文摘
The study analyzes how the urban dimension of the EU policy has been implemented in Spain (through the Iniciativa Urbana) during the period 2007–2013, in order to: Understand whether this policy instrument has been capable of overcoming the limitations faced by the URBAN (1994–1999) and URBAN II programmes (2000–2006) in the country regarding implementation of the “URBAN method”. Understand if the continuation of the urban policy of the EU (Iniciativa Urbana) is contributing to overcome traditional limitations that characterize the scenario of urban regeneration in the country. The analysis suggests that little progress has been made following the development of URBAN II, and that the difficulties the municipalities met with at the beginning of the 2000s when designing and launching strategies according to the URBAN method still persist. It also demonstrates that in the cases analyzed, municipalities have adopted in their discourse the concepts and principles that guide EU action in deprived areas, but have found obstacles in their practical application. The study identifies the following relevant policy problem: the continuation of URBAN in Spain during the period 2007–2013 has not been able to progress (if compared with the programmes developed in the period 1994–2006). As a result, the study shows that the EU is influencing the practice of urban regeneration in Spain, but not in a consistent way that delivers real change. On the contrary, it is relegating pending problems inherent to the Spanish scenario to a secondary status through urban rhetoric. The study contributes to highlight a policy problem that is crucial to address in the present scenario, in which the instruments that will continue the urban dimension of EU policy in Spain are being developed.