Showing papers in "European Urban and Regional Studies in 2013"
TL;DR: In this paper, the functional and spatial organization of knowledge interdependencies among firms and other actors varies between different types of industries that draw on different type of knowledge bases, and they use data from three case studies of firm clusters in the region.
Abstract: This paper deals with knowledge flows and collaboration between firms in the regional innovation system of southern Sweden. The aim is to analyse how the functional and spatial organization of knowledge interdependencies among firms and other actors varies between different types of industries that draw on different types of knowledge bases. We use data from three case studies of firm clusters in the region: (1) the life science cluster represents an analytical (science-based) industry, (2) the food cluster includes mainly synthetic (engineering-based) industries, and (3) the moving media cluster is considered to be symbolic (artistic based). Knowledge sourcing and knowledge exchange in each of the cases are explored and compared using social network analysis in association with data gathered through interviews with firm representatives. Our findings reveal that knowledge exchange in geographical proximity is especially important for industries that rely on a symbolic or synthetic knowledge base, because the interpretation of the knowledge they deal with tends to differ between places. This is less the case for industries drawing on an analytical knowledge base, which rely more on scientific knowledge that is codified, abstract and universal and are therefore less sensitive to geographical distance. Thus, geographical clustering of firms in analytical industries builds on rationales other than the need for proximity for knowledge sourcing.
198 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors demonstrate how eventification fosters new relationships between local urban developers and individual artists in Berlin-Wedding and the South Bronx, New York City, and explore the benefits and disadvantages of experience planning through eventification.
Abstract: Recent urban and economic development policies put much emphasis on the promotion of experiences. Within the experience economy, the production and consumption of products and places is transformed into �theater.� The organization of international festivals highlights that trend. However, festivalization has also infiltrated urban and economic development on a much smaller scale and turned into an overall eventification. In addition, producers and marketers of cultural products simultaneously apply this concept to advance their market positions. Hence, eventification provides shared interests for local stakeholders and producers and marketers of cultural products and opportunities to further include the latter in urban growth coalitions. This paper demonstrates how eventification fosters new relationships between local urban developers and individual artists in Berlin-Wedding and the South Bronx, New York City. It explores the benefits and disadvantages of experience planning through eventification including social exclusion and arts-led revitalization. Ultimately, eventification not only embraces an accelerating logic of ever more experience schemes and thus raises questions about its sustainability, but also features a process in which urban space, itself, is transformed into staged experiences of event consumption.
95 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the ways in which emerging models of migration management are producing new geographies of the European Union's borders that complicate notions of a tightly bounded and easily delineated "Schengen space" or "Fortress Europe".
Abstract: This paper highlights the ways in which the emerging models of migration management are producing new geographies of the European Union’s borders that complicate notions of a tightly bounded and easily delineated ‘Schengen space’ or ‘Fortress Europe’. Under policy frameworks such as the European Neighbourhood Policy and the EU’s Global Approach to Migration, a process of economic and political regional integration is under way that is beginning to transform the ways in which non-accession neighbours and neighbours of neighbours in North Africa and beyond are articulated with the EU. Central to these changes are programmes, institutions and practices of both regional economic development and border routes management. This changing geopolitical and geo-economic approach to regional integration and the nature of European borderlands has at its heart a series of new spatial imaginaries, institutional actors and cartographic experiments that point to a project in process in which the relationships between terr...
89 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that although there exists a vast literature by geographers and other scholars that engages with the production of EU-ropean spaces through regionalization, the policy literature generated by EU macro-regional experts appears to entirely ignore these debates, professing an understanding of regions that is a conceptual pastiche at best, and that entirely occludes the political and geopolitical implications of region-making within, at, and beyond ‘EU’rope-s borders.
Abstract: This article engages with the most recent spatial fantasy for the making of ‘EU’ropean space: the idea of trans-European macro-regions, currently in vogue in the policy literature. In particular, we focus on the imaginings of a Mediterranean macro-region as the latest incarnation of the macro-regional fad, but also as a useful prism for reflecting on some of the underlying conceptual as well as political and geopolitical challenges of the on-going remaking and rescaling of ‘EU’ropean space. We argue that, although there exists by now a vast literature by geographers and other scholars that engages with the production of ‘EU’ropean spaces through regionalization, the policy literature generated by EU ‘macro-regional experts’ appears to entirely ignore these debates, professing an understanding of regions that is a conceptual pastiche at best, and that entirely occludes the political and geopolitical implications of region-making within, at, and beyond ‘EU’rope’s borders
85 citations
TL;DR: Tödtling et al. as discussed by the authors found that firms do not act in isolation or in a space-less world but they are part of and embedded in particular locations and socioeconomic contexts that are shaped also by policy actors and institutional conditions.
Abstract: There is broad agreement nowadays among economic geographers, regional scientists and policy makers as well as evidence that the performance of regional economies in a globalizing knowledge economy depends to a high degree on innovation and knowledge-transforming capabilities (Archibugi and Lundvall, 2001; Cooke et al., 2008; Malecki, 2010). Innovations are to a large extent the result of firm activities that respond to challenges of global competition and new societal demands. This applies both to highand low-technology industries (see, for example, Hansen and Winter, 2011). However, firms do not act in isolation or in a space-less world but they are part of and embedded in particular locations and socio-economic contexts that are shaped also by policy actors and institutional conditions. Such conditions have been pointed out in the innovation systems literature for countries (Edquist, 1997; Lundvall, 1992, 2007) and regions (Asheim and Gertler, 2005; Cooke et al., 2004). The argument is in line with the global production networks literature (e.g. Coe et al., 2008), which stresses the regional embeddedness of firm-level action, its globally networked nature and the significance of institutional contexts. We also find broad acceptance of the view that the innovation process is to a large extent an open (Chesbrough, 2003) and interactive process based on the exchange and transformation of both tacit and codified knowledge (Lorenz and Lundvall, 2006; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). It has been pointed out that firms from both highand low-technology sectors nowadays draw relevant knowledge for innovation from a broad variety of knowledge sources, which may be distributed across many locations from local to global levels (Smith, 2002; Tödtling et al., 2006). The search, sourcing, integration and application of external knowledge, however, require well-developed absorptive capacities and internal competencies of companies and firms (Zahra and George, 2002). Having said that, there is still little understanding of the precise nature of these knowledge interactions, and how that affects innovation performance. 457173 EUR20210.1177/0969776412457173European Urban and Regional StudiesTödtling et al. 2012
68 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of creative talent in fostering economic prospects is questioned, and it is shown that in Europe, with its cultural diversity and long urban history, Florida's concepts have to be used with caution.
Abstract: Results of a new large-scale study question the role of creative talents in fostering economic prospects. It is shown that in Europe, with its cultural diversity and long urban history, Florida’s concepts have to be used with caution. The new study suggests that in Europe, along with so-called ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ factors, there is a third crucial group of factors, related to personal networks, which impacts on economic perspectives. These networks include personal links, professional and social relations and other types of local social connections related to people’s life courses. This appeared to be strong and consistent outcomes of a survey among employees and interviews with employers, managers and trans-national migrants, conducted simultaneously in 13 European cities. It was also made clear that so-called hard conditions, especially job availability, were the second most important factor. Incidentally soft conditions were relevant, but never of prime importance. ‘Soft’ factors such as diversity, openne...
59 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an article in the journal: European Urban and Regional Studies (EURSS), which is a journal dedicated to the study of urban and regional studies.
Abstract: Accepted version of an article in the journal: European Urban and Regional Studies. Also availble from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0969776412439200
58 citations
TL;DR: The Spanish indignados movement has forcefully erupted onto the political landscape of the country and two different souls can be found at its core: one attached to activists from alternative social movements, the other emerging around the young indignados as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Spanish indignados movement has forcefully erupted onto the political landscape of the country. Two different souls can be found at its core: one attached to activists from alternative social movements, the other emerging around the ‘young indignados’. In general terms, a drift can be found within the movement from merely citizenist positions towards others which are more clearly anticapitalist.
55 citations
TL;DR: The year 2011 was when the camp defeated the dictator. At Tahrir Square, the camp was a space of freedom, resistance and liberation, beyond the control of the state and outside the normal political...
Abstract: The year 2011 was when the camp defeated the dictator. At Tahrir Square, the camp was a space of freedom, resistance and liberation, beyond the control of the state and outside the normal political...
52 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the effect of enlargement of the European Union (EU) on the nature and extent of cross-border informal entrepreneurial activities (IEAs) in terms of the economic, economic, institutional and sociocultural characteristics of a context overlap, dominate or recede at different points in time.
Abstract: Borderlands, as spaces of various forms of entrepreneurial activities, offer rich examples of informal entrepreneurial activities that depend on the border location to be developed and sustained. Although the socioeconomic contributions of informal activities have been widely acknowledged, little research has been conducted on the ways that enlargement of the European Union (EU), by affecting the openness/closedness of borders, affected the nature and extent of crossborder informal entrepreneurial activities (IEAs). Recognizing the heterogeneity of border regions, in terms of formal and social institutional structures, linguistics and ethnicity, the paper offers a nuanced and extended understanding of the difference the geography of borders, broadly defined, makes to the diversity and persistence/disappearance of crossborder IEAs since EU enlargement. Using qualitative data from interviews collected with households involved in crossborder
IEAs in several EU border regions, the paper indicates that cross-border IEAs have a time dimension, reflected in the pre- and post-enlargement changes to the intensity of these activities, as well as a regional dimension, reflected in various dichotomies such as impoverished/affluent, socioculturally proximate/distant and hard/soft borders, reflected in the forms, enablers and constraints of such activities. The paper illustrates how the spatial, economic, institutional and sociocultural characteristics of a context overlap, dominate or recede at different points in time to facilitate/inhibit different forms of entrepreneurial behaviour and to encourage the involvement of, or empower, different groups of people. Thus, context, in all its dimensions, remains an important factor for spatial and temporal explanations of crossborder IEAs as particular forms of entrepreneurial activity.
51 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors use the bandwagon metaphor to analyse how small tourism firms become engaged in the idea of the experience economy and how the idea is turned into practice through network formation and innovation.
Abstract: This paper uses the bandwagon metaphor to analyse, in two rural contexts, how small tourism firms become engaged in the idea of the experience economy and how the idea is turned into practice through network formation and innovation. In developing a practice-based approach we use the bandwagon metaphor to conceptualize network formation and innovation in terms of a �journey�. Following the practice-based literature on bandwagons, the journey starts by labelling an idea that is broad enough to give meaning to, and pull together, a number of diverse supporters. The journey also depends on two further central processes, namely appropriation and narrowing the workspace. One Norwegian and one Danish network are studied using a case methodology. They are two rural networks of mainly small tourism firms. The empirical study confirms and illustrates how the bandwagon effect involves these three core processes. However, we also argue for the importance of a fourth process, namely strategic reflexivity. The paper closes by suggesting a development model with relevance for policy. The paper offers an increased understanding of how the experience economy as an idea can become practice and puts forward a practice-based development model.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine to what extent the different socioeconomic and institutional background of old industrial regions has an impact on firms' innovation performance and knowledge sourcing in the new sector, comparing software companies in the Czech region of Moravia-Silesia and in the Austrian region of Upper Austria.
Abstract: Old industrial regions in many cases suffer from a predominance of basic and traditional industries as well as a lack of modern sectors and of innovation. Often we find this type of region oriented to traditional sectors and technology paths. The development of new sectors such as software might help to overcome such problems and contribute to diversification and a better innovation performance of such regions. In this context, we examine to what extent the different socioeconomic and institutional background of old industrial regions has an impact on firms’ innovation performance and knowledge sourcing in the new sector. For this purpose we compare software companies in the Czech region of Moravia-Silesia and in the Austrian region of Upper Austria. Both are regions with a considerable industrial tradition but with a quite different historical and institutional background. Whereas Moravia-Silesia region is a part of Czechia – a transformed country with a state socialism and central planning background – ...
TL;DR: The trajectories of the German and Chinese photovoltaic industries differ significantly yet are strongly interdependent as discussed by the authors, reflecting the roles of market creation, investment and credit and the drivers of innovation and competitiveness.
Abstract: The trajectories of the German and Chinese photovoltaic industries differ significantly yet are strongly interdependent. Germany has seen a rapid growth in market demand and a strong increase in production, especially in the less developed eastern half of the country. Chinese growth has been export driven. These contrasting trajectories reflect the roles of market creation, investment and credit and the drivers of innovation and competitiveness. Consequent differences in competiveness have generated major trade disputes.
TL;DR: The authors analyzed automotive clusters from a knowledge base perspective and provided ambiguous hints as to which knowledge base is crucial for auto-cluster analysis, but little research has been undertaken on analyzing automotive clusters.
Abstract: So far little research has been undertaken on analysing automotive clusters from a knowledge base perspective. Existing studies provide ambiguous hints as to which knowledge base is crucial for aut...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the implications for regional studies of the experience economy approach through the broader question of market valuation, and argue that market valuation should be considered as a key issue for future understandings of economic and territorial development.
Abstract: Drawing on particular socio-economic theories, this paper discusses the implications for regional studies of the experience economy approach through the broader question of market valuation. Different forms of market construction are identified and compared with regard to distinct models of regional development. It is observed that most of established territorial innovation models give prominence to a technical form of market valuation driven by technological change, by localized innovative production and by the mobility of goods and services. Conversely, experiential valuation primarily points to alternative models of development focusing on the local capacity to set attractive and engaging stages and to exploit consumer mobility. While the former models have mainly been applied to export-based manufacturing, the latter have essentially been applied to leisure, entertainment and tourism activities. The second part of the paper discusses the limits of technical as well as experiential market valuation in the case of the Swiss watchmaking industry. In such a case, experience in consumption and technology in production appears as strategic economic resources but what is primarily valued is authentic watchmaking. Authenticity is regarded as a third possible form of market valuation revealing specific socio-economic and territorial dynamics. The paper finally argues that market valuation should be considered as a key issue for future understandings of economic and territorial development.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors apply the perspective offered by the concept of the experience economy and empirically analyze the development and marketing of culinary products from the Danish island of Bornholm as production-side activities in a larger ''territorial staging system� which at consumption-side primarily relates to urban consumers.
Abstract: The ongoing changes in Western food markets and the emergence of �alternative� agri-food production�consumption systems have been conceptualized in numerous ways but very rarely in terms of an �experience turn�. This article applies the perspective offered by the concept of the experience economy and empirically analyses the development and marketing of culinary products from the Danish island of Bornholm as production-side activities in a larger �territorial staging system� which at consumption-side primarily relates to urban consumers. A second analytical focus is on the knowledge aspects of experience-based economic activities. The knowledge aspects of the coordinated staging activities of Bornholm firms, business networks and governance actors are studied by use of the differentiated knowledge bases taxonomy, which includes a category of socio-cultural �symbolic� knowledge, complementary to the technological and scientific types of knowledge important for developing functional assets of products. The data and analyses suggest that the experience economy perspective can enrich the research on alternative food production systems by directing attention to the crucial role of strategic, coordinated staging of experiences that reach the consumers in and outside the region. Second, the article shows that the innovation and staging of experience offerings and authenticity-based products relies on symbolic knowledge dynamics in creating and communicating commercially relevant cultural values and meanings and that the sources of such knowledge dynamics are not only local but to a large extent extra-regional and multi-scalar. These findings are indications of new opportunities, barriers and external linkages for rural areas.
TL;DR: The Arab Awakening in 2011 witnessed a series of uprisings that had many different influences and motivations, but that collectively unsettled governing and rule in the region as mentioned in this paper, and amongst these influences, geopolitical interests and strategies on the part of international organisations and programs that promote civic engagement and citizenship on part of young people in the Middle East.
Abstract: The ‘Arab Awakening’ in 2011 witnessed a series of uprisings that had many different influences and motivations, but that collectively unsettled governing and rule in the region. Amongst the influences on the uprisings are geopolitical interests and strategies on the part of international organisations and programmes that promote civic engagement and citizenship on the part of young people in the region. These programmes had multiple goals, including improving the image of the West amongst people in the Middle East who might otherwise be suspicious of the West and training young people to enact democratic change through civil society. Such programmes are often accused of importing values and practices associated with the West and of depoliticising activism. The events of 2011, however, suggest the indeterminacy of the programmes and the unpredictable ways in which youth use the skills they learned. Given this, the short-, medium- and long-term outcomes of the programmes – and indeed of the protests in 201...
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparative analysis of approaches to innovation support in three self-governing regions of the Czech Republic is presented, focusing on three regions: the capital city of Prague, South Moravia and the old industrial region of Moravia-Silesia.
Abstract: The paper seeks to develop a comparative analysis of approaches to innovation support in three self-governing regions of the Czech Republic. Its analytical section presents an in-depth analysis of the development of innovation policies in three regions: the capital city of Prague, South Moravia and the old industrial region of Moravia-Silesia. Key dimensions of regional innovation strategy in each of the three regions are closely scrutinized and critically examined, within the context of state-of-the-art European approaches to innovation policy. Profound differences, both in approaches to innovation policy design and in the results so far achieved, have been found between the studied regions, reflecting differences in both structural and soft factors in the regions in question. Rapid progress, in terms of innovation strategy implementation, is evident in a region where strong knowledge creation capacity (in both the academic and the business spheres) exists in harmony with professional and enthusiastic ke...
TL;DR: The authors examines some of the main geoeconomic and geo-political interdependencies which are structuring Europe's relations with the wider world and how various European and European Union (EU) entities interact with each other.
Abstract: This paper examines some of the main geo-economic and geo-political inter-dependencies which are structuring Europe’s relations with the wider world and how various European and European Union (EU)...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the notion of the experience economy is able to challenge established theories of the culture economy in three ways: by placing consumption and consumers as point of departure for innovation and valuation, by approaching place as valuable for consumption, and finally by turning the lens of planning towards places as destinations.
Abstract: The paper introduces a special issue on �the experience turn in development and planning�. It is argued that the notion of the experience economy is able to challenge established theories of the culture economy in three ways. First, by placing consumption and consumers as point of departure for innovation and valuation. Secondly, by approaching place as valuable for consumption, and finally by turning the lens of planning towards places as destinations, which entails complex quality of place concerns. The papers of the issue contribute from three different but related perspectives. One perspective is to deconstruct economic value and innovation in regional studies and elaborate on the role of consumers and stages of consumption. Another is the actor perspective and the question of how localized networks of innovative actors evolve and engage in experiential staging. Finally the experience economy is seen as an integrated approach in policy and strategic planning on as well as across different scales. Future research should not only trace the evolution of experience offerings, stages and destinations and its possible dependence on specific economic phases and contexts. It should also develop further the potentials of the experience economy approach as a new perspective on economic phenomena as well as on territorial development.
TL;DR: For several decades, Poland's eastern border was a spatial barrier hindering any development of near-border regions, which were thus afflicted by unfavourable demographic processes and growing peri...
Abstract: For several decades, Poland’s eastern border was a spatial barrier hindering any development of near-border regions, which were thus afflicted by unfavourable demographic processes and growing peri...
TL;DR: A special issue of Euro-commentaries tackles the question of what links unprecedented anti-regime uprisings in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, with the largest protests in decade as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: This special issue of Euro-commentaries tackles the question of what links unprecedented anti-regime uprisings in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, with the largest protests in decade...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the new wave of spatial development strategies in small, peripheral municipalities, based on the notion of the experience economy as a local response to the challenges of globalization and industrial restructuring.
Abstract: This article discusses the new wave of spatial development strategies in small, peripheral municipalities, based on the notion of the experience economy as a local response to the challenges of globalization and industrial restructuring. The notion of the experience economy, originally derived from strategic management, is more encompassing than the related notion of cultural economy, and its application in urban strategies aims to promote (1) new forms of business innovation, (2) the development of new industries and (3) the development of place as a factor of attraction. The article proceeds to describe the extent to which this perception has been integrated into urban strategies in North Denmark, and the associated local discourses and institutional practices. One municipality, Frederikshavn, is described and analysed in more detail. In this municipality the experience economy has been constructed by the initiatives of public, private and civic actors over more than a decade, until it finally became institutionalized in official municipal policy and organizations. The many initiatives materialized in a considerable enhancement of the local cultural and leisure supply, urban refurbishment, business innovation and a change of urban image from industrial city to experience city. The experience economy mainly became institutionalized as a reinterpretation and development of welfare services from a consumer perspective. As a municipal strategy the experience economy concept is faced with two problems: the municipal scale is not adequate to change the economic and demographic fate of peripheral localities, and enhancing the quality of place and image can be only part of the response to the serious challenges facing them.
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of two developments in winter sport equipment is used to exemplify an industry in which quality is both an entry condition as well as a major factor in differentiation and valuation.
Abstract: This paper addresses the role of quality, difference and differentiation in the value both producers and consumers attach to products and firms. It is argued that analysis of urban and regional competitiveness needs to be complemented by a renewed focus on the vital role that quality plays in competitiveness as well as an understanding of geographies of product difference and differentiation. Debates on economic development and resilience need to focus on innovation but also on how through making and providing quality goods and services � that may be based on the latest technologies or equally on age-old craft traditions � firms secure and develop competitive strengths. But since quality is always a value co-constructed in a negotiation between the consumer and producer, processes of identification and differentiation are formative. A case study of two developments in winter sport equipment is used to exemplify an industry in which quality is both an entry condition as well as a major factor in differentiation and valuation. The case illustrates the roles of producer-led innovation and user-led innovation in equipment innovation; and that the appreciation of products� quality, value and differentiation rests in interactions between producers, intermediaries and led-users in localized and regional settings. Focusing on the geographies of quality and differentiation is suggested to be important not only for firms but also for urban and regional policy. Regional advantage may partly rest upon how actors come together to co-construct notions of quality and difference: notions that can have lasting effects on regional competitiveness.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare the innovativeness of two textile-related industries in two cities in two different regions of the United Kingdom and compare the two industries' innovation logics, innovative processes, and innovation outcomes.
Abstract: Rapid technological and economic development in the world economy and the systematic and complex nature of innovation processes require specific innovation policy activities, such as having access to new knowledge. Through networking, individuals and organizations can become aware of new technologies and information by engaging in boundaryextending activities. Because there are dissimilarities between knowledge bases, each industrial activity is assumed to have specific types of innovation logics, innovative processes and innovation outcomes. In addition, the generation, diffusion, application and exploitation of knowledge are closely related to a region’s ability to undertake innovations. The objective and contribution of this paper is to compare the innovativeness of two textile-related industries in two cities
TL;DR: The role of the retail sector in the viability of the urban core and sustainability of cities has increased the role of retail sector as mentioned in this paper, and the current organization of retailing creates a centre/p...
Abstract: Consumption-oriented urban life has increased the role of the retail sector in the viability of the urban core and sustainability of cities. The current organization of retailing creates a centre/p...
TL;DR: In this article, an urban recounting of the implicit dialogue developing between two opposing forces in Cairo during the popular protests between the end of January and the beginning of February 2011 that forced Muhammad Hosni Mubarak to leave the presidency after three decades of undisputed power is presented.
Abstract: This is a short urban recounting of the implicit dialogue developing between two opposing forces in Cairo during the popular protests between the end of January and the beginning of February 2011 that forced Muhammad Hosni Mubarak to leave the presidency after three decades of undisputed power. The first mass demonstration which threw the traditional system of repression into crisis took place on 25 January. During the night between 2 and 3 February, the army sided definitively with the protesters, ready to protect them from the armed loyalist gangs and plain-clothed security forces, who had replaced the regular uniformed police withdrawn from the streets from 29 January. Based on audio-visual documentation obtained by following the activists’ leaders and the police across different urban locations throughout the first 10 days of the Egyptian revolution, this reconstruction highlights the constantly adapting attitudes of both actors to each other.
TL;DR: In this paper, the development of Egypt's dockers' unions since February 2011 in terms of two interlinked trajectories is explored, on the one hand, the Egyptian revolution has provided the primary i...
Abstract: This commentary explores the development of Egypt’s dockers’ unions since February 2011 in terms of two interlinked trajectories. On the one hand, the Egyptian revolution has provided the primary i...
TL;DR: In this article, a participant observed in one such community in western Ukraine, where continuing levels of high unemployment and low wages and pensions drive dependence on flows of remittances from migrants to southern Europe, but also revenues from small-scale trade with neighbouring EU members, such as Romania, asserts that while hegemonic masculinities exist in both Ukrainian and Romanian communities, gender relations in Romania are restricted by sexualised discourses.
Abstract: European Union (EU) enlargement and the later shaping of its relationships with its new Eastern neighbours through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) have had a significant impact on communities outside the EU’s borders. As the EU has sought to control flows of people, money and goods through these new borders, it has also become a destination for irregular migrants and small-scale traders from its eastern neighbours. This article draws upon participant observation in one such community in western Ukraine, where continuing levels of high unemployment and low wages and pensions drive dependence on flows of remittances from migrants to southern Europe, but also revenues from small-scale trade with neighbouring EU members, such as Romania. New forms of transnational mobility have emerged, which are not gender-neutral. The article asserts that, while hegemonic masculinities exist in both Ukrainian and Romanian communities, gender relations in Romania are restricted by sexualised discourses. As male and female Ukrainian traders interact with Romanian border officials and local distributors and intermediaries, hegemonic masculinities in Ukraine are re-affirmed and female traders are unable to advance and develop their trade in the same way as their male counterparts. In doing so, the article expands research on gender and transnationalism in post-enlargement Europe beyond migration and demonstrates not only how encounters at the EU’s borders are shaping gender relations in communities outside the EU, but that involvement in cross-border economic activities is determined by the gendered discourses and performance that take place at the border.
TL;DR: The Walt Disney Company adapted its experiential expertise to the urbanization of the area under the constraints of a Convention and its accompanying planning project, which determine all aspects and all phases of this land use development over 30 years.
Abstract: French state planning grabbed the investment opportunity the Walt Disney Company offered in the 1980s when it was searching for a site for a European Disneyland. The French state needed to revive the development of the eastern Paris Basin towards the expanded European Union. Embracing the �experience� know-how of the company, it pioneered the implementation of �experience planning� to support the status of greater Paris as a global Metropolis. Aestheticisation, the hallmark of the experience turn of the economy was avoided for the city of Paris, yet materialities for cosmopolitan consumption were provided those willing to invest in Val d�Europe. The Walt Disney Company adapted its �experience� knowledge to the urbanization of the area under the constraints of a Convention and its accompanying �planning project�, which determine all aspects and all phases of this land use development over 30 years. Collaboration between the experiential expertise of the Walt Disney Company and the vision and design of the French state has led to the effective and successful continuous emerging of a competitive yet liveable urban place.