This paper focuses on the functional specialisation of a system of cities, with particular attention to the role and the formation process of secondary business centers. At the European level, the latters can be identified in the large number of regional capitals, and properly defined as cities...

Cities have recently been affected by important changes both as regards their role in general economic growth and their spatial structure. As for the first issue, market globalisation has heightened territorial competition and cities, as places with a concentration of economic activities and...

The way the supply of public services and social insurance – thus, the traditional Italian welfare system – are organized is today strongly debated. The pressure for fiscal consolidation, coming from the international community – first from finance, then from politics – and the need of...