Rethinking the Role of Markets in Urban Renewal: The Housing Market Renewal Initiative in England

摘要

Critical perspectives on urban renewal suffer from a consensus caused by the adoption of the gentrification heuristic. The extension of this heuristic to urban renewal research has led to the assumption that market capital is the main interest driving renewal. By disputing that assumption this article develops a more detailed understanding of the Housing Market Renewal Initiative (HMRI) in England. The focus here is not on the interests of capital or the material outcomes of urban renewal. Instead, attention is brought to a decision made by housing academics to view neighbourhoods as a market. This has led to the production of a number of complementary narratives. Together, these now form a paradigm which upholds a powerful network of institutional and economic actors and oppresses opposition. This article calls for a greater awareness of the partiality of expert "knowledge ", as well as for the diversification of critical urban perspectives.