Policy-making for an ’unruly’ public?

Abstract

The initial response to COVID-19 in the UK took on a self-defeating culture of decision-making, based on the notion of an inherently ‘unruly’ public. This glossed over the diversity of socio-economic contexts, the complexity of the science, and the value of engaging with stakeholders. The UK experience suggests that the framing of public agency within national policy can limit the effectiveness of urban governance. In future, studies might seek to identify those approaches that better support collective responses to strategic problems of community wellbeing.