Fiscal Austerity and Innovation in Local Governance in Europe

Carlos Nunes Silva, PhD, is Professor Auxiliar at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, Portugal. His research interests are mainly focused on local government policies, history and theory of urban planning, urban and metropolitan governance, urban planning ethics, urban planning in Africa, research methods, e-government and urban e-planning. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the 'International Journal of E-Planning Research' (IJEPR). He is a member of the Steering Committee of the International Geographical Union Commission on Geography of Governance. Ján Buček, PhD is Associate Professor and Head of Department of Human Geography a Demography at the Comenius University in Bratislava. His research focuses on various governance and development issues at the local/urban and regional levels. Currently he is the Chair of the International Geographical Union Commission on Geography of Governance (since 2008) and Vice-President of the Slovak Geographical Society (since 2010).

• Chapter 1 Introduction, Carlos NunesSilva, JánBu?ek; Part I; Chapter 2 Local Self-government Finance in Slovakia During the 2008-11 Crisis, JánBu?ek, AndrejSopkuliak; Chapter 3 The Economic Adjustment Program Impact on Local Government Reform in Portugal, Carlos NunesSilva; Chapter 4 Public Services in European Countries, HellmutWollmann; Part II ; Chapter 5 The Role of Local Governance in Strengthening Cross-border Cooperation, MilanBufon; Chapter 6 Failed Rescaling of Territorial Governance in Hungary, Ilona PálnéKovács; Chapter 7 Local and Regional Government Reform in Croatia, BorisBakota; Chapter 8 Local Governance in Belarus, BahdanSarazhynski; Part III ; Chapter 9 Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Citizen-Authority Engagement, StephanieSteels; Chapter 10 Regional Effects of Urban Development Projects, AnjaBrauckmann; Chapter 11 The Economic Crisis Impact on the Social Policy of Ostrava City, BlankaMarková, IvaTichá; Chapter 12 Conclusion, Carlos NunesSilva, JánBu?ek;

’The current fiscal and economic crisis forces local governments to find new ways to meet their functional responsibilities. This collection explores the processes of institutional and policy innovations and shows the highly differentiated variety of solutions in the European countries. It is an important contribution to the current literature and offers valuable and inspiring insights for scholars, policy makers and public administrators.’ Doris Wastl-Walter, University of Berne, Switzerland ’This is an important book about the significant local adjustments needed to cope with austerity. The contributors provide lucid insights through valuable case studies and new overviews of adjustments, partnerships, and citizen participation. The editors find new centralisations occurring that will challenge many conventional accounts. This book is significant and thought-provoking.’ Robert Bennett, University of Cambridge, UK