With over 70% of Europeans living in urban areas, cities and metropolitan areas are the motors of economic growth and home to most jobs. They play a key role as centres of innovation and the knowledge economy. At the same time, urban areas are the frontline in the battle for social cohesion and...

In France, the Paris region is the traditional centre for decision-making and creative functions. Unsurprisingly, it concentrates most cultural industries - cinema, multimedia, TV, etc. The aim of this paper is to study how other French cities, and more specifically regional medium-sized cities,...

In the aftermath of communism, the road to democratization has been a bumpy one for the Central and Eastern European cities of Tbilisi, Budapest, Zagreb and Belgrade. Once heavily focused on manufacturing under former communist regimes, these cities must now make a successful transition to...