Globalization affects urban communities in many ways. One of its manifestations is increased intercity competition, which compels cities to increase their attractiveness in terms of capital, entrepreneurship, information, expertise and consumption. This competition takes place in an asymmetric field, with cities trying to find the best possible ways of using their natural and created assets, the latter including a naturally evolving reputation or consciously developed competitive identity or brand.

The Political Economy of City Branding discusses this phenomenon from the...

Broadband is one of the most transformative technologies of the 21st century, yet our understanding of its regional impacts remains somewhat rudimentary. Not only are issues of broadband pricing and speed relevant in this context, but the overall quality of service for broadband can often dictate its impacts on regional development. This book illuminates the regional impacts of this pervasive and important technology.

The principle aim of this book is to deepen our understanding of broadband and its connections to regional development. First, it uses a geospatial lens to...

One of the major challenges of urban development has been reconciling the way cities develop with the mounting evidence of resource depletion and the negative environmental impacts of predominantly urban-based modes of production and consumption. This book aims to re-politicise the relationship between urban development, sustainability and justice, and to explore the tensions emerging under real circumstances, as well as their potential for transformative change.

For some, cities are the root of all that is unsustainable, while for others cities provide unique opportunities for...

In the last few decades, urban quality of life has received increasing interest from policy makers who aim to make cities better places to live. In addition to the aim of improving quality of life, sustainable and equitable development is also often included in the policy agendas of decision makers.

This book aims to link quality of life to related issues such as sustainability, equity, and subjective well-being. While less than one-third of the world's population lived in cities in 1950, about two thirds of humanity is expected to live in urban areas by 2030. This dramatic...

Chicago went from nothing in 1830 to become the second-largest city in the nation in 1900, while the Midwest developed to become one of the world's foremost urban areas. This book is an economic history of the Chicago metropolitan area from the 1820s to the present. It examines the city in its Midwestern region and compares it to the other major cities of the North. This book uses theories of the economics of location and other economic models to explain much of Chicago's history.

Chicago maintained its status as the second-largest city through the first decades of the 20th...

The last twenty years have seen an increase in European integration and the emergence of the technological revolution. Although tighter integration coupled with technological innovation should facilitate cross-regional convergence, some European regions have managed to jump ahead while others have been left behind. This book examines the regional characteristics that favour growth and analyses the relevance of innovation, socio-economic and structural factors in shaping regional economic disparities.

In this book, particular attention is devoted to the EU...

This book highlights the extraordinary range of areas to which geographical analysis and spatial modelling can bring lessons and insights. It shows how these techniques have been used to address real world issues that are of concern to international organisations, public agencies and businesses, as illustrated by actual funded projects that geographers have developed collaboratively with end-users.

Applied Spatial Modelling and Planning shows how much geographical research is policy relevant to a wide variety of agencies through the use of GIS and spatial modelling in...

In Australia, regions are not just geographic locations, they are also cultural ideas. Being regional means being located outside the nation's capital cities and in the periphery of its centres of power and influence. Regional development in Australia is thus significantly different than its European or American counterparts. However, surprisingly little has been written about the unique dynamics of development in Australia's regions; this book has been written to fill this gap.

In recent decades the Australian government has made repeated policy efforts to achieve...

All over the world societies are facing a number of major problems. New developments, challenges and opportunities cause these issues and yet cases tell us that traditional spatial planning responses and tools are often insufficient to tackle these problems and challenges.

Situated Practices of Strategic Planning draws together examples from across the globe from France to Australia; from Nigeria to the United States, as it observes international comparisons of the strategic planning process. Many approaches and policies used today fail to capture the dynamics of urban/regional...