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*Call for papers* 5th International Conference of the Research Network Private Urban Governance & Gated Communities University of Chile, Santiago, - March 30^th to April 2^nd 2009 *Panel: Business and Neighbourhood Improvement Districts: analysing the transnationalisation of an urban governance model* Organisers: Georg Glasze (University of Mainz), Elisabeth Peyroux (University of Toulouse II) and Robert Pütz (University of Frankfurt) Business and Neighborhood Improvement Districts (BIDs, NIDs) have developed as an international model for managing commercial and residential areas in both Southern and Northern cities. Whilst there is no standard definition of Improvement Districts, these organizations have been mostly defined as self-taxing, self-help public private partnership organizations set up by business and property owners to maintain, promote and develop public areas within a perimeter, specifically through the enhancement of public services. Their spreading has been linked to the development of an “urban entrepreneurialism” and the rise of neo-liberal forms of governance. This panel aims at investigating the transnationalisation of the Improvement Districts model in various geographical contexts. It is based on the assumption that this model which originates from Northern America has not simply been copied and transferred but has been inscribed differently within diverse contexts: how are these models mobilized and which actors and institutions are involved in these processes? How are they adapted and legally institutionalized within different economical, political and social contexts? How are Improvement Districts legitimized or, as the case may be, criticized within discourses on urban development? With the establishment of Improvement Districts steering powers in cities are being reshaped: new positions of power are established, property rights and decision-making structures are redefined. The panel also aims at investigating how, and the extent to which, Improvement Districts alter stakeholders’ practices and create new patterns of authority. The consequences of Improvement Districts in terms of potential social exclusion and the redrawing of democratic processes within the context of neo-liberal urbanization will be critically assessed in the different cities. Please send abstracts to Nicolas Stutzin ([log in to unmask]) and to the corresponding panel organizer Elisabeth Peyroux ([log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>) by *October **30, **2008.* Guidelines for abstracts are available on the conference website: http://gated-communities.uchilefau.cl/ ****** Dr Elisabeth Peyroux Senior researcher Université de Toulouse-II Le Mirail CNRS - LISST-CIEU (UMR 5193, EHESS) Centre Interdisciplinaire d'Etudes Urbaines 5 allées Antonio Machado, F 31 058 Toulouse Cedex 9 Tel.: +33 (0)5 61 50 43 64 Mobile: +33 (0)6 71 84 50 04 Fax: +33 (0)5 61 50 49 61 E-mail: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>