Towns in a Rural World

Contents: Preface; Part I Introduction: Small towns of hope and glory, Teresa de Noronha Vaz and Peter Nijkamp; Towns today and their multifunctional activities, Eveline van Leeuwen. Part II Rural Networks and Partnerships: The role of small and medium-sized towns in local and regional economies, Waldemar Ratajczak; Market potential and new firm formation, Jenny Grek, Charlie Karlsson and Johan Klaesson; Critique of new economic geography to understand rural development: the influence of corporate strategy, Jose AntA (3)nio PorfA-rio; Public-private partnership in small and medium-sized towns, Jose Luis Navarro Espigares and Jose Antonio Camacho Ballesta; Social and political determinants of the area of influence of medium-sized cities in Portugal, Ana Paula Barreira. Part III Knowledge Transfers in Rural Environments: Technological transfer in the perspective of town dimension: the case of Oxford and Oxfordshire in the UK, Helen Lawton Smith and John Glasson; Divided knowledge on small and medium-sized towns, Tomaz P. Dentinho, Rita D. Coelho and J. Dias Coelho; The role of universities for economic development in urban poles, Clive Winters, John Dodd and Keith Harrison; The influence of the urban-rural gap on the R&D and innovation potential in Romania, Anca Dachin, Daniela L. Constantin and Zizi Goschin; Rural tourism in peripheral areas: evidence from the Portuguese municipality of Almeida, Fernando P. Fonseca and Rui A.R. Ramos. Part IV Urban-Rural Interdependencies: How knowledge on land values influences rural-urban development processes, Emilia Malcata Rebelo; From depreciation to appreciation of rural areas: 'beauty idols' in Europe, Aliye Ahu AkgA1/4n, TA1/4zin Baycan and Peter Nijkamp; ICT's role in rural areas' neighbouring towns - stakeholders' perception, Zbigniew Florianczyk, Adam Wasilewski and Claudia Chlebek; Land-use conflicts and the sharing of resources between urban and agricultural activities in the Greater Paris region: results based on