Published
Feb 27, 2002Page count
352 pagesISBN
978-1861343574Dimensions
216 x 138 mmImprint
Policy Press
Urban competitiveness
Following publication of the government's White Paper on cities (2000), the question of what makes some cities more successful than others has become an increasingly important policy issue. This topical book tackles this question from differing perspectives.
Although previous work has explored particular facets of competitiveness, this volume is the first to do so in a systematic way that combines theory, evidence and policy implications. Bringing together leading experts on urban economic performance, it provides a new look at the issue of urban competitiveness and offers new insights into the factors that shape competitiveness.
"... this volume will undoubtedly find its way into reading lists for specialist undergraduate and postgraduate courses and will be read with interest by academics and practitioners alike." Urban Studies
"... a useful contribution to the literature on urban competitiveness in that it presents interesting and new empirical material that could spark similar research outside of the United Kingdom context ... read this book." Canadian Journal of Urban Research
"Acceptance that urban competitiveness is a key issue for national as well as local communities has run well ahead of understanding of what such competitiveness actually involves, both conceptually and empirically. This collection of papers represents a substantial step forward on both counts and deserves a wide readership among policy-makers as well as students." Ian Gordon, London School of Economics
Contributors to the volume include some of the leading UK-based specialists on urban economic performance and younger researchers, as well as North American experts. The editor, Iain Begg, is Professor of Economics at the South Bank University in London. He has recently completed a research project on the performance of British cities.
Contents: Introduction ~ Iain Begg; The knowledge base and the competitive city ~ William F. Lever; Linking competitiveness and cohesion ~ Martin Boddy; Competitiveness and the social fabric: links and tensions in cities ~ Gareth Potts; The property sector and its role in shaping urban competitiveness: a selective review of literature and evidence ~ Kenneth Gibb, Daniel Mackay and Michael White; Long-run trends in the competitiveness of British cities ~ Iain Begg, Barry Moore and Yener Altunbas; Dimensions of city competitiveness: Edinburgh and Glasgow in a UK context ~ Nick Bailey, Iain Docherty and Ivan Turok; Innovation and clustering in the London Metropolitan region ~ James Summie, James Sennett and Peter Wood; Locating the competitive city in England ~ Iain Deas and Benito Giodano; The enhancement of urban economic competitiveness: the case of Montreal ~ Peter Kresl; Urban networks and the new economy: the impact of clusters on planning for growth ~ Philip Cooke, Clare Davies and Rob Wilson; Policies to uncover the competitive advantages of America's distressed cities ~ Edward W. Hill and Jeremy Nowak; Managing urban development: land-use planning and city competitiveness ~ Glen Bramley and Christine Lambert; Conclusions and policy implications ~ Iain Begg.
