Framing Strategic Urban Projects Learning from Current Experiences in European Urban Regions

In the 1990s, large-scale urban projects were launched in almost every metropolitan region of Europe. Several years on, the much-anticipated positive results of the innovative integration of economic and sustainable objectives have not always been apparent. To be successfully implemented, strategic urban projects require the successful coordination of collective action in a fragmented metropolitan setting, which often involves crossing barriers set up by the sector-minded, single-issue approaches typical of statutory territorial agencies. This book explores why existing projects have achieved such mixed results, and suggests new ways of thinking about strategic urban projects in future. The first part of the book sets out the framework for the study, looking at the social, policy and institutional context of strategic urban projects in Europe. Part two goes on to explore seven case studies to discuss recent experiences of large-scale projects in European city-regions and to assess each city's capacity to respond to the challenges of strategic urban projects. Each case study highlights a different planning issue including new urbanism, the use of culture to drive the urban economy, information networks and public partnerships. Finally, part three assesses the findings of the research and makes recommendations for the future development of urban projects. Offering a systematic comparison of a wide variety of projects, this book provides a multi-dimensional framework for assessing economic networks, spatial organisation, democratic policies and sustainability in urban European projects. This is essential reading for planners, policy makers and students interested in how to make strategic urban projects work effectively.Gualini, Enrico is the author of 'Framing Strategic Urban Projects Learning from Current Experiences in European Urban Regions', published 2007 under ISBN 9780415390439 and ISBN 0415390435.