Neo-liberal urban planning policies: A literature survey 1990–2010

The academic literature on urban policy and planning which explicitly links to neo-liberalism is huge. The paper systematises much of this literature from the period 1990 to 2010, with an emphasis on journals of urban planning, urban geography, and urban studies. Neo-liberal urban policies are engendered by the nexus between mobile investment capital, inter-city competition, and public entrepreneurialism. Fourteen planning-related policies are described, and their neo-liberal rationales are explained. Typical planning concerns are outlined for each policy. The paper ends by spelling out the challenges that the neo-liberal urban policies pose to public planning.

► Fourteen planning-related, neo-liberal urban policies are outlined.
► Around 750 references to neo-liberalism and urban planning are provided.
► The challenges to planning from urban neo-liberalism are described.