Alpine Space Summit June 2006 in Stresa Spatial development trends in the Alpine area in the Alpine area

Major spatial infrastructures within the European territory European Urban system Transport, communication and ecological networks Morphology Pentagon ( ) Increasing importance of Metropolitan regions outside Growth in GDP in areas with relatively lower GDP level (% )

Structure of Intervention Short intro of the ESPON 2006 programme Selective results from ESPON zooming in on the Alpine space Cooperation on an ESPON programme

ESPON 2006 Programme Spatial development of an enlarging European Union  Programme under Interreg III  Budget of 17 million Euro  Purposes:  Support to policy development  A scientific network platform for applied European territorial research  Expectations:  New knowledge and evidence on European territorial trends and impact of EU policies  Integrated territorial analysis, tools and scenarios  33 applied research projects in total  17 Final Reports and 16 more to come  29 countries participating

Lead Partners and Project Partners in ESPON

Applied research/Trend analysis Urban system and polycentric development Urban-rural relations Small and medium-sized cities Accessibility and Transport networks Telecommunication Demography Enlargement Natural and technological hazards Natural heritage Cultural heritage Information society Urban Functions Flow analysis Tourism

Applied research/Territorial impact analysis Structural Funds Pre-accession Aid EU Infrastructure Policy EU R&D Policy EU Agricultural Policy Energy trends and impact of EU Energy Policy EU Fisheries Policies Structural Funds in urban areas ESDP application Governance

Applied research/Cross thematic projects Integrated tools for the spatial development Spatial scenarios and orientations Territorial dimension of Lisbon process Europe in the World Integrated analysis of transnational and national territories (Zoom) Economic dimension in territorial development Environment policy Social dimension Mix of Nuts 2 and 3 areas in territorial analysis

Structure of Intervention Short intro of the ESPON 2006 programme Selective results from ESPON zooming in on the Alpine space Cooperation on an ESPON programme

European Mega Trends Geographic concentration by market forces Ageing population and migration Population flow: East to west Wealth improvements: Strongest in east Transport flows: more on east–west corridors Hazards increasing (climate change) Global competition sets a wider perspective (not a zero sum game for Europe) Regions and cities are enlarging their area of influence Competitiveness, Attractiveness and Liveability of territories and cities are strategic factors Territorial cooperation add to competitiveness

Territorial key messages Rich regional diversity and specialisation leading to unique regional potentials and challenges Signs of better territorial balance and of increasing competition of regions Urban nodes are economic drivers The Pentagon does well and capitals and larger urban agglomerations boom Many small and medium sized cities are developing positively Rural territories part of an urbanised texture develop positively Areas with weaker urban structure and more distant location face increasing problems

Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) in Europe 1595 FUAs in Europe 29 Delineation based on national definitions (e.g. travel to work areas) adapted to NUTS 3 Assessed according to 7 topics: Population, Transport, Tourism, Industry Knowledge, Decision and Administration Alpine space display a strong urban structure with MEGA’s and functionally strong FUA’s

Components of population development, Population decline (natural population change and migration) Highly scattered regional pattern Competition between regions for human resources Major urban areas and pleasant retirement areas in good position Alpine space have a majority of regions with population increase

Accessibility, multimodal (road, rail, air), 2001 Core-periphery pattern Air transport more territorially balanced Pentagon and eastwards and major urban agglomerations in best situation ICT access depends on national preferences Favours urban areas Alpine space has a rather good accessibility despite mountains

Naturalness Naturalness is particular high in the Baltic and Alpine spaces The most dense urbanised areas scores the lowest Alpine space include several regions with major natural assets for development

Hazards exposure Significant regional diversity of aggregated hazards exposure above average Alpine space display a mix of levels of hazard exposure, the highest largely due to flooding and land slides

Research & Development importance Highest expenditure in regions close to the Pentagon and few areas to the north and south At national level often concentration around the capital city Knowledge production as higher education rather territorially balanced in Europe Alpine space have several regions strong on R&D, mostly related to MEGA’s

Cultural employment 2005 (as share of local active population) Finland, Sweden, Netherlands, or Switzerland in the top. Regional variations are mainly related to the urban structure (e.g. Bratislava, Budapest, Madrid, Paris, Praha or Wien) Alpine space include some areas with strong creative potential

Economic Lisbon indicators 7 out of 14 official Lisbon Short List indicators are available at regional level. Northern and central parts generally in a better position than southern and eastern. In some countries urban areas stand out strongly. Alpine space does very well (1) GDP/capita, (2) GDP/employed person, (3) employment rate, (4) Employment rate of older workers, (5) gross domestic expenditure on R&D, (6) Dispersion of regional (un)employment rates, and (7) Long-term unemployment rate.

Structure of Intervention Short intro of the ESPON 2006 programme Selective results from ESPON zooming in on the Alpine space Towards an ESPON programme

ESPON in use European policy documents Third Cohesion Report Community Strategic Framework National Framework Reference Documents National spatial policy documents (Hungary, Denmark, Czech Republic, Poland, Holland, France, Sweden and more) Interreg cooperation under INTERACT 5 thematic ESPON studies for dialogue Test by (a few) cross-border areas Scientific network of regional scientists, geographers and planners reviewing ESPON findings

Demand for ESPON results EC Fourth Cohesion Report Territorial State and Perspectives for the EU National spatial strategies and sector policies Academia and science Transnational, cross-border and regional interest

Dissemination of results Final Reports from 13 applied research projects and 4 preparatory studies ESPON publications in 2006: 1. Proceedings from ESPON Scientific Seminar in Luxembourg (May) 2. Final Synthesis Report (November) 3. Scientific Progress report (November) 4. ESPON Atlas (November) 5. Spatial scenarios (December or later) ESPON-INTERACT Final Report (December or later)

Policy attention to ESPON in 2006 Dutch Stakeholder meeting in June in Amsterdam EC/Luxembourg awareness raising event in September in Bruxelles ECP Transnational Seminar (MontESPON) in September in Lucerne, Switzerland General Directors meeting in November in Finland ESPON Seminar in November in Finland In parallel: The ESPON programme under Structural Funds, Objective 3, European Territorial Cooperation, Interregional Cooperation Networks

Strategic orientations for ESPON II 1. Evidence and knowledge on territorial development and cohesion (continuation of applied research projects) 2. Targeted analytical deliveries (user driven projects capitalising on results for policy development and strategic projects) 3. Communication and enhanced networks of stakeholders 4. Monitoring and scientific platform (core/key indicators, TIA and ESPON database) 5. Technical and analytical support (suited for an applied research and studies)

More information Thank you for your attention Please visit All synthesis documents as well as final and interim results are available for free