Government’s role in urbanization: A brief overview
Keywords:
urbanization factors, intra-urban measures, inter-urban measuresAbstract
[EN] . This paper examines the influence of government on urbanization processes. Starting from the urbanization drivers, it develops the main forms of government interventions, which are divided into intra-urban and inter-urban measures and depicted across three main historical periods: mercantilist era, industrial society and knowledge economy. Historical perspectives are supported by relevant examples from the Ancient Rome, the Soviet Union and the contemporary Sweden. The paper concludes that governments have historically played a varied role in promoting urbanization through direct interventions, infrastructure investments, or institutional frameworks. The knowledge economy initially created a wave of re-urbanization and concentration to a few core areas, but over time, ICT’s decentralizing effects became stronger and stronger, also changing the government’s role in these processes.
[FR] Cet article examine l'influence de l'État sur les processus d'urbanisation. Partant des moteurs de l'urbanisation, il développe les principales formes d'intervention de l'État, divisées en mesures intra-urbaines et interurbaines, et décrites à travers trois grandes périodes historiques : l'ère mercantiliste, la société industrielle et l'économie du savoir. Les perspectives historiques sont étayées par des exemples pertinents de la Rome antique, de l'Union soviétique et de la Suède contemporaine. L'article conclut que les États ont historiquement joué un rôle varié dans la promotion de l'urbanisation par des interventions directes, des investissements en infrastructures ou des cadres institutionnels. L'économie du savoir a initialement engendré une vague de réurbanisation et de concentration dans quelques zones centrales, mais au fil du temps, les effets décentralisateurs des TIC se sont renforcés, modifiant également le rôle de l'État dans ces processus.
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