ABSTRACT
Urban governance is all the rage in the political science literature. This chapter reviews the topic in the light of some traditional concerns of urban historians and seeks to illustrate the ways in which modern urban governance differs from that more familiar to many urban historians. The current preoccupation with governance is a reflection of changes in the relationship between the state and the market which has taken place in most developed countries over the last 20 years, but especially in countries such as Britain, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. In the context of the European Union (EU) and the associated integration processes, urban and regional governments have become increasingly involved on the European stage. The battles between centre and locality, so prevalent in Britain in the 1980s, reflected the fact that one party, the Conservatives, dominated the national stage, and another party, Labour, dominated the local — especially urban — setting.
