The post-industrialising city: political perspectives and cultural biases

Many Western cities face marked changes that are associated with post-industrialisation of the urban environment. In this article, four political perspectives on the threats and opportunities associated with post-industrialisation are discussed: liberal productivism; communitarianism; institutional perfectionism and participative democracy. In cultural terms these four approaches appear to be remarkably biased. As such, they are unlikely to match the complicated, confusing and unpredictable processes that are taking place in Western cities. The complexities of post-industrialisation demand cultural variety in the public domain. This, in turn, requires connectivity and openness in the institutions that structure urban politics and urban policy making. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.