GLOBALIZATION AND THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE URBAN SYSTEM IN EUROPE

This article deals with the restructuring of the European urban system in the context of globalisation and international urban competition. A critical view on the globalisation debate demonstrates that current urban development is characterized by a relationship of tension betwee n tendencies of globalisation and regionalisation. Metropolitan region s incorporate an internal diversity of differently structured economie s, and thus show a complex interplay between globalisation and regiona lisation tendencies. It is against this background that the restructur ing of the European urban hierarchy after the ''opening of the East'' needs to be seen as a re-grouping of centers and peripheries in the ur ban system.