Business Improvement Districts and Contemporary Local Governance
| DOI | 10.1177/0160323X20968871 |
| Author | Dan Ziebarth |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Reviews & Essay |
State and Local Government Review
2020, Vol. 52(2) 128-137
Business Improvement
ª The Author(s) 2020
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Districts and Contemporary
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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X20968871
Local Governance
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Dan Ziebarth1
Abstract
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have become an increasingly prevalent method for con-
temporary public management and economic revitalization. BIDs are private non-profit organiza-
tions established primarily in urban areas to deliver public services and improve economic
conditions by imposing additional assessments on property owners. This dynamic allows
improvement districts to serve as quasi-public entities inextricably intertwined with local policy
measures and government officials, while concurrently operating as private organizations. This paper
begins by providing an introduction outlining the role BIDs play in modern local governance,
followed by a brief overview of the historical progression of improvement district implementation in
cities. The contemporary state of debate surrounding the efficacy and implications of BIDs on local
governance is then reviewed, while discussing the impact of recent research on the field of study. It
concludes by reflecting on proliferation of improvement districts as an entity for modern public
service delivery, as well as suggesting future directions for research pertaining to BIDs.
Keywords
business improvement districts, local government, public management, urban politics, public-private
partnerships
Business improvement districts (BIDs), also
interconnected with local policy measures and
referred to as community improvement districts
government officials, while simultaneously
(CIDs) or special service areas (SSAs), are
operating as private organizations. These attri-
quasi-governmental organizations comprised
butes warrant BIDs to be a reflection of the
of residents and property owners within a geo-
contemporary shift in economic development
graphically bounded area who impose an addi-
strategies and the role of local government
tional tax upon themselves to carry out various
measures of improvement in the district. BIDs
are typically governed by an elected board of
directors consisting of community residents,
1 Department of Political Science, The George Washington
property owners, and public officials, which are
University, DC, USA
authorized by local governments to carry out
public services within their boundaries in
Corresponding Author:
Dan Ziebarth, Department of Political Science, The George
accordance with state legal policies (Morc¸o¨l
Washington University, 450 Monroe Hall, 2115 G St.,
and Wolf 2010). This allows improvement dis-
Washington, DC 20052, USA.
tricts to serve as quasi-public entities that are
Email: dziebarth@gwu.edu
Ziebarth
129
toward integration of public-private partner-
within communities. The continued delibera-
ships (Salamon 2000).
tion pertaining to the role of BIDs in commu-
Consequently, the establishment of BIDs
nity development and economic revitalization
across urban areas requires scholars and practi-
will therefore be central to the direction of local
tioners alike to review the theoretical and
governance going forward.
applied implications of improvement districts
on issues that include local governance, urban
Historical Progression of Business
management, community development, and
Improvement Districts
economic revitalization. The popularity of
improvement districts in contemporary public
The establishment of BIDs dates back to 1970,
affairs is indeed a measuring stick for not only
when the first BID was implemented in Tor-
their viability, but the state of modern public
onto, Ontario, Canada (Houstoun 2003). Since
administration. Improvement districts are a
1970, this number has risen to over 800 in the
departure from the norms of local governance,
United States and Canada (Morc¸o¨l et al.
and offer methods to improving the quality of
2017). More recently, the improvement district
urban life through the combination of public
model has spread to cities across the globe in
and private actors (Briffault 1999).
sovereign states that include the United King-
The proliferation of BIDs requires continued
dom, Germany, Sweden, South Africa, and
analysis of their place in towns and cities today.
Australia (Peyroux, Pu¨tz, and Glasze 2012).
As municipalities continue to contend for jobs
In the United States, socioeconomic changes
and tax revenue, cities are increasingly looking
taking place in cities beginning in the 1980s
to restructure the ways in which they finance
were paramount in shaping the future trajectory
infrastructure spending and deliver services to
of BIDs in urban spaces. Increasing patterns of
residents and property owners (Stahl 2013).
suburbanization and manufacturing decline
Many communities are turning to improvement
during the 1980s and 1990s resulted in the dete-
districts as a popular form of public-private
rioration of urban neighborhoods throughout
partnership to enhance local governance and
the United States. As residents and jobs began
manage economic revitalization, but this also
to leave cities, tax revenue to support public
requires a unique form of hybrid management
services begin to diminish as well. Shifting
(Grossman 2010). These aspects empower
demographics and federal economic policies
improvement districts to combine the roles of
that disintegrated funding for urban areas
public and private actors to address the struggle
resulted in cities searching for a new model for
for public funding and advance community
urban management.
development efforts.
As a result of the changing demographic and
As a result of the attention that improvement
economic factors facing local government,
districts have received in recent years, these
improvement districts became a natural option
organizations have attracted scholarly debate
for many urban communities to support during
surrounding their relationship with citizens,
this time. One of the primary aspects of BIDs
local governments and urban management
that allowed them to attract community sup-
efforts. Improvement districts have been lauded
porters was the ability to address the particular
for efficiently delivering public services, pro-
needs of distinct neighborhoods and commu-
viding an innovative spark to the process of
nities within cities. Particularly in larger cities,
addressing community needs, funding capital
BIDs allow commercial areas outside of the
improvement projects, and reducing crime in
central business district to articulate the needs
public spaces. Conversely, improvement dis-
of property owners and tailor organizational
tricts have been castigated for limiting demo-
efforts accordingly (Briffault 1999). This flexi-
cratic accountability, reducing public sector
bility created an opportunity for urban neigh-
transparency, restraining residents’ social capi-
borhoods
to
design
and
implement
tal, and increasing socioeconomic inequalities
supplementary services for public spaces more
130
State and Local Government Review 52(2)
expediently than previously possible (Mallett
transformed transportation networks by restruc-
1994).
turing roadways to reduce traffic congestion
Improvement districts are also part of a
(Ewoh and Zimmerman 2010) while in Los
larger movement in modern local governance.
Angeles improvement districts have augmented
Citizen demand for innovative approaches to
public spaces through the provision of addi-
community development requires local govern-
tional security and sanitation services (MacDo-
ment to redevelop the structure of public man-
nald, Stokes, and Bluthenthal 2010). Many of
agement (Hambleton 2000). The challenges of
these changes have been in response to the dis-
a changing global economic structure are
tinct needs of individual communities, and data
requiring local government to respond to the
from New York City has exhibited the form,
shortcomings in federal ability to address loca-
function, and operating practices of BIDs fulfill
lized issues by incorporating public and private
different function dependent on their relative
actors into matters of social and economic
size (Gross 2005).
development (Rhodes 1997). BIDs are a form
In New York City, the Grand...
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