In this timely Handbook, people emerge at the centre of city and regional development debates from the perspective of leadership. It explores individuals and communities, not only as units that underpin aggregate measures or elements within systems, but as deliberative actors with ambitions, desires, strategies and objectives


Deepening the scholarly debate on leadership in cities and regions, the Handbook combines theoretical discussion and empirical evidence within methodological development to present a state-of-the-art view of a rapidly emerging field of study, highlighting paths for future research. Chapters explore power, politics, policy-making, social corporate responsibility and international city diplomacy through the lens of leadership, covering leadership in different countries from a broad range of theoretical perspectives.


This Handbook is a valuable resource for academics and students of regional studies, human and economic geography, and policy studies. The conceptual discussion and case studies from different parts of the world will provide valuable examples for scholars, policy-makers and practitioners seeking a better understanding of what it takes to mobilise and co-ordinate complex multi-actor constellations for improvement of their respective places.