Social vulnerability is a term that has been widely used in the natural hazards literature for quite a few years now. Yet, regardless of how scholars define the term, the approaches and indicators they use remain contested. This article presents findings from social vulnerability assessments conducted in different case studies of flood events in Europe (Germany, Italy and the UK). The case studies relied upon a common set of comparable indicators, but they also adopted a context-sensitive, qualitative approach. A shared finding across the case studies was that it was not possible to identify a common set of socio-economic-demographic indicators to explain social vulnerability of groups and/or individuals for all phases of the disastrous events. Similarly, network-related indicators as well as location-and event-specific indicators did not have the relevance we expected them to have. The results underline that vulnerability is a product of specific spatial, socioeconomic-demographic, cultural and institutional contexts imposing not only specific challenges to cross-country research concerning social vulnerability to flooding but also to attempts at assessing social vulnerability in general. The study ends with some reflections upon the methodological, practical and theoretical implications of our findings.

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European inner city areas are increasingly regaining their residential attractiveness after years of decline. Although the demographic dimensions of such residential shifts are gradually being acknowledged by urban scholars, they still remain under‐researched, especially with regard to the role of household‐driven processes in the stabilisation of inner‐city neighbourhoods and the reshaping of residential perceptions, wants and needs. Given this background, our paper looks at the underlying dynamics of reurbanisation processes in different European cities. Reurbanisation is understood as a process of populating and diversifying the inner city with a variety of residential groups of different ages and socio‐economic backgrounds. We discuss why and how reurbanisation is changing inner‐city districts, while arguing that the demographic or household‐related view can lead to an improved understanding of current urban change. We demonstrate that – in contrast to a prevailing tendency to understand reurbanisation as an expression of a ‘back‐to‐the‐city’ movement – it relates more to city‐mindedness as a housing preference rather than to the actual return of suburbanites to the city. A typology of reurbanisation processes (distinguishing between different driving forces, and respective impacts on inner‐city area and housing markets) is provided, and the role of both social and demographic factors discussed. In particular, the paper examines overlaps and differences between reurbanisation and the concept of gentrification, arguing that, although they are partly driven by similar dynamics, the two processes are, in a qualitative sense, distinctive. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Contemporary cities in East Central Europe (ECE) represent a hybrid type of urban development which is still generally considered to be a special case and is only exceptionally referred to in the recently intensified debate over the European city. Our paper argues that such exclusion is short-sighted because ECE cities face structural problems similar to those of their Western pendants. Therefore, the contextual frame of urban research needs to be widened and can no longer be restricted to post-socialist transition. In this regard, one of the main challenges for future urban development will be the consequences of demographic change. Ageing, new patterns of fertility behaviour and more diversified household structures in line with the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) will have significant implications for urban structures and housing markets, as already known for Western Europe. The purpose of this paper is to work out new questions and hypotheses for future urban research with special respect to Polish and Czech cities. Besides West European experience, recent developments in eastern Germany are taken as a frame of reference, assuming that this specific transition case may, in many respects, be regarded as a forerunner for similar developments in its neighbouring countries.

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