A Tale of Three Cities: Or the Glocalization of City Management
Barbara Czarniawska
Abstract
The term ‘glocalization’ has been coined to indicate that globalization consists of two connected but opposite processes: it homogenizes ideas and practices, but also induces local adaptation and multiplication of differences. City management, with its complexities and international context, offers a paradigmatic example of glocalization. This book is based on fieldwork conducted in three European capitals: Warsaw, Stockholm, and Rome. City management has been conceptualized here as an action net which includes various organizations — municipal, state, private, and voluntary — as well as citiz ... More
The term ‘glocalization’ has been coined to indicate that globalization consists of two connected but opposite processes: it homogenizes ideas and practices, but also induces local adaptation and multiplication of differences. City management, with its complexities and international context, offers a paradigmatic example of glocalization. This book is based on fieldwork conducted in three European capitals: Warsaw, Stockholm, and Rome. City management has been conceptualized here as an action net which includes various organizations — municipal, state, private, and voluntary — as well as citizens who organize themselves ad hoc. At the outset of each study, leading politicians and other key figures in each city were asked to list their city's major problems and projects. Comparable projects were then selected for a detailed study in the field. The results revealed a fascinating combination of global influences and local adaptations.
Keywords:
action net,
homogenization,
adaptation,
multipliation,
globalization,
glocalization,
hybridization,
Warsaw,
Stockholm,
Rome
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2002 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199252718 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2010 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199252718.001.0001 |