Urban financialisation-in-motion: Income strips, town centre regeneration and de-financialisation

Abstract

Urban development and infrastructure priorities raise questions about local government capacities and the opportunity presented by financialisation instruments. Rather than urban financialization being all-dominant and all-embracing, grounded experiences include financial actor spatial selectivity and project targeting, as well as instances of local government promotion, support and risk aversion. Where constraints exist, financialisation-in-motion is suggestive of reflection and the adoption of additional measures to help facilitate the expansion of urban financialisation. Building on this conceptualisation, this paper highlights the relevance of fluid interpretations of financialisation-in-motion, particularly the relevance of de-financialisation. De-financialisation incorporates the potential for local authorities to step back from contemporary financialised instruments. In further consideration of (de)financialisation and associated limits, attention is directed to income strip financing as a contemporary instrument fostering urban property investment. As well as evidencing the application of income strips to town centre regeneration projects in England, potential problems are identified, including through a recent example of de-financialisation within south-east England. The case highlights how contemporary forms of urban financialisation can embed local authorities within problematic long-term arrangements and the need for careful scrutiny of the contractual dimension.