ABSTRACT

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. In this topical new volume, David Bell and Mark Jayne redress this balance, focusing on urban change within small cities around the world.

Drawing together research from a strong international team of contributors, this four part book is the first systematic overview of small cities. A comprehensive and integrated primer with coverage of all key topics, it takes a multi-disciplinary approach to an important contemporary urban phenomenon. The book addresses:

  • political and economic decision making
  • urban economic development and competitive advantage
  • cultural infrastructure and planning in the regeneration of small cities
  • identities, lifestyles and ways in which different groups interact in small cities.

Centering on urban change as opposed to pure ethnographic description, the book’s focus on informed empirical research raises many important issues. Its blend of conceptual chapters and theoretically directed case studies provides an excellent resource for a broad spectrum of undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as providing a rich resource for academics and researchers.

part 1|55 pages

The Political Economy Of Small Cities

chapter 3|12 pages

Temp Town

Temporality As A Place Promotion Niche In The World's Furniture Capital

chapter 4|14 pages

Jumping Scale: From Small Town Politics To A ‘Regional Presence’?

Re-Doing Economic Governance In Canada's Technology Triangle

chapter 5|15 pages

Tourism In A Reluctantly Small City-Island-Nation

Insights From Singapore

part 2|58 pages

The Urban Hierarchy And Competitive Advantage

chapter 6|13 pages

The Festival Phenomenon

Festivals, Events And The Promotion Of Small Urban Areas

chapter l7|14 pages

Gentrifying Down The Urban

‘The Cascade Effect’ In Portland, Maine

chapter 9|12 pages

Urban Myth

The Symbolic Sizing Of Weimar, Germany

part 3|69 pages

The Cultural Economy Of Small Cities

chapter 11|17 pages

Small Cities For A Small Country

Sustaining The Cultural Renaissance?

chapter 12|15 pages

Creative Small Cities

Cityscapes, Power And The Arts

chapter 13|17 pages

Rethinking Small Places – Urban And Cultural Creativity

Examples from Sweden, the USA and Bosnia-Herzegovina

part 4|45 pages

Identity, Lifestyle And Forms Of Sociability

chapter 14|12 pages

Caudan

Domesticating The Global Waterfront

chapter 15|16 pages

De-Centring Metropolitan Youth Identities

Boundaries, difference and sense of place

chapter 16|11 pages

Small City – Big Ideas

Culture-Led Regeneration And The Consumption Of Place

chapter 17|3 pages

Afterword

Sizing Up Small Cities