Bern's positioning strategies: Escaping the fate of a secondary capital city? |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Bern, Center for Competence for Public Management, Schanzeneckstrasse 1, 3001 Bern, Switzerland;2. University of Bern, Institute of Geography and Center for Regional Economic Development, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;1. Faculty of Law, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;2. City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;1. Department of Geomatics, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran;2. Naval Academy Research Institute, France;3. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Iran;1. Texas A&M University, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, College Station, TX 77840, USA;2. San Francisco State University, Department of Finance, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA |
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| Abstract: | Bern is a classic example of a so-called secondary capital city, which is defined as a capital city that is not the primary economic center of its nation. Such capital cities feature a specific political economy characterized by a strong government presence in its regional economy and its local governance arrangements. Bern has been losing importance in the Swiss urban system over the past decades due to a stagnating economy, population decline and missed opportunities for regional cooperation. To re-position itself in the Swiss urban hierarchy, political leaders and policymakers established a non-profit organization called “Capital Region Switzerland” in 2010 arguing that a capital city should not be measured by economic success only, but by its function as a political center where political decisions are negotiated and implemented. This city profile analyses Bern's strategy and discusses its ambitions and limitations in the context of the city's history, socio-economic and political conditions. We conclude that Bern's positioning strategy has so far been a political success, yet that there are severe limitations regarding advancing economic development. As a result, this re-positioning strategy is not able to address the fundamental economic development challenges that Bern faces as a secondary capital city. |
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