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The author poses the question of whether or not cities can establish a sustainable relationship with the planet. Asserting that the historical evolution of large cities & the questions of waste generation, soil exhaustion & redistribution of resources indicates the need for a new look at urban system functions & ecological footprint, the author offers the solution that cities need to mimic natural ecosystems. A case study of the metabolism of London indicates the need to conceptualize the city as super-organism that is a circular metabolism that results in mutual benefit. A new definition of a sustainable city is presented that would be inclusive of alternative fuels. References. J. Harwell

International migration, uneven in both time & space & concentrated in urban cities, is a major phenomenon within Western Europe, though these have not been considered classical immigration countries. While countries such as Belgium, Switzerland, & France had a long immigration history prior to WWII, countries such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Austria & the Netherlands acquired their experience in the decades following WWII, & yet others such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece & Ireland were emigration countries until the last decade or two. European perception of immigration is less accepting than that of classical immigration countries, resulting in generally late & piecemeal development of national integration policies. Though the perceptions & policies may change in the future within the EU, the current situation remains incongruous & ambivalent. The Multicultural Policies & Modes of Citizenship in European Cities project (MPMC) was a cross-national research project focused on empirical study & comparison of local immigrant policies & political participation within European studies that was launched in 1996 & ends with the publication of this volume of in depth comparisons on selected topics. 35 References. L. Kehl

Quite apart from the diversity of situations in small and medium-sized towns, stabilising their town centres is a major challenge. In both countries, town centres have been weakened by commercial changes, a decline in the supply of services and transformations in lifestyles. They are characterised by an increase in vacancy rates, which accelerates a spiralling loss of attractiveness and atmosphere of neglect. Since the beginning of the 2000s, this challenge has been central in the public debate. In both countries, urban renewal has been a key element of this revitalisation policy. However, although the context of public action is rather similar in France and Germany, the modes of governance differ. In France the administrative municipal system continues to provide a narrow and fixed framework despite recent territorial reforms that favour the intermunicipal level. In addition, cooperation, communication and participation of local actors from business and civil society are more firmly anchored in social and political practice in German small and medium-sized towns.

Considers shifts in the conceptualization of cosmopolitanism concomitant with 20th-century urban life. How Simmel, Weber, & Chicago school members Robert Park & Louis Wirth grappled with the problematics of cosmopolitanism is addressed in terms of the dialectic between alterity & bureaucratic rationalization that coexisted in the city. It is argued that contemporary urbanists must contend with a cosmopolitan dialectic that has since assumed the form of a disputation between flexibility & indifference, which is attributed to changes in modern capitalism. Three ideas about the nature of this dialectic are posited in terms of globalization & the crisis in citizenship, the proliferation of flexibilized institutions & their relationship to physical urban forms, & the regime of noninteractive differences that substitutes for alterity. The distinction between cosmopolitan & local is deemed false. J. Zendejas

The situation, development lines and perspectives of small and medium-sized towns in Germany and France are compared and similarities and differences within the central place systems and the spatial planning of both countries are discussed. With different approaches to definition, these towns have received new attention in both countries in recent years, albeit with different focal points. The discussion covers the positions and lines of development of these towns in the respective central place systems; the perspectives of their future development regarding the strengthening of central place functions, their attractiveness as residential and economic locations, and contexts of rural regional development and services of general interest. In addition, aspects of research on small and medium-sized towns as well as approaches to spatial policy in both countries are addressed.

Focuses on the paradox of city growth as the information age alters knowledge creation from one of spatial relationships to decentralized information networks. Three points of analysis are considered as partial answers to the paradox. Evidence indicates metropolitan areas continue to grow despite advances in technology. The wealth generative capacity of metropolitan areas will contribute to the emergence of a new geography or global city that is actually a network of metropolitan nodes. Consequences of urban concentration are identified as ecological & social crisis that are bringing about the reconstruction of the city through social & women's movements, & new multinuclear structures. The author concludes with the suggestion that the future success of cities depends on a "hyper-communicated city" that reaches to the local, global levels by building bridges of communication through symbolic, virtual & physical channels. References. J. Harwell

"If cities are to meet the challenges of climate change, effective solutions must be anchored in an empowered city governance approach. Empowered city governance depends on building effective decision-making in this volatile policy field, in developing evidence-based policy-making, and in building strong city governments capable of performing as new sites of governance in global negotiations on climate change. The objectives of this paper are twofold: first, to map the core risks for cities associated with climate change; second, as a governance response, to build a more informed set of planning norms and practices, more effective infrastructure investment and urban management, and a more inclusive urban governance." (author's abstract)

An exploration of fear in Latin America notes that 140,000 people die violently each year, & most crimes take place in large cities where one out of every three citizens has been directly or indirectly victimized by violence. The essays in this volume offer academic studies as well as personal accounts of urban violence that include first-hand descriptions unavailable elsewhere. The importance of consumption as a symbol of "the good life" is discussed, noting that the discourse of class struggle has been replaced by the possession of status symbols, & a person can die over a pair of sneakers. It is maintained that Latin American cities are tainted by a "citizenship of fear" that has changed how people relate to each other & the state. Fears of physical violence are intensified by fears of income insecurity, health problems, hunger, the drug trade, & ethnic conflicts, which have destroyed the sense of belonging realized by former residents. Various ways in which "practices of fear" affect daily life in urban Latin America are examined. J. Lindroth

Collective action against neoliberalism, & promoting a different model of globalization, has grown considerably in both the southern & northern hemispheres. This chapter considers how global issues affect civic & political life at the local level, looking at citizens' organizations in the British cities of Glasgow, Scotland, & Bristol, England, which differ considerably in their social & political histories & present states. The aim is to assess the extent to which globalization issues represent a distinctive set of policy interests for the organizations; translate into a distinctive set of collective actions; attract organizations with a distinctive profile; & may be associated with specific social movement dynamics. The study is based on interviews with 124 organizational representatives in Glasgow & 134 in Bristol. The findings indicate that mobilizations on global issues constitute the focal point of specific alliances, based on specific identity bonds in British civil society. While global issues are pervasive & distinctive, they are not equally appealing to the whole spectrum of civic organizations. Looking at how interest leads to action on specific events, participation in "global inequality" actions is positively correlated to interest in global issues & participation in local events on issues such as ethnicity. Differences between the two cities suggest that the embeddedness of actions on global issues is strongly mediated by the features of local civil societies & political systems. Tables. J. Stanton