ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the implications of the credit crunch for broader debates over urban competitiveness and cohesion. It addresses the theme of urban competitiveness by exploring the changing dynamics of property and investment markets. Capitalism has a tendency to create imperfect markets. The collapse of property markets affects the physical fabric of cities, which in the meantime became quite dependent on the flows of capital in the property markets. The intensive re-use of brown-field land has become a key regeneration objective for urban policy programmes across Europe. The rapid downturn in European economies will have significant impacts on urban social cohesion. Planning policy is being used to create new liveable spaces that are designed to foster enhanced community-building and social cohesion. The policy agendas that emerged during the 1990s and 2000s were underpinned by a series of assumptions about the sustainable nature of economic growth and globalisation.
