The concept of polycentricity is becoming increasingly popular in spatial policies. Spatial planners attach great value to such polycentric urban patterns on several levels of scale, ranging from the European to the regional. Although both the meaning of the concept and the purposes of policies differ between the various scales, polycentricity in general is chiefly considered a means to achieve either a more balanced spatial pattern of development or a higher level of international territorial competitiveness. This volume explicitly deals with polycentric urban configurations on the regional (sub-national) level of scale. It focuses on the questions of the value, the feasibility, and the design of a regional perspective on spatial planning in polycentric urban configurations. These questions are explored in the Randstad, RheinRuhr, the Flemish Diamond, and Central Scotland. Besides functional linkages and interdependencies within these regions, this volume pays much attention to regional organising capacity, cultural identity, and spatial policies. This volume is the second in a series of the EURBANET research project. For the first results from the EURBANET research project, see the book by D. Ypenburg and B. Lambregts, Volume 18 in the series 'Housing and Urban Policy Studies'. For the third results, see the book by B. Lambregts and Wil Zonneveld, Volume 26 in the series 'Housing and Urban Policy Studies'.
