Geographies of Urban Governance

More than 50% of the world’s population live in urban areas and the expectation is that rural-urban migration will increase substantially in the coming decades, up to possibly 75% of total populations, shaping urban-regional landscapes. Urban transformations are also significantly contributing to global income and human welfare. At the same time, population inflow into cities is currently growing at the rate of 200,000 people per day (UN Habitat 2012) and cities of the South are unable to meet the continuously growing demand for basic services and urban infrastructure for the poor leading to mutually reinforcing cycles of exclusion. The growing income inequality in cities world-wide, the inability of state authorities to provide the public goods needed by people, the entrance of new players in basic service and infrastructure provisions (NGOs, CBOs, the private sector which provides services ranging from basic services such as water and energy through to security, the rise of gangs who both use the lack of rule of law to flourish and are increasingly also providing civic amenities in their own way) and the rise of private security to counter the rising crime is changing urban societies. World-wide, cities are not only producers, but they are also the major consumers of resources (energy, water, food, etc.), both from the hinterland and increasingly from other parts of the world through transnational networks. In addition, they are major emitters of greenhouse gases and they will also be affected by climate change and climate variability; being concentrated locations of human economic and social life, they will be very vulnerable to floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events. Their environmental footprint places pressure on other geographic areas. Life in the cities is also changing. The distinction between on-line and off-line life is getting blurred and residents have increasingly multiple loyalties and needs for cities. How urban dwellers assert their right to the city evolving over time and urban areas are increasingly part of city networks. Finally, the increasing production of continuous data streams from multiple sensors and technological innovations requires governance actors to re-think and re-work conventional work processes and practices. Urban transformations are thus changing and challenging the landscape of urban governance.

It is against this background that this book seeks to address the question: What is the state-of-the-art of knowledge regarding the multi-faceted arena of urban governance? In addressing this question, we try to provide an up-to-date analysis of the theories, methods and practices of governance. This book will thus also focus on the governance of, inter alia, spatial equality, social justice, inclusive development and security challenges.

• ISBN: 978-3-319-21271-5
• Editorial: Springer
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Fecha Publicación: 20/10/2015
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés