The multi-layered city: The value of old urban profiles

A mix of factors including increasing wealth, de-industrialisation, the collapse of the Wall, the EU extension and global competition has set new conditions for European urban development. It is often claimed that European cities have particularly good prospects in the creative knowledge economy because of characteristics such as compactness, high density, functional mix and a rich cultural-historical heritage. This, however, may be truer for some cities than for others. In this contribution we highlight the path dependent development and current perspectives of two European cities, Amsterdam and Leipzig. Their development paths are especially interesting since the two cities initially experienced similar characteristics and developments, but under different state regimes clearly experienced divergence, while new opportunities developed from 1990 onwards. We investigated how these development paths impact upon current perspectives. One conclusion is that old urban profiles retain their value, even after serious efforts to get rid of them.