ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents the research setup and methodology and explains the selection of city-regional case studies and highlights their main similarities and differences. It also presents a brief statistical comparison of the seven case-studies on key indicators expressing their recent socio-economic development and level of international competitiveness. The book discusses the seven city-regional case studies: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Helsinki, Birmingham, Manchester, Leipzig, and Munich. In each of these city-regions, an inventory of policies related to improving urban and regional competitiveness was made and semi-structured interviews were held with representatives of organisations involved in these policies. On the one hand, these were representatives of municipal and regional government bodies. On the other hand, representatives of non-governmental stakeholders targeted by or involved in implementing the policies were interviewed, such as local entrepreneurs, inhabitant groups, housing corporations and cultural organisations.
