1st Edition

Change and Stability in Urban Europe Form, Quality and Governance

    278 Pages
    by Routledge

    This title was first published in 2001. Significant transformations in the spatial organization of European cities have taken place over the past two decades. Social fragmentation, increasingly complex systems of governance, the transformation of relations to public space and the shift of work from the industrial to the communications sectors, have placed increasing importance on a city’s position in terms of the global network. This book brings together an interdisciplinary team of European experts to discuss how these transformations have forced a radical reconsideration of the traditional definitions of the city. Comparing a wide range of European cities, the book highlights the diversity of urban forms and tackles the questions regarding the quality of life in new urban spaces. The result is a comprehensive and incisive examination of the capacity of urban policies to evoke real changes in the city and to regenerate the systems of urban governance.

    Contents: Introduction, Dominique Joye, Harri Andersson, Gertrud Jorgensen, Wim Ostendorf. Urban Form and Processes of Change: Measuring urbanness, Jacques Lévy; Urban form and governance: the new multi-centred urban patterns, Guiseppe Dematteis and Francesca Governa; New spaces of urban transformation: conflicting growth areas in the development of Finnish cities, Harri Andersson; Alternative models for spatial urban development: policies for the city of Oslo and the region of Viken, Karl Otto Ellefsen. Urban Qualities and Urban Life: The compact city and urban quality, Anne Skovbro; Public places and urbanness, Dominique Joye and Anne Compagnon; Participation and quality of life: experiences with local agenda 21, Lufger Basten and Lienhard Lotscher. Urban Governance and Planning: New towns and compact cities: urban planning in The Netherlands between state and market, Wim Ostendorf; Urban change, planning and the organization of everyday life. The case of Orebro, Ann-Catherine Aquist; Governing functional urban regions - is the principle of subsidiarity useful?, John Nousianen; Governing the city, Jacques Lévy ; Epilogue: globalization and the city, Robert A. Beauregard.
    ’This volume is an essential and original contribution to European urban research...Forward looking and essential reading for advanced students and professionals alike.’ Patrick Le Galès, CEVIPOF (Sciences-Po/CNRS), France ’This is rich in ideas and other cities can take lessons.’ Built Environment '...providing a much needed geograpical extension of he urban governance research agenda into the situation in European cities, this book is a potentially welcome addition to the literature.' Urban Studies