Until now, much research in the field of urban planning and change has focused on the economic, political, social, cultural and spatial transformations of global cities and larger metropolitan areas - this topical new volume seeks to redress this balance, focusing on urban change within small cities around the world.
Drawing together research from a strong international team of contributors this book is structured in four distinct parts. The first part discusses how political and economic decision making comes together in the fabric of particular cities. Part two elaborates on this focus and looks in more detail at how such strategies of urban economic development seek to secure competitive advantage for cities. Part three addresses how cultural infrastructure and planning are almost ubiquitously being utilized in the regeneration of small cities. The fourth and final part addresses the mix of identities, lifestyles and ways in which different groups interact in small cities.
With case studies from around the world, focusing principally on urban change rather than pure ethnographic description, there is a distinct focus on informed empirical research, which raises important conceptual issues surrounding urban change.