Skills and cities: jobs and amenities

What helps to stimulate urban economic development? This is a simple yet difficult to answer question that triggers much debate. At present there seem to be two lines of thought, each with its own ‘supporters’. On the one hand, there are advocates of ‘soft conditions theory’, who state that amenities, open social climates, and diversity are the key factors for success. On the other hand, there are scholars who underline the importance of the availability of employment, path-dependent developments, existing personal networks, and so-called ‘hard conditions’, such as tax incentives, infrastructures, and the like. The opposing views have sometimes resulted in fierce discussion. Clearly, the debates have helped to develop a better understanding of the dimensions and the necessary and sufficient conditions that may be relevant for the development of policies aimed at making cities stronger in economic terms. In this volume we have tried to bring these debates together, while focusing on the residential preferences of high-skilled workers and those employed in creative and knowledge-intensive industries. The aim has been to form a deeper understanding of the stated and revealed preferences of these workers and employees, both for those coming from within the Netherlands and for those coming from abroad (migrants and students).