This book offers a cross-European analysis of urban and regional strategies of reconciling welfare and competitiveness. It develops an understanding of the strategy challenge to reconcile competitiveness with cohesion, and provides an analysis of cities and regions as actors in multi-level governance settings. The book offers a European comparative view on housing, labour markets, enterprises, ethnical issues, gender dimensions, urban development projects, transport, and sustainability.

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.

This book provides new insights on cities and the nature of urban development, and the role of knowledge management in urban growth. It considers how knowledge informs policies and supports decision making, and can assist in addressing the drivers of urban change. The way that knowledge is produced and used in urban development is analysed, with examples drawn from a range of European countries. This book illustrates how the development and implementation of policies for urban areas can draw on knowledge management, even as the knowledge economy itself stimulates the evolution of the city as a place of innovation and creativity. Whilst knowledge grows in importance, so do urban issues, particularly in economic and political contexts at both European and national levels. These essays explore growth in the range of knowledge available in urban contexts, the ways to generate new knowledge from a wide range of stakeholders, and how these can make an effective contribution to decision making processes in urban development. The attractiveness of cities and surrounding areas to knowledge based forms of industry and investment and the competitiveness and performance of cities are a matter of major concern for national governments. In a sense it has become too important to leave to city politicians, and it is a topic requiring sustained reflection. This book gives the reader a detailed understanding of the issues involved and prompts further reflections.

This book offers a cross-European analysis of urban and regional strategies of reconciling welfare and competitiveness. It develops an understanding of the strategy challenge to reconcile competitiveness with cohesion, and provides an analysis of cities and regions as actors in multi-level governance settings. The book offers a European comparative view on housing, labour markets, enterprises, ethnical issues, gender dimensions, urban development projects, transport, and sustainability.