Harnessing the economic potential of 'second-tier' European cities: lessons from four different state/urban systems

In this paper I argue that `second-tier' European cities warrant more attention because they could potentially help secure balanced development and territorial cohesion. I compare the asset bases of four such cities ( Munich, Tampere, Timisoara, and Leeds) located within different state and urban systems and examine the scope for public policy to improve their growth trajectory. Each city has sufficient economic critical mass and institutional capacity to act as motors for their respective regions and to relieve pressure on capital city regions by attenuating the steady drift of investment and jobs to them and encouraging greater deconcentration of investment. The case studies suggest that general characteristics of effective urban policy making also apply to second-tier cities: continuity, compositional balance, comprehensive packages of measures, stakeholder participation in design, and delivery to reflect their particularities. However, better ways of handling relations between second-tier cities and other city regional authorities and interests are needed.