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

This book draws on research findings to ask questions relating to the performance of large-scale strategic urban projects including how do private sector coalitions produce new economic spaces in regional settings, how might these private interests become integrated in collective preferences? What are the competitive alternatives? How can local governance make a difference? How strategies of 'mutual exchange of interests' are made successful? And which forces are included and which are excluded in the crucial coalitions of framing, decision-making and organization large-scale urban projects? The first part of the book sets out the framework for the study and looks at the social, policy and institutional context of strategic urban projects in Europe. Part two uses case studies to discuss recent experiences of large-scale projects in European city-regions. Each case study chapter highlights a different planning issue including - new urbanism, the use of culture to drive the urban economy, information networks, fostering entrepreneurship, public partnerships, technopoles and creating large-scale redevelopment by connecting micro-interventions. Part three assesses the findings of the research exercise and makes recommendations for good practice.