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Metropolization and Polycentrism in the European Urban System

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International and Transnational Perspectives on Urban Systems

Part of the book series: Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences ((AGES))

Abstract

In the time when Europe needs to strengthen its territorial cohesion and its global competitiveness, this chapter questions the integration and unity of the European urban system inherited from the long-term history as well as from the shortest-term division and reunification occurring during the second half of the twentieth century. First, we recall problems linked with the conceptual definition and delineation of cities and specify the inherited socio-spatial framework. We then detail the significant evolution of the European urban system during the second half of the twentieth century and in the beginning of this millennium due to two main processes of social and economic transition. Analyzing the concentration of activities in specialized cities enables to find metropolization processes following two different qualitative modes dividing Europe between Eastern and Western countries. Then, we discuss the question of polycentrism at different scales in connection with European policies.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (according to Eurostat there are 1342 regions at NUTS3 level).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Celine Rozenblat

  2. University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, UMR CNRS 8504 Géographie-cités, Paris, France

    Denise Pumain

Authors
  1. Celine Rozenblat
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  2. Denise Pumain
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Correspondence to Celine Rozenblat .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Celine Rozenblat

  2. University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, UMR CNRS 8504 Géographie-cités, Paris, France

    Denise Pumain

  3. Regional Office of UN-Habitat for Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations Habitat, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Elkin Velasquez

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Rozenblat, C., Pumain, D. (2018). Metropolization and Polycentrism in the European Urban System. In: Rozenblat, C., Pumain, D., Velasquez, E. (eds) International and Transnational Perspectives on Urban Systems. Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7799-9_6

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