1. European cities: local societies
and collective actors?
in Bagnasco A., Le Galès P. (eds), Cities in Contemporary Europe
1
Giacomo Solano

2. 2
 Main topics:
- the model of European city
- City and changes caused by globalization
- Cities as local societies and collective actors
 Bagnasco and Le Gales start from a neo-Weberian
point of view, considering the city as a complete
society in the same way as a state (as a local
society)
Giacomo Solano

3. The European city
3
 In Europe, cities are very important in the history and in
the development of the area
 A model of European city can be defined essentially in
contrast to the American city, focusing on 4 aspects:
 morphology and age
 characteristics of the urban system
 political and social structures
 state intervention
Giacomo Solano

4. 1 - Morphology and age
4
 European cities are built up around a centre which
“contains” public buildings, squares and open space etc.
 High density of construction and of population
 Stability of the urban system:
most cities born in first wave of urbanization (10th-
14th centuries) and their structure remained stable
during the centuries
major waves of urbanization are similar in Europe
(medieval cities, industrial cities and capital cities)
Giacomo Solano

5. 2 - Characteristics of the urban system
5
 Very large number of cities
 Cities are close to one another
 Prevalence of medium-size towns
Giacomo Solano

6. 3 - Political and social structures
6
Giacomo Solano

7. 4 - State intervention
7
 Existence of public services
development of infrastructures and of public
utilities (water, electricity, transport etc.) are the
core of the municipality in Europe
 Town planning
there is the evidence of forms of town-planning
in more or less all European countries
Giacomo Solano

8. Facing globalization/1
8
 What’s happened to the city in a time characterized
by more mobility and high flows of capitals,
information, people etc.?
No decreasing of the city’s importance: cities
are still and again nationally and internationally
actors.
The crisis of the state led to a space, to an
historical interlude, that seems to bring some
political space to cities (cities as social actors).
Giacomo Solano

9. Facing globalization/2
9
 So we are in front of two types of processes, acting in
the same time (Bagnasco, Le Galés, p. 26):
2. Cities and regions are losing their significance, and
the ever multiplying flows and networks that run
through them make any kind of social coherence or
territorial politics illusory
3. Emancipation from the state has led to the
mobilising of localised political and social energies,
thus giving rise to the notion that certain cities and
regions can become political and social actors
Giacomo Solano

10. Conclusions: the end of the European city?
10
The central question is:
Giacomo Solano

11. Conclusions: the end of the European city?/2
11
Opinions and evidences for …
YES
 different modes of urban governance in Europe, facing
globalization
 there is a new urban geography, which cuts across the old
division between rich and poor countries, and so the power
of cities is no longer related to the importance of the global
area where they are located, but the destiny of the city is
related to its ability to enter in the transnational circuit of
major cities (S. Sassen, Sociology of globalization, 2007)  more
similarity among cities in the same position in the new
urban geography
Giacomo Solano

12. Conclusions: the end of the European city?/3
12
Opinions and evidences for…
NO
 "Although profound changes now affecting the physical form and
social structure, these transformation do not show a new entity, a
new type of city [...], even though we discuss of new phenomena
and new urban spatial forms and social structures that city shows
[...], however, cities present a substantial and inevitable
continuity with its past"
(Vicari Haddock, La città contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2004 p. 7)
 "Still there are obvious indicators of big differences between
European cities and big cities elsewhere: the physical structure is
distinct as the political system and social coherence as well"
(Haussermann, The end of the European city?, 2005 p. 8)
Giacomo Solano

13. Conclusions: the end of the European city?/4
13
Speaking of a European model of city is still correct:
when we analyse some important aspects of cities
(for example: polarization, urban segregation, forms
of “self-segregation” -gated communities-,
inequalities etc.) we could find some differences
among European cities but we find always more
differences between European cities and cities of
other continents
Giacomo Solano