This book constitutes a novel contribution, combining recent theoretical developments and empirical contributions, as well as the recent and latest trends and challenges on the issue of Forgotten Spaces. Forgotten Spaces - like the Forgotten Regions, in particular - are spaces that in potential can and do create significant value (if their resources are properly rediscovered) and create many potential costs (if these spaces are increasingly neglected by economic agents). The editors have identified a gap in current research because there is not enough empirical evidence about these places, as well as about the role of their actors. Abandoning regions can lead to, for example, pollution, uncontrolled forest fires, vandalism heritage deterioration, and potentially untreated industrial facilities, carrying potential costs not only in environmental sustainability, but also in values such as landscape aesthetics. Thus, this book reflects on the dimensions of the identification of such Forgotten Spaces, on the design of policies focused on minimizing associated costs and on the scope of programs to promote these areas, not only for upgrading them but also for promoting their environmental sustainability. The comparative approach of the empirical part also allows knowledge and experience from diverse longitudes and latitudes. The editors highlight the richness of the experience of Latin American countries, the polarization and interesting experiences from several sector rediscovered in Europe, as well as the holistic cases coming from several African experiences. This book will attract the attention of academicians, politicians and ultimately the attention of all decision-makers who most likely are forgetting many of the Spaces around them.

The shortcomings of traditional regional policies led to a major policy. Thus, regions have become more active in the design and implementation of policies, following a bottom-up approach and involving the participation of the local community in strategic planning, as opposed to the traditional top-down method. This book addresses regional development theories and policies, with a special focus on forgotten places, and raises emerging questions about recent theoretical advances, as well as trends and challenges in the field. It examines two main and related issues: the crucial role of regional actors for development and the role of Forgotten Spaces. It emphasizes the spatial/territorial approaches from different theoretical perspectives, underlining place-based approaches and compares the experiences of both successful and failed cases, attempting to identify lessons and policy recommendations, as well as adding empirical evidence to this field. The different cases presented, which focus on Forgotten Spaces, allow the reader to assess the role of different actors for regional development as well as some sectoral approaches. While there is a clear focus on European countries with different geographical, institutional and sociocultural characteristics, the book also examines good and bad examples of regional development and policies related to forgotten places from different regions worldwide, including developed and developing countries. The book benefits from contributions from over 20 authors from different nationalities, and a rich diversity of case studies, approaches and methods of discussion. The authors discuss practical examples and more complex theoretical approaches, involving techniques of spatial analysis, spatial econometrics, social networks, content analysis as well as regional planning techniques. The book will appeal to an interdisciplinary audience and will provide academicians, politicians, and policy designers with original and detailed analyses.

Many communities and regions are being left behind in the new economic order. The book starts with the premise that, in today’s knowledge-based economy, innovation is key, but that only seems to happen in larger urban centres. It seems that smaller centres and peripheral regions can only look forward to decline and eventual irrelevance, but this need not be the case. Wherever there are people, there is the potential to innovate. This book demonstrates that innovators are not limited to inventors and entrepreneurs. Each innovation starts with an idea that is nurtured by its creator and incubated by the larger community. The book identifies different categories of creators such that many readers will recognize themselves as being, in fact, creators. And it identifies different ways of coming up with ideas, which may validate how creators spend their time. It identifies ways to judge whether ideas should be pursued or not and looks at the steps required to turn an idea into an innovation. Many declining communities and regions around the world have resuscitated themselves by being creative and innovative — sometimes in startling ways. This book will provide some ideas to help any region reinvent itself. But having a few individuals with good ideas is not sufficient to revive a region. This book also shows how effective leaders are needed to help stimulate more creative activity and, just as importantly, to coordinate the necessary resources to turn creative ideas into innovations. The book will appeal to students, scholars and researchers of economic, regional, social and sustainable development, innovation, public policy and economic geography, as well as practitioners and policymakers concerned with regional development and regional innovation policies.

Despite the conventional wisdom that affordable housing, either in the form of homeownership or through access to rental units, has beneficial effects for households, society, and the economy more broadly, there is a noteworthy lack of empirical studies of housing development and construction companies or building societies that actively work to supply this asset class in the economy. There are several reasons for this condition, including the “thin market” for such business activities. This book offers a case study that includes two Swedish housing development companies that have targeted a market niche for affordable homes that few other companies and market actors are concerned with. One company is part of a major construction company conglomerate which produces prefabricated housing modules to better serve the low-end niche of the housing market. The other company is a municipality-owned housing development company that acts on the basis of market practices and rules but that also on policymakers’ stated ambition to provide affordable homes for the residents in the municipality, the largest municipality in a major Swedish metropolitan area. Taken together, the study of these two companies provides first-hand insights into how the production of affordable homes takes place in a real-world economy. The book is of relevance for a variety of readers, including graduate students, management scholars, policymakers, and management consultants.

The aim of this publication is to look in depth at depopulation - a trend that is affecting an increasing number of cities worldwide. It has recently become a critical issue with a range of detrimental social, economic, spatial, and financial consequences. However, attempts by central and local governments to combat depopulation have yet to yield satisfactory results. Compelling evidence suggests that one of the reasons for this state of affairs is that the role of local (urban) leadership in devising solutions, mobilizing resources, and creating networks to address the problem has been underestimated. Moreover, according to the authors of this monograph, there is a significant positive correlation between urban leadership and the ability to effectively respond to and counteract the negative effects of depopulation. Without an understanding of the impact of urban leadership on the ability to address the negative consequences of urban depopulation, it is impossible to pursue effective public policies in this regard. This book presents a novel approach to explaining the ability of cities to combat depopulation through the prism of urban leadership quality. It compares domestic empirical research findings with international case studies, and offers a comprehensive review of valuable practices to counter urban shrinkage and depopulation, from both academic and practical perspectives. Further, the book provides a new interpretation of the processes associated with these trends. The magnitude of the phenomenon in question, the negative spatial, economic, and social consequences, as well as the relatively low effectiveness of policies aimed at its mitigation, will make this book an invaluable guide for researchers, and students from a wide range of disciplines including urban studies, economics, public management, leadership studies, local government, climate change and energy transition and urban movements. The audience will also comprise of policymakers and urban experts such as sociologists, planners, social geographers, economists, and architects.

The smart city concept, together with the growing importance of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, has a significant impact on city management and governance. This book examines real cases of smart city management across Asia and Europe. It covers regions such as Iceland, Estonia, Poland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam to systemize the knowledge in the field. It evaluates smart cities’ efficiency and analyzes and assesses the standards, norms and best practices involved in the management of smart cities. The book answers questions such as what it is that makes smart cities stand out, why some countries in Europe and Asia have more smart cities than others, whether smart cities support the economy and GDP growth of the country, and what the main determinants of forming smart cities in Asia and Europe are. It also evaluates whether smart cities secure higher standards of living for their citizens as compared to regular cities. Many theoretical concepts and theories are developed and then verified from the perspective of Western economies. Central Eastern European and Asian countries are frequently overlooked, thus, examining the smart city idea from the viewpoint of non-Western economies offers a fresh insight into the concept and its adaptation and evolution. The range of issues analyzed in the book are multilayered and approached from a wide array of perspectives, from macroeconomics to management, finance and technology, and public policy. Thus, the book is addressed to researchers, students, and academics who specialize in sustainable and regional development, economic geography, and management. It will also be of interest to urban planners, environmental scientists, and policymakers.