European Cities: Towards a Recreational Turn?

International audienceEuropean cities are increasingly influenced by recreation, changing the essential quality of the urban space. That is the thesis put forward in this article. The article begins by setting out a theoretical framework in which cities are seen as specific places, used as a resource by mobile individuals in a specific "regime of dwelling". The concepts of city, tourism, and recreational turn are explained. The paper goes on to give a brief description of the context of tourism in Europe, with reference to data problems for a European-wide study of tourism on the local level of urban settings. Finally, the following specific processes of the recreational turn are reconstructed, leading to differentiated urban qualities of contemporary European cities: festivalization, heritageing, investing in industrial agglomerations, experiencing the modernity of cities, and the urbanisation of tourist resorts. The conclusion reflects upon the consequences of recreation and mobility for the European city as a place for geographically plural individuals, where cohabitation becomes a crucial political issue