Showing papers in "European Urban and Regional Studies in 2006"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined changing mobility patterns, attitudes and behaviours of UK higher education students who spend a part of their degree program studying or working abroad and found that decreasing mobility to Europe is more than compensated by rising flows to other world destinations, especially North America and Australia.
Abstract: Students have been little studied as a mobile population, despite their increasing importance among human flows in the contemporary globalizing world. This article examines changing mobility patterns, attitudes and behaviours of UK higher education students who spend a part of their degree programme studying or working abroad. The research was stimulated by perceptions that UK students were turning away from international mobility, especially to Europe. Using a multi-method approach, based on further statistical analysis of existing data sources, notably the UK Socrates–Erasmus student dataset, and on a range of questionnaire and interview surveys to staff and students in selected UK higher education institutions, the article explores the changing patterns of student movement and the drivers and barriers to mobility for UK students. We find that UK students's decreasing mobility to Europe is more than compensated by rising flows to other world destinations, especially North America and Australia. Question...
188 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors estimate the economic impact of Salamanca 2002 as the European Capital of Culture, using the methodology provided by the impact studies in two stages: first, through estimating private spending generated by the event's cultural tourism; and second, through calculating the overall economic impact, including the private spending on cultural consumption, public spending directly related to the cultural programme, investment in new equipment and facilities, along with the estimate of the multiplying effects on the overall regional and national economies.
Abstract: The artistic and cultural activities have not only a key cultural and social value, but also an undeniable economic impact. Indeed, it is a fact that the cultural sector represents a productive branch which is growing in importance. The cultural factor is frequently used as a key element for regional and/or economic development. In this vein, this article aims to estimate the economic impact of Salamanca 2002 as the European Capital of Culture, using the methodology provided by the impact studies in two stages: first, through estimating private spending generated by the event's cultural tourism; and second, through calculating the overall economic impact, including the private spending on cultural consumption, public spending directly related to the cultural programme, investment in new equipment and facilities, along with the estimate of the multiplying effects on the overall regional and national economies.
157 citations
TL;DR: The real estate market and property development dynamics in Greece are undergoing some critical changes, exhibiting a new condition which governs the relationship between capital and landed property in Greece as mentioned in this paper, according to the authors.
Abstract: Real estate market and property development dynamics in Greece are undergoing some critical changes, exhibiting a new condition which governs the relationship between capital and landed property in...
92 citations
TL;DR: The role of Berlin as capital city in the making of the Berliner Republic and the ways in which it is defined (and defines itself) within that Republic is explored in this paper, where juxtapositions of urban experience, the layering of memories and the attempt to imagine a different future come together to define Berlin as a contemporary capital city.
Abstract: Much contemporary writing on cities focuses on their position within wider global networks, so there is a risk of underplaying the significance of other aspects of the urban experience.This paper explores the particular role of Berlin as capital city in the making of the (new) Berliner Republic and the ways in which it is defined (and defines itself) within that Republic. Berlin is the (and often literally the building) site on which a new Germany is being constructed. The making up of the new Berlin is dominated by attempts to reinterpret and reimagine its history: it is a city of memorials and of deliberate absences; of remembering and forgetting, or trying to forget; of reshaping the past as well as trying to build a new future. The juxtapositions of urban experience, the layering of memories and the attempt to imagine a different future come together to define Berlin as a contemporary capital city.
81 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the relationship between regional inequality and economic development level in 14 Western European countries for the period 1980-2002 and found that the increase in regional disparities is purely transitory, and that beyond a given level of per capita GDP, regional inequality can decrease, ultimately leading to a stabilization of territorial imbalances in the later stages of the development process.
Abstract: This article explores the relationship between regional inequality and economic development level in 14 Western European countries for the period 1980–2002. The results, which were obtained by means of a semi-parametric methodology, indicate the presence of a process of regional divergence once a certain level of development has been reached. Nevertheless, in contrast to the available empirical evidence for the United States, our estimates show that the increase in regional disparities is purely transitory. Indeed, beyond a given level of per capita GDP, regional inequality can be seen to decrease, ultimately leading to a stabilization of territorial imbalances in the later stages of the development process.These findings are robust to the inclusion of additional variables in the analysis and to the choice of the measure used to quantify regional disparities.
76 citations
TL;DR: To help address the large regional disparities in income that stubbornly persist across Europe, billions of euros have been invested in business investment incentives cofunded through the European Investment Bank (EIB) as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: To help address the large regional disparities in income that stubbornly persist across Europe, billions of euros have been invested in business investment incentives cofunded through the European ...
64 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors have investigated the form of food production and supply in both European and national scales and found that there is a strong political desire at both national and international scales to "relocalize" food production.
Abstract: There is currently strong political desire at both European and national scales to ‘relocalize’ food production and supply. While advocacy remains high, few studies have interrogated the form of th...
64 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on two of the most important challenges that contemporary Albania has to face: emigration and internal migration, resulting in unprecedented spatial disparities devastating most of the country, particularly rural areas, and substantially increasing the population of Tirana and to a lesser extent Durres.
Abstract: The paper focuses on two of the most important challenges that contemporary Albania has to face: emigration, which has divested the country of about one-fifth of its population, and internal migration, resulting in unprecedented spatial disparities devastating most of the country, particularly rural areas, and substantially increasing the population of Tirana and to a lesser extent Durres.This paper specifically addresses the issue of how emigration and internal migration are interrelated; in particular, whether returning Albanian emigrants from the principal destination countries (i.e. Greece and Italy) exacerbate spatial disparities. The paper is based on the empirical findings of a questionnaire survey of 324 respondents conducted in Albania in early 2002 as well as more recent fieldwork conducted in 2004 with more qualitative questionnaires addressed to 39 recent migrants to Tirana. Our empirical findings support the idea that return migration does not exacerbate recently increased spatial disparities...
56 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, tourism has become an increasingly important asset for small and medium-sized cities, and tourism is a vulnerable basis for the local economy of towns and cities as it depends on far-reaching,...
Abstract: Tourism has become an increasingly important asset for small and medium-sized cities. However, tourism is a vulnerable basis for the local economy of towns and cities as it depends on far-reaching,...
50 citations
TL;DR: The results of this study indicate that during the 1990s urbanization was the dominant process in inter-regional migration, and residential suburbanization prevailed at the intra-metropolitan level as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The results of this study indicate that during the 1990s urbanization was the dominant process in inter-regional migration, and residential suburbanization prevailed at the intra-metropolitan level...
45 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the geographical dimension of immigration in Greece and presents the distinctive economic, demographic and settlement features of the different groups of immigrants in Greece, and examines the characteristics of different groups.
Abstract: This paper examines the geographical dimension of immigration in Greece. More particularly, this study presents the distinctive economic, demographic and settlement features of the different groups...
TL;DR: In the case of the Basque Autonomous Community, the main result has been the constitution of 11 cluster-associations as mentioned in this paper as long-term and broad public-private cooperation arrangements at industry level, whereas in the Catalan case, the policy has resulted mainly in shortterm and specific collaborative processes at local cluster or district level.
Abstract: The governments of the Basque Country and Catalonia in Spain, the most industrialized regions in Spain and the most active in demanding political selfgovernment, were among the first to develop industrial cluster policies. The concrete application and further evolution of these policies have been rather different. The main reason for this has been the particular social structures and dynamics of their respective regional industrial-business systems, composed of distinctive socio-business communities, industrial groupings, and industry associative systems. In the Basque case, the main policy result has been the constitution of 11 cluster-associations of the whole Basque Autonomous Community as long-term and broad public–private cooperation arrangements at industry level. In the Catalan case, the policy has resulted mainly in short-term and specific collaborative processes at local cluster or district level. Despite these differences, both cases of cluster policies exemplify the construction of ‘government–...
TL;DR: The authors examines the recent interest in Berlin in the English-language urban studies journals over the past decade and argues that welcome though this interest may be, the narrowness of its focus says much about the limitations of current Anglophone urban and regional studies.
Abstract: This paper examines the recent interest in Berlin in the English-language urban studies journals over the past decade. It argues that welcome though this interest may be, the narrowness of its focus says much about the limitations of current Anglophone urban and regional studies. Following on from the recent set of Euro-commentaries in this journal, and using recent writing on Berlin as a case-study, it suggests Anglophone urban studies has much to gain from: (a) placing greater value on the plurality of Europe's urban tradition; and (b) paying greater attention to the plurality of urban narratives that lie outside the existing analytic consensus within Anglophone urban and regional studies.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the process of provincial convergence which has taken place in Spain between 1985 and 2002, focusing on labour productivity, concluding that, contrary to what has been suggested by previous work, convergence has not stagnated.
Abstract: This article examines the process of provincial convergence which has taken place in Spain between 1985 and 2002. Focusing on labour productivity, it estimates the so-called ‘classical’ models of convergence, concluding that, contrary to what has been suggested by previous work, convergence has not stagnated. After stressing the limitations of this type of approach, the article attempts to overcome them, by, on the one hand, estimating the density function and the degree of internal mobility in the provincial productivity distribution; and on the other hand, by considering the influence of possible spatial effects on the aforementioned distribution. The conclusion arrived at is threefold: we confirm the existence of provincial convergence of productivity; we reveal the low level of intradistributional mobility; and we do indeed find spatial effects, although they do not seem to be too relevant for the convergence process.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate the regional policy system in Poland with respect to the development and improvement of economic competitiveness, and propose a list of systemic recommendations to enable the creation of more effective programmes and structures of regional policy in Poland after 2006.
Abstract: This paper is an attempt to evaluate the regional policy system in Poland with respect to the development and improvement of economic competitiveness. The first part of the paper outlines basic elements of the Polish system of regional policy. Subsequent paragraphs focus on the key elements of the regional policy system in Poland with special consideration of the experience of the past few years, and the most significant programme documents establishing the relevant policy framework for the future. The study analyses the following issues: the systemic capacity to identify and pursue strategic development objectives, the absence of government regional policy, the institutional limitations for self-government development policy in voivodeships (regions) and the cultural threats looming over regional development policy. The final section offers a list of systemic recommendations to enable the creation of more effective programmes and structures of regional policy in Poland after 2006.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide empirical evidence of the increasing differentiation which has characterized one of the most studied peripheries of the European Union, namely the Italian Mezzogiorno.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to provide, using various socio-economic indicators, some empirical evidence of the increasing differentiation which has characterized one of the most studied peripheries of the European Union, namely the Italian Mezzogiorno. The analysis is carried out at province level (NUTS 3) for the period 1985-98. Our results seem to support a growing differentiation of the paths of development within the Italian South that has occurred in parallel with the intensification of the EU integration process, producing an area of ‘many Mezzogiorni’.This means that the use of traditional indicators, such as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, may not be entirely appropriate and, in some cases, may even be misleading for assessing regional backwardness and vulnerability in a bid to achieve greater socioeconomic cohesion within the EU.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors expand the geographical frames of reference by which Italian economic development, and in particular understandings of local growth in Italy, are understood, by situating the local in Italy within other meso-scale relationships.
Abstract: Studies of contemporary economic development within industrialized societies often focus upon the local scale of analysis. From the positive externalities linked with agglomeration to the role which local institutions can play in altering regional economic trajectories, there is a tendency within economic geography to ‘go local’. Though there is much to be gleaned from local, firm-based research, the fact that the local is situated within other spatial scales, and in many cases is contingent upon broader geographical contexts (e.g. regional, national, global) is sometimes understated. We expand the geographical frames of reference by which Italian economic development, and in particular understandings of local growth in Italy, are understood, by situating the local in Italy within other meso-scale relationships.Though certain areas and regions of Italy are famous for their particular brand of local economic development, these places are not isolated nor are they independent in a geographic sense.Through d...
TL;DR: In this paper, Latham criticizes recent Anglophone writing on Berlin for reflecting a consensus position, which explains urban development with the help of a template defined by globalizing neo-liberalism.
Abstract: Alan Latham criticizes recent Anglophone writing on Berlin for reflecting a consensus position, which explains urban development with the help of a template defined by globalizing neo-liberalism. In some respects the points he makes are helpful. Berlin has been actively repositioned and re-imagined through an ambivalent process of ‘normalization’, which cannot be reduced to the rolling out of some global norm. However, there is a danger in this approach that Berlin is presented as somehow immune from the pressures of neo-liberalism and as providing the template of an alternative (European social-democratic) model.
TL;DR: In this paper, spatial patterns of party support in the five post-Soviet transitional countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine were analyzed using data on electoral geography to measure the degrees and dynamics of political autonomy and institutionalization of party systems in the former republics of the Soviet Union.
Abstract: This article analyses spatial patterns of party support in the five post-Soviet transitional countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine. Data on electoral geography is employed to measure the degrees and dynamics of political autonomy and institutionalization of party systems in the former republics of the Soviet Union. A comparison of post-independence electoral cycles reveals a number of important similarities and differences between the regional strength of party support in the Baltic states, Russia, and Ukraine over time. Although all five countries manifest a tendency towards a greater regional homogeneity of the regional support for the major political organizations, the pace of this trend and patterns of party-system nationalization are different in different countries.
TL;DR: This paper pointed out the ways in which the existing Anglo-American consensus within urban studies allows only a narrow reading of the possible futures of European cities, and pointed out how the existing consensus allows a narrow interpretation of the future of cities.
Abstract: This essay is a brief reply to Cochrane (2006b). It reiterates the ways in which the existing Anglo-American consensus within urban studies allows only a narrow reading of the possible futures of European cities.
TL;DR: The authors explored debates about geographical practice in Europe through the spaces and practices of an undergraduate field-course in the Costa Blanca in Spain, where students encounter Spain and Europe through diversely embodied engagements and material encounters with familiarity and difference, inclusion and exclusion, which offer possibilities for de-centring dominant American geographies and understanding the diverse practices which produce geographical knowledges.
Abstract: Debates about geographical practice in Europe are explored through the spaces and practices of an undergraduate field-course in the Costa Blanca in Spain. Students encounter ‘Spain’ and ‘Europe’ through diversely embodied engagements and material encounters with familiarity and difference, inclusion and exclusion, which offer possibilities for de-centring dominant Anglo-American geographies and understanding the diverse practices which produce geographical knowledges.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Fuller-Love, Nerys, et al. as mentioned in this paper, 'EuroCommentary : Scenario Analysis and Regional Economic Development: The Case of Mid Wales', European Urban and Regional Studies (2006) 13(2) pp.143-149 RAE2008
Abstract: Fuller-Love, Nerys, et al., 'Euro-Commentary : Scenario Analysis and Regional Economic Development: The Case of Mid Wales', European Urban and Regional Studies (2006) 13(2) pp.143-149 RAE2008
TL;DR: The authors examines the role of Rem Koolhaas, his architectural firm and think-tanks OMA and AMO, and his recently published book Content in the shaping of debates on European identity.
Abstract: This paper examines the role of Rem Koolhaas, his architectural firm and think-tanks OMA and AMO, and his recently published book Content in the shaping of debates on European identity. The paper focuses on two issues: (a) Koolhaas's attempt to re-brand, re-present and re-envision Europe and Brussels for the Prodi Commission; (b) his use of creolized and graphic communication and publishing strategies to pursue a distinctive ‘European’ standpoint on globalization.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that in order for these dominant power-knowledge systems to be destabilized, there is a need for interventions from other voices, and the question is whether the Nordic one is there to fill in the gaps in the Anglophonic circulation and to present new trends in the discourse/s.
Abstract: The book’s aim is a challenging one. The volume rests on the idea of knowledge always being situated and, consequently, it pursues a series of questions about the situatedness of Nordic human geography. Moreover, it sets itself up against hegemonic Western discourses; those in which the British/North American particularities have achieved – as argued by the editors – the status of universals. The claim is that in order for these dominant power-knowledge systems to be destabilized, there is a need for interventions from other voices, and the question is whether the Nordic one is there to ‘fill in the gaps in the Anglophonic circulation and to present new trends in the discourse/s’. It is conceded, for a start, that there has previously been a lack of Nordic voices in this sphere of critical contributions, although ‘Nordicity’ could as such function as a platform for such an endeavour. The balance between the mainstream discourse and the Nordic one has to be redressed – so the editors claim – and that is what the book sets out to do. As testified by this very publication, there undoubtedly exists a group of geographers who explicitly perceive of themselves as ‘Nordic’. There are regular conferences taking place under that rubric, a number of other publications have been published representing Nordicity, and there is a journal of Nordic geography. As to substance, a joint regional profile may be discerned in the sense that Nordic cultural geography has a proven record of focusing on themes related to the welfare state, popular movements, labour markets, social representation and different aspects of everyday life. In addition, there has been much interest in local and regional development and more generally applied research. One could, in fact, go as far as arguing that cultural geography has to some extent even contributed to the constitution of Norden – or Scandinavia as it is usually known internationally. This is to say that scholarship has in the sphere of geography not just facilitated and reflected certain particularly Nordic aspects; it has also been conducive to images of Nordicity through activities such as the writing of textbooks, training of teachers, and forming a basis for regional and local planning in addition to contributing to various discourses on the characteristics of the landscape in the region. The approach has been very much proactive. The link between Norden and scholarship in the sphere of cultural geography is undoubtedly evident in a variety of ways. However, the question remains whether this connection also amounts to a distinct voice and a clearly distinguishable Nordic critical stance, one that to some extent also challenges the mainstream international discourse. And if then viewed in this light, do the contributions in the book stand for a particular line of approach that speaks for the existence of a specific Nordic profile required to fill the gaps ‘in the Anglophonic circulation’? A number of contributions in the book do indeed nudge in the direction of questioning and destabilizing dominant power–knowledge systems, and contribute to international debate in a critical manner. Endeavours to combine social constructivism and a critique of essentialist approaches alongside a form of ontological realism are discernible (in particular Jørgen Ole Bæresholdt and Michael Haldrupp). Moreover, a considerable number of contributions probe into the spatial aspects of identity in the context of various social practices such as regional reforms (Anssi Paasi and Jouni Häkli), the unfolding of cities (Hille Koskela),
TL;DR: The case-studies provide very readable illustrations of the central themes and debates among those concerned with community development and social exclusion within and between the different national contexts within the EU as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: subject of some debate at the conference which launched the Budapest Declaration on Community Development in Europe in 2004, the final declaration including both the focus upon tackling social exclusion on the one hand (the priority of those concerned with poverty and social deprivation) and on the other hand the focus upon strengthening civil society more generally (understandably a particular concern for academics and professionals in Eastern and Central Europe, post-1989). From the final case-study (from Ireland) the book includes reflections on the agenda for action, demonstrating the importance of addressing policy issues at national and European levels as well as facilitating community participation and empowerment at the local level. The conclusions include some timely caveats. While increasing governmental interests in community development are to be welcomed there are risks inherent in becoming too closely involved in government agendas, Henderson points out, including the risk of becoming too focused upon service delivery to the detriment of advocacy and autonomous community action. Community development needs to be presented realistically, under-promising and overperforming rather than the reverse, if it is to be taken seriously for the longer term. This applies to community development’s potential contributions to ‘Including the Excluded’ just as it applies to the broader goals of strengthening civil society through community participation and empowerment. This is a clearly written text, accessible for students, policymakers and professional practitioners alike. The case-studies provide very readable illustrations of the central themes and debates among those concerned with community development and social exclusion within and between the different national contexts within the EU. This will provide essential reading for those concerned with community development and for students and practitioners in a range of related fields.