Addressing the continuous need for new growth sectors in post-industrial cities, this book considers the economic significance of wellness from a development policy perspective. The author goes beyond personal health discourse to conceptualise wellness as an emerging industry, presenting empirical cases of community, attraction, and export-orientated strategies around the world. Combining holistic health, urban governance and economic development, this book will provide valuable reading for those studying policy, tourism and the wellness sector as well as business entrepreneurs within this evolving industry.

Reforming public services has become an integral part of instituting austerity measures as governments around the world struggle to balance the books in the wake of the financial crisis. Vital public services and government departments have been given the seemingly impossible task of delivering better services to the public while receiving less funding. This excellent and highly original collection brings together contributors from across the globe to explore and analyse innovational methods aimed at helping overburdened and under-funded public services cope with the demands of austerity and continue to deliver high quality services to the public. In the process this book develops new theoretical models and analyses case studies to provide an important and timely insight into how to reform public services across the globe.

New Urban Management discusses how the logic of economic flows poses a challenge to local governments throughout the world. The book argues that the increased fluidity in economic life must have its reflection in local economic development policy.

This book explores new forms of private, mutual municipal, public-private and "reverse" state funding of public investments, co-payments and shared contributions, vouchers, and pooled public risk-financing. It includes case studies taken from the Nordic countries, UK, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey and South Korea.

This book provides a conceptual framework for understanding the inclusive city. It clarifies the concept, dimensions and tensions of social and economic inclusion and outlines different forms of exclusion to which inclusion may be an antidote. The authors argue that as inclusion involves a range of inter-group and intragroup tensions, the unifying role of local government is crucial in making inclusion a reality for all, as is also the adoption of an inclusive and collaborative governance style. The book emphasizes the need to shift from citizens' rights to value creation, thus building a connection with urban economic development. It demonstrates that inclusion is an opportunity to widen the local resource base, create collaborative synergies, and improve conditions for entrepreneurship, which are conducive to the creation of shared urban prosperity.

Globalization affects urban communities in many ways. One of its manifestations is increased intercity competition, which compels cities to increase their attractiveness in terms of capital, entrepreneurship, information, expertise and consumption. This competition takes place in an asymmetric field, with cities trying to find the best possible ways of using their natural and created assets, the latter including a naturally evolving reputation or consciously developed competitive identity or brand. The Political Economy of City Branding discusses this phenomenon from the perspective of numerous post-industrial cities in North America, Europe, East Asia and Australasia. Special attention is given to local economic development policy and industrial profiling, and global city rankings are used to provide empirical evidence for cities' characteristics and positions in the global urban hierarchy. On top of this, social and urban challenges such as creative class struggle are also discussed. The core message of the book is that cities should apply the tools of city branding in their industrial promotion and specialization, but at the same time take into account the special nature of their urban communities and be open and inclusive in their brand policies in order to ensure optimal results. This book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners working in the areas of local economic development, urban planning, public management, and branding.

In the wake of the economic crisis, many public services are facing a challenging environment in which they receive less funding but are expected to deliver better services. Organisational Innovation in Public Services develops new theoretical models and analyses case studies to provide an important insight into how to modernise public services.

This book provides a conceptual framework for understanding the inclusive city. It clarifies the concept, dimensions and tensions of social and economic inclusion and outlines different forms of exclusion to which inclusion may be an antidote. The authors argue that as inclusion involves a range of inter-group and intragroup tensions, the unifying role of local government is crucial in making inclusion a reality for all, as is also the adoption of an inclusive and collaborative governance style. The book emphasizes the need to shift from citizens' rights to value creation, thus building a connection with urban economic development. It demonstrates that inclusion is an opportunity to widen the local resource base, create collaborative synergies, and improve conditions for entrepreneurship, which are conducive to the creation of shared urban prosperity.

This book explores new forms of private, mutual municipal, public-private and 'reverse' state funding of public investments, co-payments and shared contributions, vouchers, and pooled public risk-financing. It includes case studies taken from the Nordic countries, UK, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey and South Korea.