Social Challenges and Organizing Capacity in Cities: Experiences in Eight European Cities (Euricur Series

by Peter M. J. Pol, Anton Van Der Gill

Globalization and the transition to a knowledge and information society have considerably strengthened the position of cities as nerve centres of the new economy. However, these trends have also sharpened competition between cities. The intense competition for mobile investments has meant that not only local authorities, but also national and regional governments, and even the European Commission, have had to focus their attention on urban policy and development. Yet despite the resulting economic progress, many cities are also dealing with a multitude of social problems and an emerging dual society. This volume compares the cities of Eindhoven, Antwerp, Helsinki, Malmo, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Strasbourg and Utrecht to analyse the strategies that have been developed to combat social problems at the various levels of public administration, private parties, NGOs and community groups. It examines how social problems threaten the attractiveness of cities and how different urban revitalization projects deal with this.

292 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2003