Short description:

In recent years, European societies and territories have witnessed the spatial impacts of a severe financial and socio-economic crisis. This book builds on the current debate concerning how cities and urban regions and their citizens deal with the consequences of the recent financial and socio-economic crisis.

Long description:

In recent years, European societies and territories have witnessed the spatial impacts of a severe financial and socio-economic crisis. This book builds on the current debate concerning how cities and urban regions and their citizens deal with the consequences of the recent financial and socio-economic crisis.

Cities in Crisis examines the political and administrative implications of austerity measures applied in southern European cities. These include cuts in local public spending and the processes of privatization of local public assets, as well as issues related to the re-scaling, recentralization or decentralization of competencies. Attention is paid to the rise of new ?austerity regimes?, the question of their legitimacy and their spatial manifestations, and in particular to the social consequences of austerity.

The contributions to this book lay the foundation for recommendations on how to improve and consolidate qualified governance arrangements in order to better address rapid economic and social changes. Such recommendations are applicable to cities and urban regions both within and outside of Europe. It identifies possible approaches, tools and partnerships to tackle the effects of the crisis and to prepare European cities for future challenges.

Table of Contents:

1. Cities in Crisis: Setting the Scene for Reflecting Urban and Regional Futures in Times of Austerity Jörg Knieling, Frank Othengrafen, Galya Vladova PART I: CITIES IN CRISIS: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2. The economic and financial crisis: Origins and consequences Helena Chuliá, Montserrat Guillen, Miguel Santolino 3. Socio-political and socio-spatial impacts of the crisis in European cities and regions Frank Othengrafen, Giancarlo Cotella, Athanasios Papaioannou, Simone Tulumello 4. Crisis and urban change - reflections, strategies and approaches Jörg Knieling, Umberto Janin Rivolin, Jo?o Seixas, Galya Vladova PART II: ORIGINS OF THE CRISIS AND ITS SOCIO-SPATIAL IMPACTS ON SOUTHERN EUROPEAN CITIES 5. The neoliberal model of the city in Southern Europe. A comparative approach to Valencia and Madrid. Juan Romero, Carme Melo, Dolores Brandis 6. Governance and local government in the Lisbon metropolitan area: the effects of the crisis on the reorganization of municipal services and support for people José Luís Crespo, Maria Manuela Mendes, Jorge Nicolau 7. Athens, a capital in crisis. Tracing the spatial impacts. Konstantinos Serraos, Thomas Greve, Evangelos Asprogerakas, Dimitrios Balampanidis, Anastasia Chani 8. A new landscape of urban social movements: Reflections on urban unrest in Southern European cities Frank Othengrafen, Luís del Romero, Ifigeneia Kokkali PART III: URBAN PLANNING AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS IN SOUTHERN EUROPEAN CITIES 9. Urban planning and territorial management in Portugal: Antecedents and impacts of the 2008 financial and economic crisis Joana Mour?o, Teresa Marat-Mendes 10. Greek cities in crisis: Context, evidence, responses Athanasios Papaioannou and Christina Nikolakopoulou   11. Crisis and urban shrinkage from an Italian perspective Carlo Salone, Angelo Besana, Umberto Janin Rivolin PART IV: CRISIS AS DRIVER OF CHANGE? 12. Potentials and restrictions on the changing dynamics of the political spaces in the Lisbon metropolitan area Jo?o Seixas, Simone Tulumello, Susana Corvelo, Ana Drago 13. Re-thinking Barcelona: Changes experienced as a result of social and economic crisis Joaquín Rodríguez Álvarez 14. From crisis to crisis: Dynamics of change and emerging models of governance in the Turin metropolitan area Nadia Caruso, Giancarlo Cotella, Elena Pede 15. Urban re-scaling: a post-crisis scenario for a Spanish city. Valencia and its megaregion Josep Vicent Boira, Ramon Marrades 16. Urban decline, resilience and change: Understanding how cities and regions adapt to socio-economic crises Thilo Lang PART V: CONCLUSION 17. Learning from each other. Planning sustainable, future-oriented and adaptive cities and regions. Jörg Knieling, Frank Othengrafen, Galya Vladova