The book spans a scientific research program elegantly developed by Roberto Camagni, an eminent regional scientist, who has offered ground-breaking ideas in regional and urban economics throughout his academic career. In addition to bringing together a selection of Professor Camagni’s most influential works, the book presents syntheses and interpretations of his ideas by respected colleagues and by his students. In regional economics, space as territory, which plays an active role in innovation processes and in regional growth patterns; territorial capital as a synthetic concept of differentiated regional growth assets; and sources of regional competitiveness are only a few of the main ideas that emerged in regional economics thanks to this inspiring mind. In urban economics, he paved the way towards a new theoretical interpretation of the existence of the city and of its dynamics. His theory of city networks overcame the limits of Christaller’s and Lösch’s spatial approach to the city, with a solid economic conceptualization of spatial city network structures. All theories are accompanied by sound policy analysis, helping to contribute to the design and implementation of appropriate spatial policies at the European level.

This volume embodies a problem-driven and theoretically informed approach to bridging frontier research in urban economics and urban/regional planning. The authors focus on the interface between these two subdisciplines that have historically had an uneasy relationship. Although economists were among the early contributors to the literature on urban planning, many economists have been dismissive of a discipline whose leading scholars frequently favor regulations over market institutions, equity over efficiency, and normative prescriptions over positive analysis. Planners, meanwhile, even as they draw upon economic principles, often view the work of economists as abstract, not sensitive to institutional contexts, and communicated in a formal language spoken by few with decision making authority. Not surprisingly, papers in the leading economic journals rarely cite clearly pertinent papers in planning journals, and vice versa. Despite the historical divergence in perspectives and methods, urban economics and urban planning share an intense interest in many topic areas: the nature of cities, the prosperity of urban economies, the efficient provision of urban services, efficient systems of transportation, and the proper allocation of land between urban and environmental uses. In bridging this gap, the book highlights the best scholarship in planning and economics that address the most pressing urban problems of our day and stimulates further dialog between scholars in urban planning and urban economics.

Developments in methodologies, agglomeration, and a range of applied issues have characterized recent advances in regional and urban studies. Volume 5 concentrates on these developments while treating traditional subjects such as housing, the costs and benefits of cities, and policy issues beyond regional inequalities. Contributors make a habit of combining theory and empirics in each chapter, guiding research amid a trend in applied economics towards structural and quasi-experimental approaches. Clearly distinguished from the New Economic Geography covered by Volume 4, these articles feature an international approach that positions recent advances within the discipline of economics and society at large. - Emphasizes advances in applied econometrics and the blurring of "within" and "between" cities - Promotes the integration of theory and empirics in most chapters - Presents new research on housing, especially in macro and international finance contexts

A collection of the first section of the "Fundamentals of Pure and Applied Economics" series, "Regional and Urban Economics: Parts One and Two" is an encyclopaedia containing eight titles: This volume highlights original contributions in regional and urban economics, concentrating mainly on urban economic theory. The contributions focus on the treatment of space in economic theory. Drawing on the body of literature developed by Von Thunen, Christaller and Losch, these chapters explore empirical, theoretical and applied aspects of urban and regional economics which can be divided into the following areas: Location Theory, "Jean Jaskold Gabszewicz, Jacques-Francois Thisse, Masahisa Fujita "and" Urs Schwiezer" Urban Public Finance, "David E. Wildasin" Urban Dynamics and Urban Externalities, "Takahiro Miyao "and" Yoshitsugu" "Kanemoto" Systems of Cities and Facility Location,

An encyclopedia about various topics relating to urban studies.

This unique and insightful work examines the importance of ‘quality of life’ for the city which has become a key component of urban competitiveness over the past 30 years. It argues that having a high or low ‘quality of life’ will have important consequences for the vitality and status of any city. The book’s six substantive chapters explore this issue by each examining a distinct element that comprises ‘quality of life’, including the approach of economists to quality of life, links to urban competitiveness, the economy, urban amenities and attributes.

We live in the ‘urban century’. Cities all over the world – in both developing and developed countries – display complex evolutionary patterns. Urban Empires charts the backgrounds, mechanisms, drivers, and consequences of these radical changes in our contemporary systems from a global perspective and analyses the dominant position of modern cities in the ‘New Urban World’. This volume views the drastic change cities have undergone internationally through a broad perspective and considers their emerging roles in our global network society. Chapters from renowned scholars provide advanced analytical contributions, scaling applied and theoretical perspectives on the competitive profile of urban agglomerations in a globalizing world. Together, the volume traces and investigates the economic and political drivers of network cities in a global context and explores the challenges over governance that are presented by mega-cities. It also identifies and maps out the new geography of the emergent ‘urban century’. With contributions from well-known and influential scholars from around the world, Urban Empires serves as a touchstone for students and researchers keen to explore the scientific and policy needs of cities as they become our age’s global power centers.