A Treasure Trove of Economic Data on European Metro Areas

We have heard, ad nauseum, about Germany, Greece, Latvia, and the other national economic narratives of Europe. But even as the names of these countries have become abstractions, well-known keywords for policy, few apart from eagle-eyed urban economists can boast the same familiarity with Europe's metro areas. On a continent where international borders have grown softer than anywhere else on earth, the success (or failure) of cities in navigating the recession has remained largely unexamined.

A comprehensive new mapping tool from LSE Cities, an urban studies project of the London School of Economics, makes the varying fortunes of Europe's urban areas clear. Using Oxford Economics’ European Cities and Regional Forecasts database, the Metromonitor measures the employment and economic growth of 150 of the continent's largest metro areas against metrics like national growth, population size, and urban typology.