Urban Segregation and the Welfare State examines ethnic and socio-economic segregation patterns, social polarisation, and social exclusion in major cities in the Western world. Contributors from across North America and Europe provide in-depth analysis of particular cities, ranging from Johannesburg, Chicago and Toronto to Amsterdam, Stockholm and Belfast. The authors highlight the social problems in and of cities, indicating differences between nation-states in terms of economic ...

Creative industries have become fundamental in signalling the economic wellbeing of cities and urban regions. Workers who are attracted to the sector tend to have strong preferences when it comes to the neighbourhoods they want to live in, with factors such as job availability and urban amenities playing a large part in their decision.Skills and Cities analyses these factors and looks at the implications for urban and regional policy across a range of European cities. Drawing concl...

Virtually every city-region in West and Central Europe has developed policies and strategies to attract, retain and encourage creative industries and knowledge-intensive services. Since most of these citiy-regions tend to see a creative knowledge economy as 'the best bet for the future', one of the main goals of such policies and strategies is increasing the international competitiveness of their city-region. Using the cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Helsinki, Leipzig, Manchest...

Growing inequalities in Europe are a major challenge threatening the sustainability of urban communities and the competiveness of European cities. While the levels of socio-economic segregation in European cities are still modest compared to some parts of the world, the poor are increasingly concentrating spatially within capital cities across Europe. An overlooked area of research, this book offers a systematic and representative account of the spatial dimension of rising inequalities in ...

Urban policy makers are increasingly striving to strengthen the economic competitiveness of their cities. Currently, they do that mainly in the field of the creative knowledge economy - arts, media, entertainment, creative business services, architecture, publishing, design; and ICT, R&D, finance, and law. This book is about the policies that help to realise such objectives: policies driven by classic location theory, cluster policies, ‘creative class’ policies aimed at attracting talent, ...

In contemporary European and American urban policy and politics and in academic research it is typically assumed that spatial concentrations of poor households and/or ethnic minority households will have negative effects upon the opportunities to improve the social conditions of those who are living in these concentrations. Since the level of concentration tends to be correlated with the level of spatial segregation the 'debate on segregation' is also linked to the social opportunity discu...

The book investigates the impact on the competitiveness of cities developing creative industries (arts, media, entertainment, creative business services, architects, publishers, designers) and knowledge-intensive industries (ICT, R&D, finance, law). It provides significant new knowledge to the theoretical and practical understanding of the conditions necessary to stimulate "creative knowledge" cities.The editors compare the socio-economic developments, experiences and strategies in...

The familiar shape of western cities is changing dramatically. For long times the urban core was taken for granted as the focal point for international contacts and day-to-day activities in the region. Currently, the urban scope is transforming into multi centred forms at metropolitan scale. The transition is not just a matter of spatial form, it is reflecting social, economic and cultural processes. The question is what new identities may develop in such changing historical conditions of ...

In this exciting new book Angela McRobbie charts the ‘euphoric’ moment of the new creative economy, as it rose to prominence in the UK during the Blair years, and considers it from the perspective of contemporary experience of economic austerity and uncertainty about work and employment.McRobbie makes some bold arguments about the staging of creative economy as a mode of ‘labour reform’; she proposes that the dispositif of creativity is a fine-tuned instrument for acclimatising the...

This book, the first on social tourism in English, provides a comprehensive analysis of the various systems and practices in support of disadvantaged people's enjoyment of tourism. Combining theory and practice and a truly European perspective, this book provides an interdisciplinary approach to examine the concepts and contexts underpinning social tourism that will be a key reference point for students, practitioners and researchers. Theoretical perspectives on social tourism are assessed...

Urban regeneration is a key focus for public policy throughout Europe. This book examines social sustainability and analyses its meaning. The authors offer a comprehensive European perspective to identify best practices in sustainable urban regeneration in five major cities in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, and the UK. This authoritative overview of the scholarly literature makes the book essential reading for researchers and post-graduate students in sustainable development, real est...

Taking Responsibility for Tourism is about the globally vital necessity of realising sustainable tourism. It is a hugely important challenge to those who organise and sell travel and tourism, and those who consume it. Taking Responsibility for Tourism is not a book about a niche product; major trade associations and large and small tour operators are committing to the objectives of responsible tourism and shouldering their responsibilities. This powerful new handbook is the most authoritat...