EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Governing Cities in a Global Era: Urban Innovation, Competition and Democratic Reform

Governing Cities in a Global Era: Urban Innovation, Competition and Democratic Reform

Introduction

Today's cities are undergoing rapid change as a result of globalisation and urbanisation. These changes imply a new approach towards the governance of cities. The way urban leaders and communities confront the modern challenges of urbanisation and globalisation is extremely important. The book 'Governing Cities in a Global Era', edited by Robin Hambleton and Jill Simone Gross, presents a thorough analysis of the way cities around the world are governed today. While some scholars think that cities are helpless victims of globalising and urbanising forces, the authors of this book believe that cities are still able to tackle urban problems if they do it creatively.

Proposition

The most important questions addressed in this book are:

What are the implications of globalisation for urban government and governance?
How are cities and metropolitan areas responding to these unprecedented economic, social, environmental and political changes?
What are the implications for those who must lead and manage increasingly complex multi-cultural cities and city regions?

Description

Urbanisation and globalisation have caused uneven urban dynamics around the world. The way cities are governed has therefore become very important. Today's urban leaders and communities face great challenges in this respect. Cities are confronted with similar problems but local responses vary greatly. Even though some scholars think that cities are helpless victims of globalising and urbanising forces, the authors of this book believe that cities are still able to tackle urban problems if they do it creatively. However, in order to do so, they state that the idea of 'government' giving way to 'governance' needs rethinking. Instead, they propose the idea of 'governing' cities, hereby combining both strong government and cooperation between urban stakeholders.

Background information

Almost all of the chapters in the book are updated or revised versions of papers presented at the City Futures International Conference, held in Chicago in 2004.

20 international authors have contributed to the book, including: John J. Batancur, Janice Bockmeyer, Jonathan Davies, Jill Simone Gross, Robin Hambleton, Dennis R. Judd, Sinéad Kelly, Daniel Kübler, John Nalbandian, Michael Punch, Bill Randolph, Declan Redmond, Manfred Röber, Eckhard Schröter, James Smith, Richard Stren, Pawel Swianiewicz, Takashi Tsukamoto, Ronald K. Vogel & Tingwei Zhang.

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Contact info

City University of New York, Hunter College, Department of Urban Affairs & Planning
New York
Jill S. Gross

Contact info

University of Illinois, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs
Chicago
Robin Hambleton

Publication date

/02/2008

Article info
ISBN: 1-4039-7573-6 / 0-230-60230-4 (PB)

Links

For more information or to order visit the Palgrave website

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords