ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book indicates various ways in which attempts are being made to knit together members of partnerships, in the interests of effectiveness and integration. It offers remarkably topical discussions of cities and urban policies in the 1990s whilst, at the same time, locating current trends in a broader context. The renewal of theoretical and empirical work in urban sociology has been brought about by a recognition of the significance of cities within the forms and dynamics of western capitalism. The restructuring of urban employment relations has been a global process, generating new international divisions and connections between capital, labour and resources. Governance can be defined as 'the control of an activity by some means such that a range of defined outcomes is attained'. There is a need for detailed empirical studies of the place of partnerships within restructured urban institutions, organisations and relations.
