This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by van den Berg, L. Articles by Pol, P. M. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Organising Capacity and Social Policies in European Cities

European Institutefor Comparative Urban Research (EURICUR), Faculty of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, Room H12-27, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. vandermeer{at}few.eur.nl

Jan van der Meer

European Institutefor Comparative Urban Research (EURICUR), Faculty of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, Room H12-27, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. vandermeer{at}few.eur.nl

Peter M. J. Pol

European Institutefor Comparative Urban Research (EURICUR), Faculty of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, Room H12-27, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. pol{at}few.eur.nl.

This article compares two European cities—Rotterdam and Strasbourg—and analyses what strategies have been developed by the various actors involved to combat social problems. It argues that the success of the city's social strategies is largely dependent on its organising capacity. The social strategies of the cities have been analysed according to a theoretical framework of organising capacity. It is found from the comparison that social policies are not sufficiently integrated with other urban policies, such as economic, spatial and housing policies; that rigid public structures are a barrier to effective solutions; and, that public departments are not used to co-operation, which hampers linking problems to opportunities.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?