The Italian Urban System

First published in 1999, this volume situates the Italian urban system within a European context, examining the best approach to integration. Connections between urban development, territorial cohesion and the European urban system have been clearly identified by Europe 2000 (1991) and identified as primary instruments for achieving social and economic cohesion and competitiveness as per the Treaty of Maastricht and the White Paper, Growth, Competitiveness, Employment (1993). This book aids this endeavour through featuring contributions on cities as nodes of transport networks, economic change, the demographic transition, the local milieu, regional cohesion and global networks and how the system can integrate into European urban networks.

First published in 1999, this volume situates the Italian urban system within a European context, examining the best approach to integration. Connections between urban development, territorial cohesion and the European urban system have been clearly identified by Europe 2000 (1991) and identified as primary instruments for achieving social and economic cohesion and competitiveness as per the Treaty of Maastricht and the White Paper, Growth, Competitiveness, Employment (1993). This book aids this endeavour through featuring contributions on cities as nodes of transport networks, economic change, the demographic transition, the local milieu, regional cohesion and global networks and how the system can integrate into European urban networks.

Originally published in 1996, Urban Land and Property Markets describes the intricacies of the Italian urban planning system, and the interconnections between the property sector, the national economy, and recent historical developments, including the new challenges facing Italy after the early 1990s collapse of the party system. The book’s underlying thesis is that property values are ultimately created by urban planning and investment in infrastructure. Negotiations between local government and developers focus on three basic issues: the ultimate use of urban land, the quantitative control of development via planning permissions relating to city master plans, and the nature of public investment to support growth and property values.

Recent developments in the field of urban analysis and management are investigated in this book. It is a wide-ranging collection of essays on the subject drawn from a long-term project and seminar, held in Italy, to review the state of the art and speculate on the future influence on the "sciences of the city" of the complexity concept. Of particular interest is the variety of points of view, often contrasting, and the attempt to go beyond the conventional approaches to the analysis, and the planning of the city. While focussing mainly on the European (and in particular Italian) context, the discussion is of general relevance and valuable to anyone concerned with the prospects for the city in the new millenium.

"Urban land and property markets in Italy is the first book in English presenting a comprehensive and detailed account of the subject. Based on up-to-the-minute field research and analysis, it describes the intricacies of the Italian urban planning system and the interconnections between the property sector, the national economy and recent historical developments, including the new challenges facing Italy after the early 1990s collapse of the party system centred on the Christian Democrats up to the first government led by a centre-left coalition."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

In recent years, European societies and territories have witnessed the spatial impacts of a severe financial and socio-economic crisis. This book builds on the current debate concerning how cities and urban regions and their citizens deal with the consequences of the recent financial and socio-economic crisis. Cities in Crisis examines the political and administrative implications of austerity measures applied in southern European cities. These include cuts in local public spending and the processes of privatization of local public assets, as well as issues related to the re-scaling, recentralization or decentralization of competencies. Attention is paid to the rise of new ‘austerity regimes’, the question of their legitimacy and their spatial manifestations, and in particular to the social consequences of austerity. The contributions to this book lay the foundation for recommendations on how to improve and consolidate qualified governance arrangements in order to better address rapid economic and social changes. Such recommendations are applicable to cities and urban regions both within and outside of Europe. It identifies possible approaches, tools and partnerships to tackle the effects of the crisis and to prepare European cities for future challenges.