Despite the rise of global technocratic ideals of city-making, cities around the world are not me... more Despite the rise of global technocratic ideals of city-making, cities around the world are not merging into indistinguishable duplicates of one another. In fact, as the world urbanizes, urban formations remain diverse in their socio-economic and spatial characteristics, with varying potential to foster economic development and social justice. This book argues that these differences are primarily rooted in politics, and if we continue to view cities as economic and technological projects to be managed rather than terrains of political bargaining and contestation, the quest for better urban futures is doomed to fail. Dominant critical approaches to urban development tend to explain difference with reference to the variegated impacts of neoliberal regulatory institutions. This, however, neglects the multiple ways in which the wider politics of capital accumulation and distribution drive divergent forms of transformation in different urban places. In order to unpack the politics that sh...
We are living through a global urban transition, but the timing of this transition has varied sig... more We are living through a global urban transition, but the timing of this transition has varied significantly across countries and regions. This geographic variation in timing matters, both theoretically and substantively. Yet contemporary debates on urbanism hinge primarily on questions of universalism versus particularism, at the expense of attention to how history and geography collide to shape urban processes. Specifically, they neglect the critical fact that urbanisation in many countries today is late within the context of the global urban transition. We argue that trajectories of contemporary urbanisation must be understood in relation to a suite of conditions unique to the late 20th and early 21st centuries and partly shaped by early urbanisation, including historically unprecedented demographic intensity, hyperglobalisation, centripetal state politics and the spectre of environmental catastrophe in the late Anthropocene. These factors condition the range of possibilities for ...
This paper explores the political economy of growth in Rwanda during two decades of economic expa... more This paper explores the political economy of growth in Rwanda during two decades of economic expansion under the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). It builds on recent work emphasising the importance of party-owned enterprises in sustaining this progress, but goes further by analysing state-business dynamics in four key sectors of the economy: coffee, mining, construction and financial services. For each sector, the evolution of the 'deals environment' (Pritchett and Werker 2012) is detailed and the differential degrees of growth, liberalisation and foreign competition are explained. This detailed sectoral analysis enables us to develop a deeper understanding of how political concerns have affected Rwanda's economic growth trajectory. The paper argues that while the Pritchett-Werker framework is a helpful starting point, the 'deals environment' in Rwanda has not progressed along a linear trajectory from 'closed disordered' to 'open ordered' deals as p...
LSE’s Tom Goodfellow says the authorities in the Ugandan capital are in danger of learning the wr... more LSE’s Tom Goodfellow says the authorities in the Ugandan capital are in danger of learning the wrong lessons from across the border.
Tom Goodfellow is a PhD candidate in LSE’s Department of International Development. His current r... more Tom Goodfellow is a PhD candidate in LSE’s Department of International Development. His current research examines state effectiveness and the politics of urban development in East Africa. Here he points out that the way events have unfolded in Uganda over the past few months provides some answers as to why the upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East have not spread southwards.
The vision of a service-sector led ‘developmental state’ drives the government of Rwanda, but is ... more The vision of a service-sector led ‘developmental state’ drives the government of Rwanda, but is proving hard to sustain
Despite the rise of global technocratic ideals of city-making, cities around the world are not me... more Despite the rise of global technocratic ideals of city-making, cities around the world are not merging into indistinguishable duplicates of one another. In fact, as the world urbanizes, urban formations remain diverse in their socio-economic and spatial characteristics, with varying potential to foster economic development and social justice. This book argues that these differences are primarily rooted in politics, and if we continue to view cities as economic and technological projects to be managed rather than terrains of political bargaining and contestation, the quest for better urban futures is doomed to fail. Dominant critical approaches to urban development tend to explain difference with reference to the variegated impacts of neoliberal regulatory institutions. This, however, neglects the multiple ways in which the wider politics of capital accumulation and distribution drive divergent forms of transformation in different urban places. In order to unpack the politics that sh...
We are living through a global urban transition, but the timing of this transition has varied sig... more We are living through a global urban transition, but the timing of this transition has varied significantly across countries and regions. This geographic variation in timing matters, both theoretically and substantively. Yet contemporary debates on urbanism hinge primarily on questions of universalism versus particularism, at the expense of attention to how history and geography collide to shape urban processes. Specifically, they neglect the critical fact that urbanisation in many countries today is late within the context of the global urban transition. We argue that trajectories of contemporary urbanisation must be understood in relation to a suite of conditions unique to the late 20th and early 21st centuries and partly shaped by early urbanisation, including historically unprecedented demographic intensity, hyperglobalisation, centripetal state politics and the spectre of environmental catastrophe in the late Anthropocene. These factors condition the range of possibilities for ...
This paper explores the political economy of growth in Rwanda during two decades of economic expa... more This paper explores the political economy of growth in Rwanda during two decades of economic expansion under the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). It builds on recent work emphasising the importance of party-owned enterprises in sustaining this progress, but goes further by analysing state-business dynamics in four key sectors of the economy: coffee, mining, construction and financial services. For each sector, the evolution of the 'deals environment' (Pritchett and Werker 2012) is detailed and the differential degrees of growth, liberalisation and foreign competition are explained. This detailed sectoral analysis enables us to develop a deeper understanding of how political concerns have affected Rwanda's economic growth trajectory. The paper argues that while the Pritchett-Werker framework is a helpful starting point, the 'deals environment' in Rwanda has not progressed along a linear trajectory from 'closed disordered' to 'open ordered' deals as p...
LSE’s Tom Goodfellow says the authorities in the Ugandan capital are in danger of learning the wr... more LSE’s Tom Goodfellow says the authorities in the Ugandan capital are in danger of learning the wrong lessons from across the border.
Tom Goodfellow is a PhD candidate in LSE’s Department of International Development. His current r... more Tom Goodfellow is a PhD candidate in LSE’s Department of International Development. His current research examines state effectiveness and the politics of urban development in East Africa. Here he points out that the way events have unfolded in Uganda over the past few months provides some answers as to why the upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East have not spread southwards.
The vision of a service-sector led ‘developmental state’ drives the government of Rwanda, but is ... more The vision of a service-sector led ‘developmental state’ drives the government of Rwanda, but is proving hard to sustain
Following the publication of Oxfam GB's Livelihoods Strategy 2010–2015, which incorporated povert... more Following the publication of Oxfam GB's Livelihoods Strategy 2010–2015, which incorporated poverty and urban-rural linkages as a core aim, this study was undertaken by an independent research team to determine the extent to which Oxfam’s rural livelihoods experience –- focused primarily on enterprise development –- is transferable to urban contexts. The research for this study, undertaken between January and June 2011, draws on extensive collaboration with Oxfam global, regional, and country teams in Bangladesh, Guatemala, Colombia, Haiti, Kenya, and Russia.
Since the turn of the millennium, the Lagos State government has made no secret of its ambitious ... more Since the turn of the millennium, the Lagos State government has made no secret of its ambitious plans to become an African 'world class' city, realizing its vision through borrowing as well as increased tax revenues. With 70% of the State being made up of water, land is a scarce and precious resource, so much so that it is being captured from the sea through Eko Atlantic City and other sand filling projects. Taxing land and property has therefore been central to the State government's strategy. The Land Use Charge (LUC) of 2001 was one of several major taxation and governance reforms associated with improved infrastructure and service provision in Lagos. That reform in itself encountered many challenges, which on the whole were effectively dealt with, leading to a rare case of relative success in property taxation in Africa – a narrative we explore in detail in this working paper. However, the recent attempt to annul the 2001 law and replace it with a new Land Use Charge law (2018) tells quite a different story. The new law contains a number of significant and interesting changes (including some progressive measures, discussed below) but was swamped in controversy from the moment it was passed, primarily due to the combined effect of a hike in tax rates and a shift in property valuation methods. It is worth briefly examining these in turn. The tax rate hike The new law roughly doubled most tax rates on different forms of property, with the rate for residential owner-occupiers increasing from 0.0394% to 0.076%, for industrial properties (and residential properties occupied by owners and third parties) rising from 0.132% to 0.256%, and the rate for both commercial and 'third party only' residential properties rising from 0.394% to 0.76%. This continues to reflect a commitment to keeping tax rates low for owner-occupiers and charging the highest rates for revenue-generating commercial activities.
For a window onto a country’s politics and political economy, look at how urban transport is orga... more For a window onto a country’s politics and political economy, look at how urban transport is organised. Britain’s embrace of Uber, and the beleaguered company’s exploitation of a legal loophole to allow its drivers to operate in places where they are not actually licensed, speaks volumes about our government’s love of deregulation. In France, meanwhile, both the vehemence of anti-Uber protests and the launch of rival apps by the French government are indicative of its economic nationalism and the strength of worker unions.
Across Africa the organisation of transport services is similarly political, and equally revealing, when looked at over the longer term. Many African countries experienced disinvestment in public transport alongside widespread deregulation from the 1980s onwards, fuelling the growth of informal services in the form of minibus-taxis, tuk-tuks and motorcycle taxis. Yet beneath the apparent similarity of urban transport forms across the continent lie significant differences in organisation, which echo broader political trends as well as having important impacts on how cities function.
Outrage has been mounting over the untaxed incomes of the global elite, foreign ownership of urba... more Outrage has been mounting over the untaxed incomes of the global elite, foreign ownership of urban land and soaring rents in the private rental sector. Much of this boils down to two key matters: who owns property, and how they are treated. The UK, it seems, is a place that makes it very easy for individuals to generate a great deal of wealth from property, with little concern for social justice or the provision of affordable housing.
But this problem is not uniquely British. Across the world – and particularly in many developing countries experiencing fast economic growth – capital is flowing rapidly into real estate. And increasingly, governments are waking up to the need to effectively capture some value from these investments, for the public good. Yet, as my research shows, this can be extremely difficult to achieve due to complex historical legacies around land, as well as deeply entrenched vested interests.
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Papers by Tom Goodfellow
Across Africa the organisation of transport services is similarly political, and equally revealing, when looked at over the longer term. Many African countries experienced disinvestment in public transport alongside widespread deregulation from the 1980s onwards, fuelling the growth of informal services in the form of minibus-taxis, tuk-tuks and motorcycle taxis. Yet beneath the apparent similarity of urban transport forms across the continent lie significant differences in organisation, which echo broader political trends as well as having important impacts on how cities function.
But this problem is not uniquely British. Across the world – and particularly in many developing countries experiencing fast economic growth – capital is flowing rapidly into real estate. And increasingly, governments are waking up to the need to effectively capture some value from these investments, for the public good. Yet, as my research shows, this can be extremely difficult to achieve due to complex historical legacies around land, as well as deeply entrenched vested interests.