Making polycentrism: Governance innovation in small and medium-sized cities in the West Midlands and Barcelona metropolitan regions

The development of metropolitan regions shows increasing patterns of polycentrism, with growing relevance of small and medium-sized municipalities, suburbs and outskirts, which become economic subcentres within enlarging metropolitan realities. Nevertheless, governance analysis has focused primarily on the role of central cities or on the metropolitan region as a whole. This article focuses on the social configuration of small and medium-sized municipalities as collective actors and their role in the emergence of polycentrism. The article analyses how the economic, political and social hegemonic actors in these cities organise innovative strategies to ensure the centrality of their area in the metropolitan region presenting the analysis of two areas in two European metropolitan regions; the Black Country in the West Midlands conurbation (United Kingdom) and the Vallès Occidental area in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (Spain). In both areas, innovative forms of governance oriented towards local economic development and social cohesion have emerged involving municipalities, chambers of commerce, trade unions and third sector actors. Beyond the implementation of local policies these forms of governance reinforce specific scales for economic agglomeration to reinforce subcentrality of certain municipalities. The analysis of these cases shows that there are dynamics of competitiveness and collaboration within metropolitan regions in which subcentres are trying to compete with the central city and but at the same time taking profit from the overall metropolitan strategy in the global arena

Crisis, (re-)informalization process and protest: the case of Barcelona

Analyses of responses to the crisis in Southern European cities have underlined political unrest and social mobilization as the result of growing inequality and the imposition of cuts. This article analyses these responses in terms of the return of reciprocity practices in a context of weakening citizenship rights. From this point of view, these responses can be understood as forms of informality as is analysed in cities of the global south. Citizens' self-organisation to cover basic needs can be read as strategies of resistance such as quiet encroachment. Some of these strategies are politicized, becoming part of the political struggle for rights. Through the case of Barcelona, this article analyses how different groups are politicizing these practices and by focusing on the case of sub-Saharan migrants living in abandoned factories in the city in particular. The analysis shows how in the context of weakening or the absence of citizenship rights, there is a growth of informal practices that can be unevenly politicized by different groups

Europa en la prensa española

En nuestro sistema político, los medios de comunicación no son agentes neutros, sino que desempeñan un papel central en la legitimación de las instituciones políticas. La consolidación de la UE ha significado el surgimiento de un entramado institucional supranacional con nuevos actores e instituciones que muchas veces son cuestionadas por su falta de legitimidad democrática. Todas estas cuestiones llevan a preguntarnos cuál es el papel que desempeñan los medios de comunicación en el proceso de construcción europea, cómo se da cuenta del proceso a la ciudadanía y cuáles de sus elementos entran en la agenda mediática. Este artículo intenta aproximarse a esta cuestión analizando la cobertura mediática que recibe el proceso de integración europea en la prensa española. Para hacerlo, se analizan cinco casos de procesos legislativos y diplomáticos del ámbito de la UE. La enorme diferencia en la cobertura de los distintos casos permite concluir que, en el caso de la prensa española analizada, las cuestiones europeas están vinculadas a la agenda mediática nacional y sirven como elemento legitimador o deslegitimador de posturas políticas de la clase política nacional.In our political system media are not neutral agents but play a central role in political institutions legitimacy. The consolidation of the EU Project means the rising of a supranational institutional framework with new actors and institutions, often critizised because of their lack of democratic legitimacy. All these questions bring us to ask about the role of media in EU construction process, how media report the process to the citizenship and what elements are in the agenda setting. This article tries to put light on this issue analyzing media information regarding EU integration process in the Spanish press. To do it we analyze five legislative and diplomatic issues in the EU context. Main differences perceived between different cases coverages allows us to conclude that European issues are linked to the national media agenda and that are an element of legitimacy of political attitudes of national political class

Towards the Creative and Knowledge Economy: Analysing Diverse Pathways in Spanish Cities

Until 2007, many Spanish cities developed ambitious policies and programmes to foster the creative economy in a context of economic expansion mainly driven by the growth of the real estate sector. The goal was common but the means were considerably diverse. Currently, the development of creative sectors and the emergence of new economic activities in Spain have to cope with the deep economic recession affecting the country: given the considerably different specializations and prospects of employment creation, cities’ strategies differ from one to the next. In this paper, these differences are explored through the analysis of four Spanish cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia. First, we analyse how different paths of industrialization and modernization paved the way for different forms of transition towards the creative economy. Secondly, we elaborate on how the local context, defined by the set of actors interacting and the existence of economic traditions, frames a specific vision on creative and knowledge industries. Finally, the paper indicates to what extent the development of the creative economy in the four Spanish cities depends on the combination of trajectories and disruptive changes

SPS-prepared targets for sputtering deposition of phase change films.

Phase-change materials like thin films from the systems [Ge1-xPbx]Te and Ge[Te1-xSex] are of interest for data storage. For these compositions amorphous materials can not be obtained by melt quenching. However, Suitable films can be obtained using RF sputtering. Spark plasma sintering (SPS) was used to densify the powders to obtain large targets. Synthesis conditions and characterisations of the targets are reported. Amorphous nano films were obtained using the sintered targets and characterised

Policentrismo y gobernanza metropolitana: los casos de la región metropolitana de Barcelona y la conurbación de West Midlands

El presente trabajo analiza el papel de las ciudades subcentrales en la configuración de formas de gobernanza metropolitana, centrándose en los esfuerzos de colaboración de estas ciudades para ganar relevancia política y hacer valer sus estrategias de crecimiento como subcentros regio­nales. Las regiones metropolitanas se caracterizan por un policentrismo basado en el crecimiento de subcentros de actividad económica y de concentración de empleo y los flujos crecientes entre centro y subcentros. Este fenómeno ha sido estudiado desde la geografía económica atendiendo a la morfología de las regiones metropolitanas, aunque ha recibido menos atención desde el análisis de la gobernanza. A través de una perspectiva institucionalista, la investigación presenta un análisis comparado de dos áreas subcentrales de dos regiones metropolitanas distintas: las ciudades del Vallès Occidental en la región metropolitana de Barcelona y las ciudades del llamado Black Country en la conurbación de West Midlands. La comparación muestra como los esfuerzos de las ciudades subcentrales garantizan su relevancia en términos políticos pero hacen más compleja la concreción de mecanismos de gobernanza metropolitana

Gobernanza urbana y crisis ecológica: narrativas y conflictos entorno al futuro sostenible de las ciudades

Este artículo analiza cómo se están transformando la gobernanza urbana y los modelos de desarrollo económico e inclusión social de las ciudades europeas ante los retos ambientales generados por la crisis ecológica, a partir del caso de Barcelona. La hipótesis de partida es que, a partir de 2015, las cuestiones ambientales ganan centralidad en las agendas de desarrollo y en las demandas ciudadanas, aunque hay un conflicto creciente en el planteamiento del problema y de soluciones al mismo. A través del análisis cualitativo de la planificación estratégica de la ciudad para la crisis climática, el artículo analiza como dentro de una misma estrategia hay visiones vinculadas a la economía verde y otras de carácter más transformador, fruto no solo del posicionamiento político de los diferentes partidos sino también de la capacidad de influencia de los movimientos climáticos en la agenda

Citizenship practices and democratic governance: 'Barcelona en Comú' as an urban citizenship confluence promoting a renewed policy agenda

Spanish cities have suffered increasing social inequality after the 2008 economic crisis and austerity policies. However, harshening social conditions have also led to 'acts of citizenship'. Against the background of Marshallian and Tocquevillean takes on citizenship and civil society this paper analyses the emergence of the political confluence that gained office in the municipal elections of May 2015 in Barcelona incorporating citizens' organisations and advocacy groups. Barcelona en Comú claims a radical change in policy orientation with a renewed citizenship agenda. We argue that this is an example of urban citizenship that requires historical contextualisation. We see continuities and discontinuities between the current local governance model and agenda and the democratic local governance model established during the 1980s when civil society provided significant input. However, it is a challenge to implement an urban citizenship agenda in a globalised city with resources controlled elsewhere

Social innovation and creativity in cities: A socially inclusive governance approach in two peripheral spaces of Barcelona

Culture and creativity make two contributions to sustainability in cities: (1) Economic impact, related to the economy and the marketing of the city, involving consumers, jobs, creative clusters, technology, mobility, infrastructures and (2) urban regeneration concerned with social cohesion, socially creative initiatives and local citizenship with sustainability objectives. We provide a critical appraisal of the first and concentrate on the second. The paper focuses on how collective actors are capable of creating new spaces for public debate and daily practices that reinforce community life and citizenship. In some cities creation of spaces for cultural creativity has been the result of 'bottom-linked' innovation. Two examples are examined in two peripheral districts of Barcelona. These are: Ateneu Popular de 9 Barris(AP9B) and Fabra i Coats. Both are currently managed by a hybrid partnership between public administration and civil society organizations. The 'bottom-linked' approach to social innovation recognizes the centrality of initiatives taken by those immediately concerned, and also stresses the need for institutions that enable and sustain such initiatives through sound, regulated and lasting practices and through clear citizen rights, guaranteed by the functioning of the democratic state (Pradel, García, & Eizaguirre, 2013