. "Governing investors and developers: Analysing the role of risk allocation in urban development," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(7), pages 1499-1517, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:59:y:2022:i:7:p:1499-1517
    DOI: 10.1177/00420980211017826
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yunpeng Zhang, 2022. "TEMPORAL POLITICS AND INJUSTICE IN MEGA URBANIZATION: Lessons from Yangzhou, China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 558-575, July.
    2. Eichhorn, Sebastian & Ehrhardt, Denise & Münter, Angelika & Behnisch, Martin & Jehling, Mathias, 2024. "Understanding land take by low-density residential areas: An institutionalist perspective on local planning authorities, developers and households," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).

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