European cities

Towards a “recreational turn”?

Abstract

The article puts forth the thesis that European cities are increasingly influenced by recreation, changing the essential quality of the urban space. I begin by setting out a theoretical framework in which cities are seen as specific places used as a resource by mobile individuals in a specific “dwelling regime.” The concepts of city, tourism and the recreational turn are explained. The paper goes on to give a brief description of the context of tourism in Europe, with reference to data problems for a European-wide study of tourism on the local level of urban settings. Finally, specific processes of the recreational turn are reconstructed, leading to differentiated urban qualities of contemporary European cities: festivalization, investing in industrial agglomerations, “heritageing, ” experiencing the modernity of cities, and the urbanization of tourist resorts. The conclusion reflects upon the consequences of recreation and mobility for the European city as a place for geographically plural individuals, where cohabitation becomes a crucial political issue.