Internationalization of non‐capital cities in Europe: Aspects, processes and prospects

Abstract

Starting with an analysis of the nature of economic internationalization in processes, this text tries to point out what effects these processes have on the development of large cities and on the restructuring of the hierarchy of urban networks. Based on a survey carried out in 18 European non‐capital cities, it attempts to highlight the common features of international cities. Some clearly differentiated processes and aspects of internationalization of these cities are described, leading to a dynamic typology of their profiles. The text also considers the question of planning strategies which municipalities can elaborate to adapt to new prospects of internationalization and analyses the limitations of such voluntary policies.