Patterns in the History of Polycentric Governance in European Cities : From Antiquity to the 21st Century

Abstract

The autonomy granted to local communities by central powers is a recurrent feature of European history over time. The density of population in urban settlements facilitates human communication, however, towns are also zones of conflict. Who brings order into the urban chaos? In Europe, alongside the principle of centralized government, the delegation of power stimulated the development of polycentric and multilevel governmental structures.