European New Towns. Image, Identities, Future Perspectives

Were New Towns mainly utopias ? Will they become pilot innovative cities ? More than 30 years after their creation New Towns are facing numerous challenges in terms of social cohesion, urban planning, regeneration, sustainable development and identities. This book aims to identify different paths for adapting to current challenges and to address the fundamental issues of image and identity of territories. It will examine the capacity of current New Towns, in a time of demographic stagnation and economic crisis, to manage their transition to maturity (becoming "Mature Towns"), to be viewed as pilot and habitable cities. In this way it develops an in-depth analysis of New Towns' development and proposes key elements and approaches of interest for urban planners, researchers and professionals interested in territories' identities and the development of cities.