Public Leadership Styles: How attitude affects the realization of strategic projects in urban development

Public Leadership Styles: How attitude affects the realization of strategic projects in urban development

Louwaars, S.P.

Bruil, A.W. (mentor)
Heurkens, E.W.T.M. (mentor)

Architecture

Real Estate & Housing

Urban Area Development

2011-04-14

This research sets out to study the leadership styles that public development authorities adopt in the process from initiation to realization of strategic projects. In a broad sense the aim of this study is to gain a better understanding in how urban planners convert a vision to delivery of it. In this study the transformation will be referred to as the process of realizing strategic projects. This study focuses on the urban planning authority responsible for executing strategic projects, taking into account the increase of development complexity in recent decades. In a narrower sense the leadership style - also referred to as attitude or role - of the public development authority is assessed. The aim is to get an understanding of how public leadership styles affect the realization of a strategic project. The research question is: How can public leadership affect the realization of strategic projects in urban development? The motivation for this study is the increase of the dynamics and the unpredictable nature of the market environment in which cities act. Neoliberal concepts have changed the urban planning profession over the past 20 years to the extent it is no longer possible to claim that it is founded on the assumption that “only rationally acting individual actors operate in the urban development arena”. As a result the development of the urban environment has become increasingly complex. An increase of specialized actors (professionalization), changing circumstances (policy, law, economics, and environment), financing constraints and mixed interests (inter and multi-organizational interests) result in a decrease of steering possibilities by urban professionals. Healey (2006) confirms this as she states ‘the development of urban areas [...] cannot be “planned” by government action in a linear way, from intention to plan, to action, to outcome as planned.’ The transforming urban conditions have resulted in a changing role for urban planners in realizing their spatial aspirations. Collaboration and participation with community and market stakeholders have become more important. It is therefore interesting to identify the leadership styles of urban development authorities.

Public Leadership
Leadership styles
Urban Development
Development authority
Strategic Projects
Planning
Public Administration

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:8c6e1532-e686-4cde-9ca3-4680c3b71a95

2011-04-27

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2011 Louwaars, S.P.