Globalised Minds, Roots in the City: Urban Upper–middle Classes in Europe

In the era of increasing urban globalisation, are European cities keeping pace? Or are contemporary European cities and societies remaining firmly rooted within a national context in spite of the inexorable pressures of transnational influences? Globalised Minds, Roots in the City explores the role of urban upper middle classes in the transformations experienced by contemporary European societies. Utilising empirical evidence garnered from business professionals and managers from Lyon, Madrid, Milan, and Paris, the authors present a wealth of new insights to contribute to current debates on the emergence of a transnational bourgeoisie. Their findings reveal how the majority of European managers remain profoundly embedded and territorialised in their cities and neighborhoods—whatever their level of transnational mobility. They also show how these groups are simultaneously becoming more cosmopolitan and more locally rooted—described as a “partial exit” strategy. Globalised Minds, Roots in the City offers timely insights into the current state of Europe’s cities and societies—and the seemingly paradoxical development of a European and transnational urban middle class.

Alberta Andreotti is Research Fellow in Economic Sociology at the Department of Sociology at the University of Milan–Bicocca and Associate member of the “Cities Are Back in Town” research group, based at Sciences–Po, Paris. Patrick Le Galès is CNRS Research Professor of Politics and Sociology at Sciences Po Paris, Centre d’études Européennes and Co–Chair of the “Cities Are Back in Town” research group. Francisco Javier Moreno Fuentes is Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Goods and Policies (IPP–CSIC).