Governance Of Europe S City Regions

Governance of Europe's City Regions is a structured overview of current debates on cities and regions. It clarifies contemporary debates about regionalism and contributes new insights into the theory of 'new regionalism'.

Governance of Europe's City Regions considers the changing role of the European Union in regional issues, explores how national governments have become increasingly involved at the regional scale and examines the constitutional and political contexts in which regional and local governments operate. Detailed case studies of regionals in Germany and England illustrate contrasts in European approaches to the scale of government, and the complex interactions of international, national, regional and local scales of policy intervention. The book offers a unique perspective, which links together an analysis of both regional Europe and the local economic and political factors that shape successful regions.

Governance of Europe's City Regions is a structured overview of current debates on cities and regions. It clarifies contemporary debates about regionalism and contributes new insights into the theory of 'new regionalism'.

City-regions are areas where the daily journeys for work, shopping and leisure frequently cross administrative boundaries. They are seen as engines of the national economy, but are also facing congestion and disparities. Thus, all over the world, governments attempt to increase problem-solving capacities in city-regions by institutional reform and a shift of functions. This book analyses the recent reforms and changes in the governance of city-regions in France, Germany and Italy. It covers themes such as the impact of austerity measures, territorial development, planning and state modernisation. The authors provide a systematic cross-country perspective on two levels, between six city-regions and between the national policy frameworks in these three countries. They use a solid comparative framework, which refers to the four dimensions functions, institutions and governance, ideas and space. They describe the course of the reforms, the motivations and the results, and consequently, they question the widespread metropolitan fever or resurgence of city-regions and provide a better understanding of recent changes in city-regional governance in Europe. The primary readership will be researchers and master students in planning, urban studies, urban geography, political science and governance studies, especially those interested in metropolitan regions and / or decentralisation. Due to the uniqueness of the work, the book will be of particular interest to scholars working on the comparative European dimension of territorial governance and planning. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

This book explores the growing role of cities and regions as sub-national actors in shaping global governance. Far from being merely carried along by global forces, cities have become active players in making and maintaining the networks and connections that give shape to contemporary globalization. Exploring examples from Europe, North America and beyond, the authors reconcile the two separate, yet complimentary, theoretical and analytical lenses adopted by Urban Studies and International Relations, as they address the nature of ‘cities’ and ‘internationality’. The authors challenge academic debate that is reluctant to cross disciplinary boundaries and thus offer more relevant answers to the new phenomenon of international city action, and how it weakens the traditional prerogative of the state as primary actor in the international realm. Conclusions focus on how this new internationality opens opportunities for cities and regions but also contains potential pitfalls that can constrain policy options and challenge the legitimacy of policy making at all scales.

The region is back in town. Galloping urbanization has pushed beyond historical notions of metropolitanism. City-regions have experienced, in Edward Soja’s terms, “an epochal shift in the nature of the city and the urbanization process, marking the beginning of the end of the modern metropolis as we knew it.” Governing Cities Through Regions broadens and deepens our understanding of metropolitan governance through an innovative comparative project that engages with Anglo-American, French, and German literatures on the subject of regional governance. It expands the comparative angle from issues of economic competiveness and social cohesion to topical and relevant fields such as housing and transportation, and it expands comparative work on municipal governance to the regional scale. With contributions from established and emerging international scholars of urban and regional governance, the volume covers conceptual topics and case studies that contrast the experience of a range of Canadian metropolitan regions with a strong selection of European regions. It starts from assumptions of limited conversion among regions across the Atlantic but is keenly aware of the remarkable differences in urban regions’ path dependencies in which the larger processes of globalization and neo-liberalization are situated and materialized.

European cities are on the rise, and are taking advantage of the opportunities of the European integration and globalization processes. But they also face economic changes, social inequalities, poverty and a new set of constraints. Taking examples through the European Union, European Cities explores the impact of the transformation of the nation states on cities and the change of local societies and local governments. It argues that new modes of urban governance are emerging, and that cities are becoming collective actors within European governance. European Cities shows why and how the bulk of European cities still appear to be original forms of compromise, aggregation, representation of diverse interests, and culture. Different modes of governance are gradually being structured in most middle size European cities despite processes of social exclusion segregation accompanied by the increased mobility of some citizens. Are Europeans going to invent a new form of institutionalized and territorialized capitalism, of which medium-sized European cities will be one of the pillars and one of the actors ? Failing that, the effects of changing scales could be expressed as profound transformations of the European urban model. European Societies Series Series Editor: Colin Crouch Very few of the existing sociological texts which compare different European societies on specific topics are accessible to a broad range of scholars and students. The European Societies series will help fill this gap in the literature, and attempt to answer questions such as: Is there really such a thing as a 'European model' of society? Do the economic and political integration processes of the European Union also imply convergence in more general aspects of social life, like family or religious behaviour? What do the societies of Western Europe have in common with those further to the east? This series will cover the main social institutions, although not every author will cover the full range of European countries. As well as surveying existing knowledge in a way that will be useful to students, each book will also seek to contribute to our growing knowledge of what remains in many respects a sociologically unknown continent.

'Although this book is likely to attract a specialist readership, since it deals with local and regional levels of government in four Nordic countries, it also contributes to a general analysis of sub-national and international identities. The authors provide clear conceptual frameworks for discussing the challenges to protecting and developing autonomy at sub-national level. Issues relating to decentralisation of decision-making within the context of the European Union are well presented.' - Aslib Book Guide '. . . the strength of this book lies in its treatment of the relationship between "regionalisation" concepts and internationalisation (or Europeanisation to be more accurate). The authors are excellent in their coverage of how local and regional governments have adapted their procedures to take account of the impact of such trends as European integration, and the usage of Putnam/multi-level governance is particularly useful . . . the book is a significant contribution and first-class.' - Lee Miles, University of Hull, UK The European political landscape is one of constant flux and it is this alternating integration and disintegration which influences the basic conditions in which political power is exercised. This book argues that the interests of the cities and regions of Europe are increasingly influenced by European supranational institutions rather than the nation state and that governance in Europe is shifting to a regional and local level.