Abstract
This study explores social challenges and policy responses in EU
cities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It demonstrates
that the pandemic has placed additional pressures on vulnerable
groups and the institutions that work to support them. It finds
that the local policy capacity to respond to the crisis has differed
across cities and multi-level governance settings. Participatory
and integrated policy efforts have often failed to meet the
expectations of urban citizens and stakeholders. To move
towards urban resilience in times of crisis, EU-levelfunding needs
to become more accessible and focused on long-term
transformations, as well as improving policy dialogue with those
cities most limited by ineffective local governance structures and
historical legacies.