Showing papers in "European Urban and Regional Studies in 2015"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the rhetoric of arts-led regeneration in the UK and reflect on its evidence base, and propose suggestions for constructing a new and more robust evidence base.
Abstract: This paper reviews the rhetoric of arts-led regeneration in the UK and reflects on its evidence base. We show how the notion of arts-led regeneration as a tool to combat social exclusion in our inner cities developed momentum for policy makers under a New Labour government, culminating in its status as a quasi-social fact. We critique this quasi-social fact and underline its limited and problematic evidence base. We offer suggestions for constructing a new and more robust evidence base.
67 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of the 2008-2009 economic crisis on the automotive industry in Czech and Slovak is examined, and changes in revenues, production and employment during economic crisis are compared between Czechia and Slovakia, and are analyzed according to ownership.
Abstract: This article examines the impact of the 2008–2009 economic crisis on the automotive industry. The uneven nature of the crisis contributed to the gradual shift in production from traditional core areas of the global automobile industry to selected less developed economies. In this context, the paper analyses the firm-level effects of the economic crisis in the Czech and Slovak automotive industries as two examples of automotive industry peripheries that were integrated in the European automobile production system and experienced rapid production increases after 1990. The analysis draws on unique data collected during a survey of 274 Czech-based and 133 Slovak-based automotive firms conducted in autumn 2009 and spring 2010, 98 company interviews conducted with automotive firms in Czechia in 2010 and 2011, and 30 interviews conducted in Slovakia in 2011. Changes in revenues, production and employment during the economic crisis are compared between Czechia and Slovakia, and are analysed according to ownership...
67 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a tripartite framework of transportation, transformation and translation is proposed to conceptualize the circulation, mutation and impacts of mobile policies as translocal, socio-material networks.
Abstract: This paper proposes a tripartite framework of transportation, transformation and translation to conceptualise the circulation, mutation and impacts of mobile policies as translocal, socio-material networks. Drawing on material from semi-structured interviews, participant observation and documents it considers the value of this framework by examining the mobility of the sustainability agenda of the Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi, Russia. The paper shows how sustainability policies were packaged and mobilised to flow to Russia (transportation), how ineffective governance arrangements, a lack of institutional controls and time pressure altered them (transformation) and how the results fell far short of initial bid commitments (translation). As such, it sheds light onto the multiple immobilities and mutations that come with the attempts to mobilise policies.
66 citations
TL;DR: The authors assess Florida's legacy and set out a post-Florida framework for "technology, talent and tolerance" research, and suggest that Creative Class metrics have value as alternative measures of human capital.
Abstract: In recent years, most European countries have experienced substantial demographic changes and rising cultural diversity. Understanding the social and economic impacts of these shifts is a major challenge for policymakers. Richard Florida�s ideas have provided a popular � and pervasive � framework for doing so. This paper assess Florida�s legacy and sets out a �post-Florida� framework for �technology, talent and tolerance� research. The paper first traces the development of Florida�s ideas. �Florida 1.0�, encapsulated by the Three Ts framework, has performed badly in practice. There are problems in bringing causality to the fundamental relationships, and in consistently replicating the results in other countries. �Florida 2.0�, though suggests that Creative Class metrics have value as alternative measures of human capital. This create space for a post-Florida agenda based on economic micro-foundations. I argue that the growing body of �economics of diversity� research meets these conditions, and review theory and empirics. Urban �diversity shocks� shift the size and composition of populations and workforces, with impacts operating via labour markets, and through wider production and consumption networks. While short-term labour market effects are small, over time low-value industrial sectors may become migrant-dependent. Diversity may help raise productivity and wages through innovation, entrepreneurship, market access and trade channels. Bigger, more diverse cities help generate hybridised goods and services, but may also raise local costs through crowding. All of this presents new challenges for policymakers, who need to manage diversity�s net effects, and address both economic costs and benefits.
64 citations
TL;DR: This article explored the different pathways by which EU migrants move to Ireland and become part of Irish society and found that cultural and social pathways are important as the original motivation for migration, while economic but also social pathways came to the fore during the recession, when securing one's livelihood and n...
Abstract: Within the EU, efforts in relation to integration are generally directed towards migrants from outside the EU. However, there is evidence that intra-EU migrants face similar obstacles to integration to those of non-EU citizens. Since Ireland has a large EU migrant population, this paper critically explores EU migrants’ integration in Ireland. Drawing on awider longitudinal study, the paper focuses on the lived experiences of 39 migrants from EU Member States living in Ireland. Focusing on domains of integration, we explore the different pathways by which EU migrants move to Ireland and become part of Irish society. Cultural and social pathways – including language, study, adventure and social relationships – are important as the original motivation for migration. Contrary to popular perception, economic factors such as employment were mostly seen as enabling social and cultural interests. However, economic but also social pathways came to the fore during the recession, when securing one’s livelihood and n...
52 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, performances of regional identity within the framework of the EU's INTERREG North cooperation, and especially in the Finnish/Swedish border area, are studied. But the focus is not on whether regional identities are fixed or hybrid, and thick or thin, toward the question of how regional identity are manifested in border regions.
Abstract: The European Union’s cross-border cooperation policy is regarded as a key instrument through which to promote regional cohesion, competitiveness and identity. This paper studies performances of regional identity within the framework of the EU’s INTERREG North cooperation, and especially in the Finnish/Swedish border area. The performativity approach shifts the focus from the question of whether regional identities are fixed or hybrid, and thick or thin, toward the question of how regional identities are manifested in border regions. The point of departure in the study, based on policy documents, fieldwork and interviews with local actors involved in the implementation of the INTERREG initiatives, is that spatial identity is not a feature that regions have but something that is actively performed. Performances of regional identity in this northern border region do not create continuous and parallel sets of practices. Instead, different kinds of directions and disjunctures emerge in and between different in...
37 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a historical reading of the urbanization of the water cycle in Madrid and Barcelona, starting from an urban political ecology view, and provide a perspective on the urban evolution of water cycle.
Abstract: This paper aims to provide a historical reading of the urbanization of the water cycle in Madrid and Barcelona. Starting from an urban political ecology view, the urbanization of the water cycle is...
37 citations
TL;DR: In the context of financial crisis and recession, concern has grown in the UK and elsewhere over the relationship between labour immigration and indigenous unemployment, and as discussed by the authors argues that, t....
Abstract: In the context of financial crisis and recession, concern has grown in the UK and elsewhere over the relationship between labour immigration and indigenous unemployment. This article argues that, t...
35 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze how two large-scale sports events in Russia shape regional identities and brands, and prompt different social and administrative effects in urban milieus, and argue that the logic of municipal and regional authorities is largely based on post-political thinking.
Abstract: This article analyses how two large-scale sports events in Russia shape regional identities and brands, and prompt different social and administrative effects in urban milieus. These two mega-events are the Universiade in Kazan’ in 2013 and the Football World Cup to take place in 11 Russian cities, among which we focus more specifically on Nizhny Novgorod. We argue that the logic of municipal and regional authorities is largely based on post-political thinking, with such main priorities as building consensus, securing public order, stimulating consumption, developing investment opportunities, renovating urban areas, and branding and globally promoting regions’ competitive advantages. This logic, however, is often contested by groups concerned about financial transparency and accountability, managerial efficiency, environmental protection, preservation of historical areas and other public issues.
29 citations
TL;DR: This article analysed relations between sub-national institutional actors responsible for the attraction and retention of foreign direct investment, other ''governance actors in regional business systems, and those involved in the coordination of skills provision'' and subsidiaries of foreign-owned multinational corporations.
Abstract: This paper analyses relations between sub-national institutional actors responsible for the attraction and retention of foreign direct investment, other �governance� actors in regional business systems � local and sub-regional government, cluster/sectoral bodies, RDA and LEP executives, and those involved in the coordination of skills provision � and subsidiaries of foreign-owned multinational corporations. It is based on qualitative research in two regions of England conducted between 2008 and 2011. Within a context of international competition for investment within global production networks, it explores recent politically driven changes in sub-national governance, including the abolition of Regional Development Agencies, alongside the more long-standing instability of economic development and skills coordination in England. The analysis is centred on an argument that a more adequate understanding of sub-national economic governance requires the active integration of perspectives on political systems of governance, and embedded patterns of economic coordination, as analysed in the varieties of capitalism literature.
28 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore international rural place-marketing efforts by urban-to-rural consumption-led mobility contributes to restructuring stagnating rural areas in Europe against this background.
Abstract: Urban-to-rural consumption-led mobility contributes to restructuring stagnating rural areas in Europe Against this background, this article explores international rural place-marketing efforts by
TL;DR: In the past decade, a new phase of global reach, as post-socialist countries in Eurasia, from Poland to Russia, have or will become host to some of the largest events on earth: the Olympic Games in Sochi (2014), the Football World Cup in Russia (2018), the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine (2012), Expo in Astana (2017), the Asian Winter Games in Almaty (2011) and the Universiade in Kazan (2013), as well as a series of high-level political summits including the APEC and the
Abstract: In the past decade mega-events have entered a new phase of global reach, as post-socialist countries in Eurasia, from Poland to Russia, have or will become host to some of the largest events on earth: the Olympic Games in Sochi (2014), the Football World Cup in Russia (2018), the Football European Championship in Poland and Ukraine (2012), Expo in Astana (2017), the Asian Winter Games in Almaty (2011) and the Universiade in Kazan (2013), as well as a series of high-level political summits including the APEC and the BRICS summits in Russia. Although these mega-events are global, the various institutional, economic and cultural constellations and recombinant forms of rule that have emerged in their post-socialist host countries have shaped fundamentally the planning and organisation of each mega-event in unique ways. In each case, mega-events in post-socialist countries have involved a strong role for the central state and neopatrimonial forms of resource allocation. The events are meant to demonstrate to the rest of the world that the cities and countries once behind the Iron Curtain have at long last arrived in global modernity. While the rhetoric of worldwide competition, nationalist pride and one-upmanship between event organisers may be global, policies, knowledge and ideas connected to the events tend not to move unchanged to the post-socialist world.
TL;DR: In this paper, the theoretical points of departure rest on gender theory together with human geographical and sociological perspectives, and they present a study on regional development and innovation systems, which is based on the concept of gender.
Abstract: This paper presents a study on regional development and innovation systems. The theoretical points of departure rest on gender theory together with human geographical and sociological perspectives, ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the Euro 2012 in Poland is an extension and intensification of wider tendencies in the reconfigurations of statehood occurring in Eastern Europe, which reveal an emergent hierarchy of monopoly manipulation and collusions, the outcomes of which are new patterns of spatial differentiation.
Abstract: This article argues that the organisation of Euro 2012 in Poland is an extension and intensification of wider tendencies in the reconfigurations of statehood occurring in Eastern Europe. Contrary to free market mantras, the case of the Euro reveals ‘actually existing neoliberalism’ as involving a vital role for the state, but one where statehood is stretched in different, often incompatible, directions. The configurations of deregulation and reregulation involved reveal an emergent scalar hierarchy of monopoly manipulation and collusions, the outcomes of which are new patterns of spatial differentiation. The analysis of Euro 2012 helps to piece together the contradictory features of statehood as they emerge both in relation to, and as an element actively involved in, producing this configuration. Such research is important both for a view of the further transformations of statehood in Eastern Europe and also to ask what light the evolutions of statehood in Eastern Europe, as evidenced in the organisation of Euro 2012, throw on the turbulent realignments of the international configuration currently underway, particularly in terms of an ambivalent role of the notion of Europe.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate local citizens' and stakeholders' perceptions of federal and local governmental action surrounding mega-events in Russia and argue that the hidden rationality in the preparation for mega-event consists of their use by local stakeholders as a legitimizing tool for raising their political and economic capital and as a convenient pretext to directly and indirectly elicit benefits and amplify existing practices of rent seeking.
Abstract: Many accounts of mega-events emphasize their ability to facilitate the accumulation of capital and place them in the framework of urban entrepreneurialism. This paper examines the ways mega-events—with the help of capitalist boosterism rhetoric—become intertwined in regional and urban policies. Using the run-ups to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa summits as case studies (Ekaterinburg in 2009 and Ufa in 2015), I investigate local citizens’ and stakeholders’ perceptions of federal and local governmental action surrounding mega-events in Russia. Drawing on the theoretical notion of clientelism, I argue that the hidden rationality in the preparation for mega-events consists of their use by local stakeholders (1) as a legitimizing tool for raising their political and economic capital and (2) as a convenient pretext to directly and indirectly elicit benefits and amplify existing practices of rent seeking. Planners evoke neoliberal rhetorics of growth and profit-oriented investments to justify the “conversations” that various ranks of elite have among themselves. The run-up to a summit is part of a strategy by regional and municipal leaders to win the President’s favour by engaging in prestigious international events.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors apply the multiple streams model of agenda-setting to the territorial cohesion debate in order to explore how useful this model is in analysing and predicting the outcome of a debate.
Abstract: This article contributes to the debate over the fashionable but contested concept of ‘territorial cohesion’ in the European Union Scholars have long recognised and traced discursive shifts in EU territorial development policies, but theoretical accounts of the drivers and parameters of such shifts are rare This article applies the multiple streams model of agenda-setting to the territorial cohesion debate in order to explore how useful this model is in analysing and predicting the outcome of a debate The article is structured according to the three ‘streams’ that are relevant to agenda-setting: problems, policies and politics The analysis relies on the responses to the 2008 Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion in order to determine how politically feasible different policy solutions are More recent developments such as the Territorial Agenda 2020 and the European Commission’s proposals for Cohesion Policy for 2014–2020 are then used to assess the predictive power of multiple streams It is shown that the model successfully predicts the endurance of solidarity-based cohesion goals, the emergence of territorial capital as a key policy solution, and the rejection of geographical criteria for the allocation of EU Structural Funds At the same time, the multiple streams model fails to predict the introduction of spatial planning tools into EU cohesion policy This shows that explaining a substantial redefinition of existing policy terms requires some reference to key actors’ broader discursive strategies The article concludes that the multiple streams model has some predictive and explanatory power; criticisms of the model as overly descriptive are exaggerated
TL;DR: In this paper, a relationship exists between the internationalization of banks, services, and SMEs when analyzed within the framework of the Uppsala Internationalization Process Model, where banks and services allow the mobilization of resources forming knowledge pipelines between Italian firms and Central and Eastern European regional economies.
Abstract: There are few analyses available of the role played by finance and business consultancies in post-socialist economic geographies and even fewer on the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Both issues are addressed in this paper with a focus on Italian banks and business services as well as their relationship to SME outsourcing in Central and Eastern Europe. The basic premise of this paper is that a relationship exists between the internationalization of banks, services, and SMEs when analyzed within the framework of the Uppsala Internationalization Process Model. Specifically, banks and services allow the mobilization of resources forming knowledge pipelines between Italian firms and Central and Eastern European regional economies.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) production and regional labour productivity in Italy in the period 2001-2005 and found a strongly positive relationship between ICT production and local labour productivity growth.
Abstract: The requirements of the knowledge-based economy and the contribution of information and communication technology (ICT) to socio-economic change have had a significant impact upon regional economic performance in the European Union. So far, however, the literature on the implications of the ICT paradigm for labour productivity growth has largely neglected the (sub-national) regional dimension. By using experimental micro-data, this paper first provides a picture of the regional contributions to labour productivity growth in Italy in the period 2001–2005. Second, it explores the relationship between ICT production and regional labour productivity in the same reference period. In line with previous studies at the country level, our findings highlight a strongly positive relationship between ICT production and regional labour productivity growth, at the same time suggesting a complementary relationship between ICT production and diffusion in explaining interregional differences in productivity performances.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a methodology which combines in-depth interviews with focus group discussions centred around visualized spatial data to get a better understanding of the perception farmers have of land and the value they attach to it.
Abstract: In Flanders (Belgium), as throughout other parts of Europe, a decrease in the total number of full-time farms and a concentration of production in fewer and larger full-time farms can be recorded. Meanwhile, developments in other sectors in the economy, such as higher incomes, more free time and greater mobility, have increased demand for wildlife, landscape, leisure and outdoor recreation as an integral part of the countryside. These trends have major impacts on the countryside in general. These profound changes within both the agricultural sector and society are not simple and distinct processes, but are often complex and reciprocal. In this research we try to unravel this complex and reciprocal relationship by focussing on the production factor land and the bond that the individual farmer as well as the farming community has with it. More specifically, we want to provide insight in the way changes in land use and transformations of the countryside are acknowledged and evaluated among the farming community. In order to do this we propose a methodology which combines in-depth interviews with focus group discussions centred around visualized spatial data. This method allows us to get a better understanding of the perception farmers have of land and the value they attach to it. It also provides us with a better insight into the less visible changes in the social fabric of the countryside (such as the apparent tensions between retired and active farmers, tensions between part-time and fulltime farmers and the suspicion of traditional farmers towards multifunctional farmers).
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare rates of return migration in municipalities in Sweden in order to identify regions where return migration is particularly important, and also to identify which regions are the most attractive for return migration.
Abstract: There are considerable regional differences when it comes to age composition, as rural areas are ageing more rapidly as a result of age-selective migration. Eras of urbanization and counter-urbanization are also making their mark on migration patterns from a long-term perspective. The current generation approaching retirement age in Sweden is a generation of urbanization, thereby constituting a potential for return migration, especially to some rural regions many people of this generation left decades ago. The aim of this paper is to compare rates of return migration in municipalities in Sweden in order to identify regions where return migration is particularly important, and also to identify which regions are the most attractive for return migration. The empirical study is based on Swedish register data, and the results indicate that the rate of return migration varies considerably between regions; some are more attractive for return migration, yet return migrants might be most significant in the regions that attract few other migrants. Another conclusion is that the regions that lost a greater share of this generation on account of previous migration often fail to attract return migrants.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the politics and practices of (im)mobilization and on the membership in awarding institutions as one of the factors which limit the mobilization of mega-events.
Abstract: Alongside the increased mobilization for mega-events, multiple immobilities and partial mobilities can be witnessed. Although the literature on the ‘mobility turn’ and the scholarship on urban policy mobilities both acknowledge the existence and importance of immobilization and immobility, immobility is under researched and relegated to a passive position. (Im)mobility is neither a thing nor a characteristic of things: a country or city are not mobile in themselves but in relation to (im)mobilization processes. By using the case of the lobbying by Perm (Russia) for the European Capital of Culture (a cultural policy and mega-event reserved for European Union member states), this paper focuses on the politics and practices of (im)mobilization and on the membership in awarding institutions as one of the factors which limit the mobilization of mega-events. Based on semi-structured interviews with key actors and archival research examining official policy documents and media accounts, the paper documents the politics, channels and practices of the mobilization of an immobile policy. The mobilization of immobile policies works by trying to overcome the constitution of policies as (im)mobile and the factors which limit mobilization, in this case the identity-building and region-building project of the European Union. The European Capital of Culture is a highly mobile policy within the European Union, which was constructed to produce ‘Europe’ as a political, economic and cultural space. The ‘role of elsewhere’ and of the informational infrastructure (reports, models, experts, consultancies, etc.) which was developed for a smoother circulation inside the geographical scope of the policy, permitted it to travel outside, and enables the creation of new policies and events modelled on an immobile policy.
TL;DR: In this paper, an empirical investigation aims to explain the innovation performance of Portuguese firms throughout the country, and explore those determinants of innovation which are region-specific, by focusing on ways in which institutions interact in the process of innovation at the regional level.
Abstract: The strategic choices regarding innovation and research and development (R&D) policy in Portugal have, over the past two decades, produced various positive benefits, in which the regions of Lisbon and Algarve, in particular, have taken the lead. These are the only regions in Portugal which converge towards the European average growth rate with respect to gross production, investment and employment creation. It is now timely to evaluate firms’ contributions to national and regional growth, their obstacles, and impacts. After a conceptualization of innovation policy in Portugal, the present paper treats innovation as a major criterion for the policy evaluation process referred to above. Our empirical investigation aims to explain the innovation performance of Portuguese firms throughout the country, and to explore those determinants of innovation which are region-specific. Therefore, the analysis addresses a set of firms’ achievement patterns, by focusing on ways in which institutions interact in the process of innovation at the regional level. In our modelling study, we employ a new methodology, viz. the external logistic biplot method, which is applied to an extensive sample of innovative institutions in Portugal. Variables identified as crucial determinants in earlier studies are used to describe regional institutional profiles. Such profiles exhibit a great variety of ways in which these determinants are able to promote regional innovation. The creation of a Gradient of Capacity to Dynamically Innovate associated with each firm enables an analysis of the innovation gradient of each region in Portugal. Our paper presents and investigates these findings, and offers some policy lessons.
TL;DR: In this paper, a model is developed which sheds light on the complex role of project leadership in partnership-based collaborations, based on the empirical findings of a regional development coalition in Norway (2007-2010), which explores, from a project leadership viewpoint, key challenges in orchestrating and facilitating bottom-up learning processes along the horizontal dimension.
Abstract: Endogenous growth policy and partnership collaboration have become increasingly prevalent in the search for value creation and innovation in regional development. Little attention is, however, paid to the dynamic role of project leadership in promoting such broad partnership-based collaboration. Drawing on experiences and data from a partnership-based Regional Development Coalition in Norway (2007–2010), this inquiry seeks to fill this gap. It explores, from a project leadership viewpoint, key challenges in orchestrating and facilitating bottom-up learning processes along the horizontal dimension, and the upholding of national mandates and political visions along the vertical dimension. Based on the empirical findings, a model is developed which sheds light on the complex role of project leadership in partnership-based collaborations.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the democratic deficit of metropolitan governance with respect to the role of the municipal councillors and their inclusion in such institutions, where regional cooperation is traditionally organized in functional associations that correspond to the flexible, informal logic of governance networks.
Abstract: Metropolitan decision-making in flexible policy networks based on voluntary cooperation is present in most industrialised countries and a widely debated topic in governance research. The research focus primarily lies on the ability of metropolitan governance networks to organise area-wide public service provision efficiently and effectively – as opposed to hierarchical, bureaucratic policy-making. However, the inherent lack of input-orientated democratic legitimacy in governance institutions has only recently come to the forefront of research. In the present article, the democratic deficit of metropolitan governance is investigated with respect to the role of the municipal councillors and their inclusion in such institutions. The objects of study are local councillors in Swiss metropolitan areas, where regional cooperation is traditionally organised in functional associations that correspond to the flexible, informal logic of governance networks. The impact of metropolitan governance on the councillors’ political influence and on their behavioural patterns is assessed on the basis of large-scale survey data and comprehensive multilevel analyses accounting for the multilevel system of Swiss federalism
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a film "Homes for Games" which consists of documentary footage showing the profound transformation of Imeretinskaya Bay, the location of the Olympic Coastal Cluster in Sochi, situated on the Black Sea coast near the border between Georgia/Abkhazia and Russia.
Abstract: The film “Homes for Games” consists of documentary footage showing the profound transformation of Imeretinskaya Bay, the location of the Olympic Coastal Cluster in Sochi, situated on the Black Sea coast near the border between Georgia/Abkhazia and Russia. In the tradition of local history, the documentary footage collects the local residents’ stories about their experiences with the Olympic relocation. Through the people’s narrations that come from periodic interviews, the film explores the links between space, place and the creation of individual and collective identity. By commenting on video stills and specific film sequences, this article reflects the gradual replacement of fields and settlements as the master plan of the Games is being implemented. By giving voice to the residents, whose views go unnoticed in the official media, the film shows to what extent the Olympic Winter Games change the residents’ living and working situation.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the experience of translating the Water Framework Directive into practical policy-making in the Douro River Catchment in the north of Portugal, and suggested that two main reasons account for those difficulties: the sociospatial rigidity (i.e., the fragmented and static understanding of ecological and social interactions) and the monotonic categorisation of water management issues.
Abstract: The implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) has represented a unique opportunity to enhance the regulatory capacity of public agencies and restore the ecological condition of water bodies in the European Union. This paper examines the experience of translating the new Directive into practical policy-making in the Douro River Catchment in the north of Portugal. Regional development and the evolution of water management are initially described, which then inform the assessment of the achievements and failures of the new regulatory regime. The higher level of concern for environmental impacts and the integration of responses that follow the WFD can be identified as positive steps in the direction of resolving lasting water management problems. However, the translation of the Directive into national legislation has also reinforced techno-bureaucratic practices and politico-economic centralisation, as well as led to various forms of contestation and protest. It is suggested that two main reasons account for those difficulties: the sociospatial rigidity (i.e. the fragmented and static understanding of ecological and social interactions) and the monotonic categorisation of water management issues (i.e. upfront decisions with limited scope for innovation and creativity at the local level). Overall, the success of the WFD seems to depend fundamentally on the ability to perceive the broader socionatural complexity of water management and on the pursuit of more effective forms of negotiation and social inclusion.
TL;DR: This paper explored the effects of labour migration on residents' perceptions of social cohesion in urban areas in England using multivariate statistical techniques and found that post-enlargement migration weakened social cohesion, but that the prospects of social incorporation were better in areas with stronger community capacity.
Abstract: The unexpected scale of labour migration from eastern Europe to the UK following EU enlargement in 2004 was thought to pose a threat to the cohesiveness of those local communities hosting larger influxes of migrants. Nevertheless, areas rich in community capacity may have been able to incorporate migrant workers in ways that sustained social cohesion. This paper explores the effects of labour migration on residents’ perceptions of social cohesion in urban areas in England using multivariate statistical techniques. The statistical results suggest that post-enlargement migration weakened social cohesion, but that the prospects of social incorporation were better in areas with stronger community capacity. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
TL;DR: In 2014, European Urban and Regional Studies awarded the first Jim Lewis Prize to John Harrison and Anna Growe for their paper "From places to flows? Planning for the new "regional world" in Germany" as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In 2014, European Urban and Regional Studies awarded the first Jim Lewis Prize. The prize was established to mark the contributions of the former Editor, Jim Lewis, and to highlight the most innovative paper published in the previous year in the journal (see editorial announcement in Volume 21, Number 1, 2014). Following nominations from the journal’s editorial board members and careful consideration of these nominations among the journal’s editors, we are delighted to announce that the 2015 prize is awarded to John Harrison and Anna Growe for their paper ‘From places to flows? Planning for the new “regional world” in Germany’, European Urban and Regional Studies 21(1): 21-41.