Gerald Frug speaks on the design of urban governance systems and its effects on the work of urbanists and architects. Urban governance is currently fragmented by the allocation of power to a variety of mechanisms (such as public authorities, public-private partnerships, community benefit agreements, referenda) that diminish the authority of elected government. One result of this contemporary fragmentation is frustration, which has led to the increasing attraction of authoritarianism, even for those who live in the most democratic governance systems in the world. This is usually embraced with a reference to China.

The James Stirling Memorial Lectures competition is a collaboration between the CCA and the Cities Programme of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The lecture was also presented at the LSE in 2011. During the London conference, Frug described how democratic governance systems can be strengthened and offer a more attractive alternative to authoritarianism.