Changing Urban and Regional Relations in a Globalizing World

About this book

In this important book, Kathy Pain and Gilles Van Hamme bring together a prestigious group of contributors to provide a systematic assessment of the dynamic, multi-scale network restructuring and spaces of flows associated with globalization that have shaped Europe's contemporary position in the world during the past decade. The book examines the changing relations of cities and regions in Europe in a global perspective both through its position in the international division of labour and in different types of networks and flows: trade of goods; advanced services and finance - stock exchange and office real estate investments; human; knowledge; and maritime - and considers how European territories are being unequally impacted by these trends. A distinctive feature of the research results presented is their specific empirical focus on the functional and economic relations of cities and regions in globalization and how these relate to territorial structures in a spatial context. Providing in-depth reflection on territorial policies in Europe in a global context and pointing to a basic contradiction between EU economic and spatial strategies to promote sustainable growth alongside socio-territorial equity, this volume will appeal to scholars, students and researchers with interests in urban and regional planning, spatial and economic development and globalization. It also has strong relevance for government policy makers at the state, regional and local levels, as well as professional practitioners in a wide variety of disciplines.