A Modern Guide to National Urban Policies in Europe: (Elgar Modern Guides)

Written in a clear and concise style, this Modern Guide provides a timely overview and comparison of urban challenges and national urban policies in 13 European countries, addressing key issues such as housing, urban regeneration and climate change. A team of international contributors illustrate how gaps are emerging across Europe due to the significant shifts in urban programmes. The book provides an in-depth analysis into how the European Union influences policies at a national level within its member states and how these are implemented in terms of scope and objectives. It explores how this results in fewer commonalities between countries and the gap between the rise of international urban agendas and variegated national urban policies, examining whether a more bespoke approach is better than the traditional 'one size fits all'. This insightful book will be an important read for researchers of urban studies and public policy as well as scholars with an interest in urban and regional sociology.

Table of Contents:
Contents: 1 National urban policies in Europe – an introduction 1 Valeria Fedeli and Karsten Zimmermann 2 National urban policies in a federal system: the case of Germany 14 Hubert Heinelt and Karsten Zimmermann 3 Acting for cities and towns? The perpetual reinvention of categories and tools of national urban policies in France 34 Christophe Demazière and Olivier Sykes 4 Irish urban policy: from benign neglect to national strategic planning 58 Paula Russell and Brendan Williams 5 The unaccomplished quest for urban policies in Italy. ‘Waiting for Godot’ in the country of one hundred cities 87 Valeria Fedeli 6 National urban policies in the Netherlands: an urban renaissance? 103 Bas Denters 7 Becoming urban: the emergence of an urban policy in rural Norway 127 Gro Sandkjær Hanssen 8 Boosting national urban policies by European integration. The case of Poland 149 Piotr Żuber, Katarzyna Szmigiel-Rawska and Joanna Krukowska 9 Thirty years of urban policy in Portugal: challenges and multilevel governance 176 Filipe Teles, Patrícia Romeiro, Sara Moreno Pires 10 Changing urban system, changing urban policy: Romania since 1989 195 Cristina Stănuș, Daniel Pop and Dragoș Dragoman 11 Urban National Policy in Spain? A diachronic critical review of four decades of government action 216 Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado and Javier Ruiz Sánchez 12 Multilevel polycentric governance in urban development policies – national urban policy structure in Slovakia 245 Maros Finka and Milan Husar 13 Limited, fragmented and powerless: national urban policies in Sweden 268 Anders Lidström and Nils Hertting 14 ‘Places left behind’: national urban policy in the UK – from boom to slump and recovery? 284 Andrew Tallon 15 National urban policies in Europe: does the EU make the difference? 306 Valeria Fedeli, Juliet Carpenter and Karsten Zimmermann 16 In search of momentum for national urban policy 320 Karsten Zimmermann and Valeria Fedeli Index

About the Author :
Edited by Karsten Zimmermann, Faculty of Spatial Planning, TU Dortmund University, Germany and Valeria Fedeli, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, DAStU-Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Review :
'Karsten Zimmermann and Valeria Fedeli have co-created a landmark text on the changing role of national urban policies in Europe. Many leading scholars in the European Urban Research Association (EURA) contribute their insights and the book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the political struggles now shaping modern city politics.' 'This interesting volume highlights the importance of considering cities as political actors embedded in national urban policies. A much-needed perspective to understand the degrees of freedom cities have in different European countries and their implications.' 'Zimmermann and Fedeli's Modern Guide demonstrates how, despite international encouragement, the promise of bold, nationally-coordinated and intersectoral urban policies is still sadly unfulfilled. Each chapter provides an informative, up-to-date overview of the trajectories, instruments, goals and eventual impacts of national urban policy in 13 countries that will be useful for scholars and practitioners in Europe and beyond.'