Uniting public purpose in a city: Insights from progressive urban leadership in Bristol, UK

Hambleton, Robin

Abstract

The new, directly elected mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, has set out a vision for a new kind of civic leadership for a progressive city. Launched at a citywide event, in September 2016, Mayor Rees’s ‘City Office’ concept brings together most of the interests in the City of Bristol that care about the city. The aim is to tackle growing inequality in the city by developing new forms of collaboration. This is, potentially at least, a significant innovation in the design and development of urban public leadership. This paper examines the progress made with this initiative and sets the Bristol innovations in urban governance within a wider international context. It discusses the challenge of place-less power in modern society, and considers the nature of the major struggle that is now taking place in different countries between place-less and place-based power. By drawing on arguments set out at greater length in the author’s recent book, Leading the Inclusive City, the paper outlines concepts that may be able to help us understand the power of place and, more specifically, the emerging possibilities for progressive place-based leadership in particular geo-political settings. Following an introduction the paper is divided into five parts: 1) Framing the power of place; 2) The New Civic Leadership; 3) The introduction of mayoral governance in Bristol, UK; 4) The City Office concept – a new way of governing a city?; 5) Emerging themes for leadership studies and equity planning

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Urban Affairs Association Annual Conference
• Start Date: Apr 19, 2017
• End Date: Apr 22, 2017
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2016
• Publication Date: Apr 20, 2017
• Deposit Date: May 3, 2017
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: urban governance, city leadership, inclusion, Bristol
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/889017
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Urban Affairs Association (UAA) Annual Conference, Minneapolis, USA
• Contract Date: May 3, 2017