Contested waterfront transformations: Renegotiating social inclusion within the financialized urban growth machine (ConWa)

The financialisation of land and property has become a transformative phenomenon in cities, facilitating the formation of growth coalitions based on partnerships between local governments, property owners, developers, businesses and public organizations. We aim to uncover conflicts or new balances between cities' investment-driven land policies and social inclusion goals. Using interpretive policy analysis and innovative AI-driven visual methods, the research focuses on waterfront developments in six European cities. Waterfronts, where land values are high, serve as a lens to explore the interplay between financialised urban growth machines (FUGMs) and social inclusion. The study provides insights into how FUGMs shape and contest cities, informing policy makers for evidence-based decision-making to improve social inclusion.