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In this paper we explore the tensions in metropolitan-level governance between strategic planning and desires for political decentralisation. We do this through a threepart analysis. First, we focus on the 2008 election strategy of Boris Johnson to become Mayor of London, with its aim of gaining suburban votes and giving more autonomy to the local borough level. We then look at the impacts of this campaign on electoral results; and, finally, we look at the outcome of the Outer London Commission, which was set up by the Mayor after the election to deal with strategic issues concerning London's suburbs. We find that a strategic intent to benefit suburban residents and the decentralisation of power to the boroughs are contradictory and have led to a policy stalemate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are not only the rising actors of the knowledge-based economy—they are also among the concrete physical structures taking part in the transformation of cities. As large physical constructions, they have the potential to affect urban form. Moreover, HEIs have also begun to act as developers and their locations have become a matter of concern for local politics. In the global era, there are a number of driving forces in the restructuring and location patterns of the HEIs in cities. The nonprofit-private foundation universities (FUs) that were introduced into the Turkish higher education (HE) system in the past decade, and in particular Koç University (KU), illustrate these issues clearly. Possible relations between globalisation and HE are presented with reference to the restructuring of the HEIs. This is related to the desire to locate at the nodes of global flows. The location of the FUs in Istanbul, Turkey, and in particular of KU, is the focus. The motivation of the actors in the process is assessed in relation to the theoretical issues. The authors present the growth coalition and local opposition that were significant in the decision-making process relating to KU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of the new Greater London Authority (GLA), with effect from June 2000, has provoked considerable interest in policy and academic circles. It stands as an innovation in London governance, an experiment with the mayoral system in British politics and another example of the New Labour programme of modernisation. For all these reasons, the GLA provides an interesting focus of study. The particular focus of this paper concerns the internal dynamics of the GLA as it strove to establish its policy agenda and modus operandi. We were not so much concerned with policy outcomes in terms of documentation and its orientation, but rather the developing nature of the GLA as an emerging organisation. To this end we analyse the first year of the GLA's operation using the perspective of cultural theory, emphasising the nature of the GLA as a set of overlapping institutions. Developing Hood's and Coyle's applications of cultural theory enables us to comment on the tensions apparent within the GLA in its first year and the prospects for integration across the GLA. It also enables a reassessment of the value of such a cultural theory framework in contexts of organisational evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]