What Is the Case for Urban Policy?

This chapter explores the growing prominence of urban policy in response to rapid urbanisation and the diverse challenges cities face globally. It examines four conceptual approaches to urban policy: as social policy, economic development, social control, and post-political discourse. The authors critically assess the coherence and effectiveness of National Urban Policies (NUPs), particularly as promoted by supranational agencies like UN-Habitat and the OECD. The chapter highlights the complexity, contested nature, and uneven application of urban policy across contexts, especially in the Global South. It concludes by outlining key urban policy fields—governance, competitiveness, cohesion, sustainability, and liveability—while questioning who urban policy ultimately serves. By unpacking these tensions, the chapter sets the stage for the book’s case studies and urges a nuanced, inclusive, and critically reflective approach to understanding and shaping urban policy.