'You have heard the hype about creative cities and footloose knowledge workers ...  [this book] reveals what is happening on the ground, in cities and regions across Europe.  Drawing on a collaborative research program, this welcome contribution establishes a new benchmark for academic and policy debates in this fast-moving field.'

Jamie Peck, Canada Research Chair in Urban & Regional Political Economy, University of British Columbia

'... In its excellent blend of empirical investigation and theoretical argument, Making Competitive Cities reveals the challenges presented to cities by the changing global economy and the disparate ways in which cities are transformed.'

From the foreword by Susan S. Fainstein, Harvard University

Developing creative industries (arts, media, entertainment, architecture, publishing) and knowledge-intensive industries (ICT, R&D, finance, law) can give a city the competitive edge. This book offers significant new insights into the theoretical and practical understanding of the conditions necessary to stimulate 'creative knowledge' cities. The editors consider the developments, experiences and strategies in 13 urban regions across Europe: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Budapest, Dublin, Helsinki, Leipzig, Milan, Munich, Poznan, Riga, Sofia and Toulouse. These urban regions have different histories and roles, include capital and non-capital cities of different sizes, and represent cities with different economic structures, as well as different cultural, political and welfare state traditions.

Through this wide range of examples, Making Competitive Cities informs the debate about creative and knowledge-intensive industries, economic development, and competitiveness policies. Contributors from 13 European institutions consider how far each of these metropolitan regions are developing as 'creative knowledge regions', what influences the nature of the emerging economy  and what policy can do to influence change.

As well as a systematic empirical comparison of developments related to these industries, the book examines the pathways that cities have followed, and surveys both the negative and positive impacts of different prevailing conditions.