Handbook on City and Regional Leadership

Research Handbooks in Urban Studies series

Edited by Markku Sotarauta, Professor of Regional Development Studies, Urban and Regional Studies Group, Tampere University, Finland and Andrew Beer, Executive Dean and Professor, UniSA Business School, University of South Australia, Australia

In this timely Handbook, people emerge at the centre of city and regional development debates from the perspective of leadership. It explores individuals and communities, not only as units that underpin aggregate measures or elements within systems, but as deliberative actors with ambitions, desires, strategies and objectives.

‘The Handbook on City and Regional Leadership is the first comprehensive overview of place leadership in urban and regional research, edited by pioneers of the concept, Markku Sotarauta and Andrew Beer. Publication of the Handbook is very timely with the significant growth of research on the importance of agency in regional development in recent years. The Handbook covers a broad range of topics ranging from theoretical issues and empirical studies to methodological questions. It contains a rich and stimulating compilation of chapters and is a must-read for researchers as well as policy makers interested in promoting place leadership.’
– Bjørn T. Asheim, University of Stavanger, Norway

‘This book on place-based leadership by world-leading scholars on the topic is an absolute must-read in what is an emerging and exciting field of research. It provides an excellent overview and a compelling future research agenda on the role of leadership in shaping urban and regional development.’
– Ron Boschma, Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and University of Stavanger, Norway

‘The role of city and regional leaders in the success of regions and cities has often been underestimated. In the Handbook on City and Regional Leadership, the editors have brought together seminal scholars who study this area. The book is a must-read for academics and civic leaders alike who are interested in leadership and its impact on communities.’
– Martin Kenney, University of California, Davis, US