Spatial Governance for the Fragmented City: Integration and Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, there has been an increase in urban fragmentation processes in different geographical contexts, manifesting itself in sociodemographic, socioeconomic, residential, and institutional dimensions, becoming one of the main challenges that cities must address. However, despite the emergence of procedures that are increasingly sensitive to the participation of all social actors, current governance systems have proven insufficient to address new urban dynamics. Governance frameworks are shaped by divergent political agendas, the persistence of rigidly separated sectors, and problems of misalignment between administrative scales and jurisdictions. All these problems hinder the effective integration and coordination of the public policies that are implemented.

The scientific literature on governance has consistently shown that the institutional and socio-spatial fragmentation of contemporary cities and metropolitan areas increasingly limits the capacity of public administrations to coordinate urban planning actions, reduce territorial and social inequalities, and co-create and develop collective urban projects. In this sense, the fragmented city becomes an exponent of weak or disconnected governance processes, which, if structurally maintained, feed governance deficits.

At the urban and metropolitan scale, these governance limitations translate into profound inequalities in access to key urban resources and opportunities, including affordable housing, transportation and soft mobility, basic infrastructure, specialized collective urban services, multiculturalism, commercial diversity and specialization, agglomeration economies, and effective public participation, among others. These inequalities are not randomly distributed; rather, they tend to be spatially clustered, thereby reinforcing processes of residential segregation and socio-spatial exclusion.

In this context, recent research and public policy efforts converge on the necessity to advance towards multi-level, intersectoral, and evidence-based governance models capable of coherently articulating actors, scales, and policies. This approach is considered fundamental for promoting more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable urban and regional development, as well as for strengthening cities' capacity to address complex challenges such as growing social inequalities, climate change, and the housing crisis.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) that explore the complexity of the inequalities conditioning spatial governance in diverse urban and metropolitan contexts, as well as proposals that analyze, integrate, and generate new conceptual architectures aimed at more effective governance, which are capable of facing urban inequalities and fractures.

This Special Issue will welcome empirical research and works examining key processes that include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Urban fragmentation and residential segregation;
• Comparative and multi-scalar perspectives on urban accessibility;
• Housing, insecurity, and urban vulnerability;
• Public participation and community-based management;
• Instruments and policies for sustainable urban planning in comparative contexts;
• Creative city, resilience, and citizen well-being. 

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews. 

Dr. Velislava Simeonova Simeonova
Dr. José-Ignacio Vila-Vázquez
Dr. Dolores Sánchez-Aguilera
Dr. Pedro Chamusca
Guest Editors

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• urban fragmentation
• socio-spatial inequalities
• multi-level governance
• housing affordability
• urban climate resilience
• spatial and urban planning
• urban policies and projects