Connecting place, policy and leadership

This first article in this issue provides a broad introduction to the theme of leadership and place for the case studies that follow. The article is an opening review which aims to achieve three things: first, to explore the idea of place as a distinct setting for leadership; second, to summarise the contemporary debate around the need for integrated policy approaches for the shaping and re-shaping of place(s) in advanced economies; and, third, to point up some of the implications for leadership practice that flow from this. The authors argue that there is a need to re-examine the contribution of formal political and executive leadership in the context of the continuing integrated and sustainable development of neighbourhoods, cities, subregions and regions. This is done by presenting a range of insights around leadership and place-shaping that have not yet fully penetrated the academic literature or the policy-maker community.