The Real Lives of BIDs

Abstract

BIDs tell a story of the privatized economic rebirth of city centers. It is true that, according to their members, BIDs are a success story in terms of their revitalization of deindustrialized downtowns (Symes and Steel 2003, p. 311). This is largely because BIDs have generally succeeded in raising local property values (Ellen et al. 2007) since “the ultimate aim of BIDs is to increase profits to its members” (Kennedy 1996, p. 299). This increase in property values is associated with an overall improvement in a BID’s neighborhood quality of life, such as a decrease in district crime (Hoyt 2005). BIDs therefore fit in neatly with their advocates’ position that privately managed contracted service delivery is simply more effective than government (Mitchell 1999).