Alain Thierstein

Agnes Förster

Mega-city regions are an emerging large-scale urban phenomenon of strategic importance for economic, social and cultural development, at the European and national level. However to politicians, administrators and citizens these regions remain invisible and intangible in many respects. They are rarely mapped, lack a general concept and image, and offer few features that are readily perceived in everyday life. Getting a picture of mega-city regions is crucial for comprehension, identification, motivation and commitment. Raising awareness of this nascent space is a prerequisite to establishing large-scale metropolitan governance. The program behind "Making Mega-City Regions Visible!" aims to transform the analytical or normative concept of mega-city regions into a perceptual space, enabling it to finally become a space of collective action.

The Image and the Region--making Mega-city Regions Visible!

Davide Ponzini

Nadia Alaily-Mattar

Cities across the world have been resorting to star architects to brand their projects, spark urban regeneration and market the city image internationally. This book shifts the attention from star architects to star architecture, arguing that the process of deciding about and implementing relevant architectural and urban projects is not the product of any single actor. Star architecture can, in fact, be better studied and understood as assembled by multiple actors and in its relationship with urban transformation. In its 18 chapters, the book presents a multidisciplinary collection of expert contributions in the fields of urban planning, architecture, media studies, urban economics, geography, and sociology, consistently brought together for the first time to deal with this topic. Through a vast array of case studies and analytical techniques touching over 20 cities in Europe, the book shows the positive and more problematic impacts of star architecture with reference to the preservation of built heritage, tourism and media. The book will be of interest to architects, sociologists, urban planners, and public administrators.

Alain Thierstein

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