Urban Governance In The Realm Of Complexity

This book discusses the role of urban information systems, public private and community partnerships and co-operation between governmental, NGOs and CBOs, and a concern for participation and self-organization of stakeholders in the urban development process and attention for emerging institutional forms for urban governance in developing countries.

This volume examines how cities, migration, and urban governance are intertwined. Questioning and re-working the conceptual reliance on “scales” and “levels”, it draws on examples from both Europe and North America to conceptualize the variety of cities as re-active and pro-active within “glocal” and “socio-territorial dynamics”. The book covers the governance of the myriad dimensions of urban life, such as work, housing, racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, the arts, leisure, and other cultural practices, political participation, social movements, and “contentious politics” in North American and European cities. While cities might implement “integration policies,” the chapters do not necessarily assume that migrants live with the telos of “integration”, but rather conduct their lives as anyone else would, making meaning and voicing concerns under often difficult material conditions, strewn with the markers of race, religion, gender, sexuality, age, and often illegality. The volume highlights four arguments, themes, or contributions addressed by one or more of the chapters: how demographic change is prompting more pro-active urban governance responses in many cities in the 21st century; how the sheer complexity of migration in the 21st century is shaping the participation of citizen civil society actors, the growing role of new private actors in the realm of urban governance, and the participation of migrants themselves in this governance. The book reminds us that we are confronted with a spectrum of urban governance strategies, ranging from re-active cities to pro-active and welcoming cities. Both timely and relevant, this book collects the work of well-known scholars in the field of migration and urban studies. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Geographical Review.

"Reigning theories of urban power suggest that in a world dominated by footloose transnational capital, cities have little capacity to effect social change. In City Power, Schragger challenges this conventional wisdom, arguing that cities can and should pursue aims other than making themselves attractive to global capital. Using the municipal living wage movement as an example, Schragger explains why cities are well-positioned to address issues like income equality and how our institutions can be designed to allow them to do so"--

Exploring how urban professionals plan, manage and govern cities in emerging economies, this insightful book studies the actions and instruments they employ. It highlights how the paradigms of interventions and approaches to urban management are shifting, indicating that urban governance is becoming increasingly important in dealing with wicked issues, like climate change and social and economic inequalities in cities.

Written by some of the founders of complexity theory and complexity theories of cities (CTC), this Handbook expertly guides the reader through over forty years of intertwined developments: the emergence of general theories of complex self-organized systems and the consequent emergence of CTC.

′Anybody who thinks the study of urban politics is stagnating needs to pick up a copy of Theories of Urban Politics. Insightful analysis of scholarship on traditional topics is supplemented by chapters on nontraditional topics, including the new institutionalism, network governance, and urban leadership... If you want to keep up with cutting-edge debates in urban studies, the Davies and Imbroscio volume is essential′ - Todd Swanstrom, Saint Louis University ′Connects the best traditions of urban political theory with important new contributions on emerging themes. This completely revised second edition is an invaluable book for new students and established scholars. It is accessible, theoretically rich, and maps out an exciting and challenging research agenda. It will spend more time open and on the desk, than closed and on the bookshelf!′ - Professor Chris Skelcher, University of Birmingham ′Many colleagues have told us that our edition of Theories of Urban Politics provided great insights and grounding to students and seasoned researchers alike. We are delighted that so able a successor has emerged. Those that study urban politics need to be challenged and inspired by theory and this book delivers a powerful update for urban scholars′ - David Judge, Gerry Stoker and Harold Wolman, Editors of the First Edition ′This long-awaited sequel to the pioneering First Edition updates debates and developments through an excellent collection of entirely new essays contributed by some of the leading academics in the field. A special feature of the volume is that it links concerns in urban politics in North America and Europe. An excellent read′ - Professor David Wilson, De Montfort University Expanding and updating the successful first edition, Theories of Urban Politics, Second Edition provides a comprehensive introduction to and evaluation of the theoretical approaches to urban governance. Restructured into four new parts - Power, Governance, Citizens, and Challenges - the second edition reflects developments in the field over the last decade, with newly commissioned chapters updating and adding to the theoretical material included in the first edition. With contributions from many of the key figures in urban theory today, this text will be required reading on all urban politics, urban planning and public administration courses.

This book intends to theoretically conceptualize and empirically investigate upcoming and established practices of community-based initiatives in various countries in which both citizens and governments join efforts and capacities to solve wicked issues. It aims to include and compare cases from various countries, departing from the notion that community-based initiatives take place in an institutional context of governmental structures, rules, procedures, regulations, and routines. This leads to government involvement in these initiatives and sharing the public space. Furthermore, the editors take into account what kind of leadership roles, knowledge, and resources are present and how they evolve in this collaborative or coordinative effort, which in turn can enhance the capacities of community-based initiatives. This book joins excellent researchers from renowned universities all over the world, aiming for a balance between upcoming scholars and renowned scholars in the field of community-based initiatives and governance capacity. Contributors were carefully selected on the basis of their experience in the field of community-based initiatives, citizens’ engagement and governance capacity approaches. Aimed at researchers and academics, this volume will be of interest to those in the fields of business, economics, public administration, political science, social enterprise, sociology and third sector studies.