Urban restructuring and governance: North-South differences in Europe and the EU URBAN initiative

One of the highly emphasised dimensions of urban disparities in Europe is the north-south polarisation of growth trends. The paper discusses the relationship between the divergent urbanisation/industrialisation patterns in northern and southern Europe, which result in different forms of urban governance. It considers the distinct urban restructuring and governance mode in Spain, Greece and Portugal as a causal factor behind the lagging competitiveness of cities in southern Europe. This north-south pattern of urban governance heterogeneity is not addressed in the emerging EU urban policies aimed at tackling disparities and promoting economic competitiveness. Examples of six cities' governance responses to the EU URBAN initiative of the 1994-99 period are used to illustrate the argument.