Mayoral Leadership and Economic Development Policy: the case of Ed Rendell’s Philadelphia

Abstract

The mayor of Philadelphia, Edward G. Rendell, has garnered attention throughout the United States for guiding his city out of a fiscal crisis and then aggressively pursuing an ambitious plan for economic growth. This article examines Rendell’s economic development policies during his first term in office while highlighting the mayor’s leadership role in reviving the city. Although the mayor has been effective so far in stimulating investment in Philadelphia’s downtown business district, his leadership skills have not yet benefited the city’s struggling neighbourhoods. The case study concludes by considering implications for other nations contemplating implementation of a strong-mayor form of local government.

Economic Development Perspective and City Leadership

“…Our analysis investigates the economic development perspectives of a particular set of leaders involved in city-level decision making about economic policy specifically those of mayors, managers, council presidents, and chamber of commerce and economic development corporation leaders. While this leadership set does not necessarily include the full spectrum of economic development participants in each city, and while the respective leaders identified in our set may not play the same roles in any given city, economic policy studies indicate these five institutional actors tend to play significant roles in city economic development (see e.g., [25], forthcoming, [26], regarding economic development corporations; [27,28], for city managers; [29] for mayors; [30] regarding local chambers; [31] for city councils). Furthermore, these five officeholders are representative of the types of institutional city leaders we find in Texas, the state from which our data are drawn (discussed below).…”

Philadelphia's neighborhood transformation initiative: A case study of mayoral leadership, bold planning, and conflict

“…After the city rebounded from its flirtation with bankruptcy, Mayor Ed Rendell focused his administration on promoting economic development, especially in Center City. Neighborhood revitalization was not ignored, but downtown development projects such as the nurturing of the Avenue of the Arts and the construction of Constitution Center at Independence Mall had higher priority (McGovern 1997). Given the reality of federal cutbacks and the city government's relative lack of attention to neighborhood redevelopment, community activists and housing and community development officials had no recourse but to embrace a gradualist approach to neighborhood revitalization.…”

From a Public Re-Creation to Private Recreation: The Transformation of Public Space in South Street Seaport

“…In sum, scholars representing several different schools of thought agree that various structural forces, whether economic, political or social, sharply constrain the policy options of city officials. Consequently, developmental policies prevail over redistributive policies, and urban development is concentrated in and around downtown business districts instead of outlying residential neighborhoods (Levine, 1987;McGovern, 1997;Squires, 1989).…”