The past, present and future of New York City business improvement districts : Observing change in urban governance

Business improvement districts (BIDs) are organisations made up of property owners within a designated geographic area who voluntarily agree to levy an additional tax on themselves to fund initiatives to maintain services and improve the conditions of the area. The main goal of BIDs is typically to collectively enhance the economic vitality and aesthetic appeal of the designated area to benefit area residents and business owners. These forms of public–private partnership were first implemented in the 1970s, and today number more than 2,000. The focus of this paper is on the past, present and future of BIDs in New York City (NYC), the largest city in the US and one of the most important social and economic centres worldwide. Today, in NYC alone, there are currently 75 BIDs providing nearly US$200m in investment and serving approximately 85,000 businesses. The paper begins by providing historical background on the establishment of early BIDs in NYC and the expansion of BIDs to current times. It moves on to discuss the current state of BIDs in the city based upon the most recent trend reporting. Following this, consideration is given to these trends in relation to expected future conditions in the city and broader changes in urban development and politics. The paper concludes with remarks on how shifting socio-economic conditions in urban areas create an expanded role of BIDs in urban life, while also expecting to face challenges of rising costs of operations, insufficient public funding and institutional constraints. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.