Competitiveness and social cohesion

In recent decades many European urban areas are characterized by conflicting trends. Faced with new challenges posed by globalization and economic restructuring, some cities have faced major difficulties in maintaining their competitiveness, while others have gained new positions by taking advantage of some specific aspects of their social and economic environment. Looking at these facts together, it follows that not only globalization has increased competition between cities, but also that the cities have found themselves in very different ways equipped to cope with the new situation of economic turbulence. more …