Urban Requalification and Technological Innovation

In the past few years, many European cities have been confronted with decline and decay. Some of them have reacted by developing a policy of revitalization with municipalities actively tryig to turn the tide. Besides, more and more cities are waking up to the fact that a good and active policy is nedeed to respond in time to the current economic and societal changes. The success of such a good policy depends on many factors, among other things, on the municipalities ability to define a clear strategy on which to found their policy and, on information technology policy as a key for requalification of the urban territory. Urban information and communication technology (ICT), are becoming more and more significant throughout Europe. Using example from various cities, this paper describes and analyses the local manifestation and dynamics of the information society.The focus is on the way in which the information revolution affects urban development and how local govermentscan respond strategically.