This book engages with a policy agenda that is of increasing
importance - the production and use of urban knowledge. How cities
function and what counts as a 'good city' have become important
elements in politics at all scales. At local level, efforts have
long concentrated on replacing and improving problematic and low
quality environments with ones that provide high quality living
conditions and enhance the general image of localities. Nationally,
urban issues have gained in importance over the last half century
as not only key factors in production, consumption and welfare, but
also, more recently, in the enhancement of culture and creativity
which are seen as essential elements in the creation of a knowledge
economy. Finally, the European Union has recognised the urban scale
as a strategic level in which to intervene in order to improve
Europe's competitiveness. Urban places have changed from being
primarily localities of problems to places for future growth and
improvements in the quality of life. Consequently, urban
politics/policies addressing urban problems and opportunities have
become of increasing importance. Thus, to maintain efficiency and
increase value for money, key actors in this policy field have
demanded more and more policy relevant research and development.
Despite this the selection of knowledge seems somewhat biased
towards institutional traditions, ideologies and political
discourses rooted in the so-called scientific approaches to
knowledge
Our contention is that the recognition and accreditation of
relevant knowledge is not a neutral or simple process. It
inevitably entails, often unacknowledged, assumptions about what
constitutes knowledge that also relate to issues of power
concerning the recognition and use of knowledge.
General
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