Urban Policy in European Cohesion Policy

Since the early 1990s cities have been part of European Cohesion Policy (ECP) and much has been written on the relationship between ECP and cities. We will briefly summarize this process, highlighting the discursive shift from an anti-poverty agenda to broader concerns about competitiveness, territorial cohesion and the place-based approach). The focus of the chapter will take an instrumental view of the role of cities in ECP. While cities may be an instrument of territorial cohesion the wider implications for Europe’s urban structure have not been discussed at length and there has been a tendency to focus on larger cities. We believe that the urban dimension of Cohesion Policy needs to take the needs and situation of small and medium-sized towns in to account.