This book presents the findings of a major Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) project into urban austerity governance in eight cities across the world (Athens, Baltimore, Barcelona, Melbourne, Dublin, Leicester, Montréal and Nantes). It offers comparative reflections on the myriad experiences of collaborative governance and its limitations.
An international collaborative from across the social sciences, the book discusses ways that citizens, activists and local states collaborate and come into conflict in attempting to build just cities. It examines the development of egalitarian collaborative governance strategies, provides innovative ideas and tools to extend emancipatory governance practices and shows hopeful possibilities for cities beyond austerity and neoliberalism.

Jonathan S. Davies is Director of the Centre for Urban Research on Austerity and Professor of Critical Policy Studies at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

Introduction
Crisis and Austerity in Eight Cities: An Overview
Collaborative Governance after the Global Economic Crisis
Austerity Governance, Political Resistance and Urban Transformation
Rescaling through Austerity Governance
The Local State in Austerity Governance
Urban Cultural Diversity and Economic Migration in Austere Times
Conclusion
Afterword: From Austerity to COVID-19 and Beyond