Edward Elgar Publishing European Cities and Global Competitiveness: Strategies for Improving Performance

Europe is in a troubled state. The macro-economic situation is in dire straits, national governments are close to being dysfunctional, and Europeans are facing austerity and relative decline. The one bright spot on this horizon is the potential for positive action at the level of the city or of urban regions. In this book, the authors have assembled a collection of original contributions by scholars from Europe, North America and Asia who have insights as to how local authorities in Europe might be able to chart a course for their city or urban region, in this period of extraordinary difficulty. The volume begins with a set of three papers that examine European urban competitiveness from the standpoints of measurement and policy and provides a case study of the cities of one country - Italy. From this the reader can gain an understanding of the current position of European cities as well as what might be possible going forward. Experience has shown that perhaps the most crucial element in competitiveness enhancement is good and effective governance. To that end, the second section presents structural aspects that include: polycentric regions, wide metropolitan cooperation, the role of social actors and territorial aggregation. The third section treats issues of innovation from two perspectives and provides a case study from Eindhoven. The final section covers social issues such as demographics, participation, social exclusion and mobility. This set of scholarly reflections will be of considerable benefit to urban practitioners, researchers, and students of public policy. Review ‘This book addresses an interesting and contemporary topic and the editors have selected a good mix of approaches to the problem’. -- Giorgio Fazio, Journal of Regional Science About the Author Edited by Peter Karl Kresl, Charles P. Vaughan Professor of Economics (Emeritus), Bucknell University, US and Daniele Ietri Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy They are members of AISLo (Italian Association for Local Development) and GUCP (Global Urban Competitiveness Project)