Naturally, there is no Europe-wide blueprint for the ’urban’ policy of the national
government and the relation between the cities and the national government. Specific
circumstances in each member state have led to quite different policy approaches. What
factors can explain the differences and similarities between the national urban policies in
the European Union? This investigation defines three broad categories that could explain
the characteristics of national urban policy in the European Union. National urban policy
((4) in figure 1.2) is closely tied up with the national pattern of spatial development (1),
the administrative and financial framework in which the cities operate (2) and both the
national perception of urban issues and challenges and the political priority that is
attributed to these issues and challenges (3) (see figure 1.2).
1 National Spatial and Economic Development Pattern
Different national approaches to urban issues can emerge from different spatial-
development patterns in the member states. The majority of European citizens live in
urban areas, but there are still major differences in the use and availability of space and in
the degree of urbanisation. Clearly, the cities in Europe find themselves at different stages
of urban development. This should be reflected in the kind of urban policy pursued.
2 Administrative and financial framework.
The challenges present themselves in the cities and that makes the local government level
the appropriate one on which to deal with the city challenges. The administrative and
financial framework in which the cities pursue their own policy is therefore another
important factor. It makes a difference whether a federal or unitary state is concerned. The
same can be said about the level of decentralisation, in other words, the local autonomy.
The degree of local autonomy is based on both administrative competencies of cities and
their financial means. Apart from the financial aspect, the relation between the national
authorities and the (larger) cities in the administrative framework is significant., as is the
spatial scope of the public administration at the urban level. In the more advanced stages
of urban development, larger cities become the centres of functional urban regions.
Almost everywhere in Europe these functional urban regions cross administrative borders,
which in turn raises the matter of competent metropolitan authorities.
3. Urban issues and challenges from the national perspective.
What is the national authorities’ opinion on the development and the role of larger cities
within the national framework? Most societal developments - good or bad - manifest
themselves earlier and more profoundly in urban areas, which might be an incentive for
priority to urban problems and challenges. Does the national government attribute priority
to urban issues and what exactly are the main urban issues in the national perspective?
4 National policy responses to urban issues, challenges and development.
Finally, the investigation concentrates on explicit urban policy in the member states of the
European Union. Where have experiences been made with explicit urban policy and what
is the long-term vision behind such policy? In some countries the urban issues and
challenges might have been translated into direct, explicit urban policy but there are quite
a few countries where indirect, implicit policy is common practice in urban affairs. To