Business Improvement Districts in Pennsylvania: Implications for Democratic Metropolitan Governance

Göktuğ Morçöl, Patricia A. Patrick

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

3 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors explore the evolution of the laws that are pertinent to business improvement districts (BIDs) in Pennsylvania and discuss the implications of the creation and operations of BIDs for metropolitan governance. They focus on the economic and political processes in the creation and continuation or dissolution of BIDs, the proliferation of their functions and powers, and their revenue sources, governance processes, and accountabilities to local governments and general publics. Accountability is a central problem of public administration, particularly in a democratic system of government. The authors discuss the results of their empirical research on Pennsylvania’s BIDs and their theoretical implications. The laws that enable the creation of BIDs and govern their operations in Pennsylvania have a long history and are quite complex. BIDs lack the power of coercion to collect assessments, and most BIDs seem to recognize that certain property owners simply do not have the ability to pay because of bad economic conditions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationBusiness Improvement Districts
Subtitle of host publicationResearch, Theories, and Controversies
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages289-318
Number of pages30
ISBN (Electronic)9781351572866
ISBN (Print)9781420045765
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2017

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Social Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Business Improvement Districts in Pennsylvania: Implications for Democratic Metropolitan Governance'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this