Abstract EN:

Public-private partnership in the older american cities illustrates how closely business and government in local communities work together. The experiences, made in a lot of cities, and particularly in baltimore, show that, in the period after world war ii, business leaders typically took the initiative in promoting the partnership, and their organisations often supplied the planning and the technical expertises to chart the economic adaptation of the city to post-war trends. Today, local governments take much of the initiative themselves. But, the successfull picture of public-private partnership have not to ignore some key issues. An important one is, who benefits from economic development programs ? giving top priority to economic growth serves to leave the neediest segment of the population apart. There are other costs too : the effects on the urban environment and the tradeoffs against the quality of life ; the substantial displacement of residents and small businesses. Thus, the partnership of government and business in local communities works not only to promote economic development ; it also works to pull cities away from their commitment to social problems and weaken their concern with the less tangible aspects of urban life. One should also keep in mind that cities are severely constrained in their capacity to respond to social needs by the recent federal proposals of redistributing responsibilities and financial burdens. In an era of sharply limited resources and shrinking federal assistance, city policy priorities increasingly reflect that their capacity to wield "countervailing" power if weak.