Rene Hohmann
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Contact Details
Department of Geography
King’s College London
Strand
LONDON
WC2R 2LS
Tel: +44 (0) 798 4375 663
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 2287
E-Mail: rene.hohmann@kcl.ac.uk
King’s College London
Strand
LONDON
WC2R 2LS
Tel: +44 (0) 798 4375 663
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 2287
E-Mail: rene.hohmann@kcl.ac.uk
Research
PhD Title: Poverty, Place and Urban Policies: a comparative analysis of area-based initiatives and the New Localism in England and Germany
The aim of Rene’s research is to explore, analyse and compare the approaches to, and outcomes of, area-based initiatives as a policy instrument to tackle poverty and social exclusion in England and Germany.
A new approach to formulate and deliver public policies on economic and social deprivation in England and Germany has become noticeable in the last 10 years as area based initiatives to tackle social problems have returned to favour. This decisive policy shift is a break with previous universalist approaches to welfare provision and reflects the spatial concentration of poverty and deprivation and the social processes which maintain them. Consequently, a new localism consisting of the development of local institutions and partnerships are conceptualised as the most efficient and effective way to tackle socio-economic challenges in society. These features have also been integrated in the formulation of contemporary urban policies. Against this background, area-based initiatives such as the ‘New Deal for Communities’ in England and the ‘Social City Programme’ in Germany are trying to increase the local capacity through the creation of new institutional values (e.g. ‘the activating state’) as well as operational structures (e.g. partnerships and area forums, etc.).
However, there is only limited knowledge of the actual role, function and capacity of this new localism in different places. The proposed research will seek to address this gap in knowledge. It will draw on neo-institutionalist theories to explore the norms, discourses and practices, modes of operation and governance cultures at the local level in which area-based initiatives are situated.
The key research question is therefore how local institutions respond to socio-economic challenges in deprived urban areas. The preliminary research objectives are:
• To examine the processes of governance that shape area based initiatives at the local level (representation of interests, relative power and influence of different partners, process of negotiation and conflict, resources, skills and working methods of local institutions).
• To determine the influences of different regulatory frameworks on the capacity of local institutions to adapt to new socio-economic challenges.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Chris Hamnett and Dr. Mike Raco
Research Group: Cities Group
The aim of Rene’s research is to explore, analyse and compare the approaches to, and outcomes of, area-based initiatives as a policy instrument to tackle poverty and social exclusion in England and Germany.
A new approach to formulate and deliver public policies on economic and social deprivation in England and Germany has become noticeable in the last 10 years as area based initiatives to tackle social problems have returned to favour. This decisive policy shift is a break with previous universalist approaches to welfare provision and reflects the spatial concentration of poverty and deprivation and the social processes which maintain them. Consequently, a new localism consisting of the development of local institutions and partnerships are conceptualised as the most efficient and effective way to tackle socio-economic challenges in society. These features have also been integrated in the formulation of contemporary urban policies. Against this background, area-based initiatives such as the ‘New Deal for Communities’ in England and the ‘Social City Programme’ in Germany are trying to increase the local capacity through the creation of new institutional values (e.g. ‘the activating state’) as well as operational structures (e.g. partnerships and area forums, etc.).
However, there is only limited knowledge of the actual role, function and capacity of this new localism in different places. The proposed research will seek to address this gap in knowledge. It will draw on neo-institutionalist theories to explore the norms, discourses and practices, modes of operation and governance cultures at the local level in which area-based initiatives are situated.
The key research question is therefore how local institutions respond to socio-economic challenges in deprived urban areas. The preliminary research objectives are:
• To examine the processes of governance that shape area based initiatives at the local level (representation of interests, relative power and influence of different partners, process of negotiation and conflict, resources, skills and working methods of local institutions).
• To determine the influences of different regulatory frameworks on the capacity of local institutions to adapt to new socio-economic challenges.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Chris Hamnett and Dr. Mike Raco
Research Group: Cities Group
Biography
Rene was born in Frankfurt/Main (Germany). He studied Sociology, Political Science and Statistics at the Humboldt University in Berlin (Germany). Early on in his study he was in particular interested in theories of Governance and Public Management, Urban and Regional Development and Migration Studies.
His final thesis examined conflicts around building permits on mosque construction projects in Germany. With his Masters Degree in Social Sciences obtained in 2003 he began to work for different research and evaluation projects at the Office for Urban Research, Migration and Social Data Analysis in Berlin.
Between 2004 and 2007 he worked as a project officer at the Department for Governance and Democracy of the German Technical Development Cooperation. In this position he assisted the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in all multilateral processes around human settlements and urban development issues. Being part of different appraisal missions for the GTZ, Rene assisted in formulating and setting up new urban development projects in Ukraine, Mongolia, Bangladesh and China.
Outside academia, Rene has organised a number of trinational exchange and training programmes for social workers from Germany, France, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Tunisia and Russia on behalf of the German/French Youth Organization.
His final thesis examined conflicts around building permits on mosque construction projects in Germany. With his Masters Degree in Social Sciences obtained in 2003 he began to work for different research and evaluation projects at the Office for Urban Research, Migration and Social Data Analysis in Berlin.
Between 2004 and 2007 he worked as a project officer at the Department for Governance and Democracy of the German Technical Development Cooperation. In this position he assisted the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in all multilateral processes around human settlements and urban development issues. Being part of different appraisal missions for the GTZ, Rene assisted in formulating and setting up new urban development projects in Ukraine, Mongolia, Bangladesh and China.
Outside academia, Rene has organised a number of trinational exchange and training programmes for social workers from Germany, France, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Tunisia and Russia on behalf of the German/French Youth Organization.
