Die Europäisierung von Städten als diskursiver Prozess

Phenomena associated with the process of European integration are also local phenomena as they are perceived and construed within specific socio-spatial contexts. By interpretively comparing the cities of Frankfurt/Main and Dortmund, the study reconstructs the locally specific frames which organize the discursive construction of the EU and how these discourses constitute distinct spaces of possibilities for implementing EU policies (using the example of the directive against particulate matter). The analysis reveals that both cities feature distinct stocks of knowledge about Europe which provide specific criteria of how to act “adequately” and “effectively” within the multi-level system. After all, the study sheds light on the ongoing significance of cities in times of seemingly homogenizing tendencies like European integration and illustrates the potentials of an interpretive explanation of local Europeanization processes.