Palace of the Parliament 17th Session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Spatial Planning (CEMAT) Overview of European Functional Areas: Definition and Typologies (Items extracted from the Questionnaire launched on the theme of Functional Areas) Ministry of Regional Development, Public Administration and European Funds Bucharest 3 – 4 November 2017 Palace of the Parliament

MAIN POINTS Presentation structure Definition, typologies and delineation - Types of functional areas - Main interrelations that help structure functional areas - Delineation criteria Characteristics Geographic scale Degree of formalization Stability in time and space Development purposes Functional areas vs potential functional areas

Definition, typologies and delineation Methodology - As part of the preparation for the 17th CEMAT session, organized, according to the decision of CoE’s Committee of Ministers, by the Romanian Ministry of Regional Development, Public Administration and European Funds, a questionnaire was sent to the 47 CoE Member States. - The countries (24) that filled the questionnaire include: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Norway, Portugal, Romania, The Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sweden and Turkey.

Definition, typologies and delineation Types of functional areas - Functional areas represent either those territories that aggregate around urban centers and concentrate systemic relationships, or types of areas delineated according to geographic specificities or in relation to economic activities. Country Type of area Functional area (based on ESPON classification) Planning documents Albania • Regions - General National Plan (GNP) Austria • Local Action Groups Functional urban regions Austrian Programme for Rural Development 2014-2020 • City Regions • Macro-regional Strategies: Alpine Region and Danube Region Transnational / macro-regions Bulgaria • Urban agglomerations National Concept for Spatial Development of the Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2013- 2025 (NCSD) • Territories with specific characteristics Functional natural regions (national/cross-border/ transnational) Cyprus • Spatial Planning Areas Functional rural regions Policy Statement for the Countryside (PSC) - Functional areas indicated in the filled questionnaires were reclassified in based on the ESPON typology (Bohme & all, 2017), to which we added natural regions and administrative territories.

Definition, typologies and delineation Types of functional areas Functional urban regions Functional rural regions Functional urban-rural partnerships Cross-border regions Transnational / macro-regions Functional natural regions (national /cross-border/transnational) Administrative territories assimilated to functional regions

Definition, typologies and delineation Main interrelations that help structure functional areas Migration / commuting flows Cooperation Economic relationships Capitalization / protection of environmental amenities

Definition, typologies and delineation Delineation criteria - Council of Europe Member States have established a wide range of functional areas that can be identified under different terms, in various national strategic documents, and at diverse territorial scales, in correlation with their functional purpose. Country Type of area Delineation criteria Sweden • Labour market areas Commuting flows (analytical functional regions) • Functional analysis regions Commuting flows • Metropolitan areas Commuting flows and policy implementation • Local level cooperation Voluntary association Turkey • Metropolitan Areas Policy implementation (planning document) • Centres of Growth • Regional Poles of Growth • Structural Transformation Provinces - • Priority Development Provinces • Rural Areas Policy implementation • Specialized regions • Metropolitan cities

Characteristics Geographic scale Functional areas cover a broad spectrum of scales, from vast transnational and cross-border functional areas down to local action groups. Degree of formalization Functional areas can be organized organically or as a result of specific policies Stability in time and space They are context-sensitive Development purposes Functional areas are perceived as multi-level cooperation structures that should focus on a number of common, achievable targets Functional spatial planning act in line with improved multi-level collaboration

Functional areas vs potential functional areas Types of factors that differentiate a cohesive territory from an actual functional area: Cooperation relationships or interconnections between different territories that were established by identifying solutions for common problems or targets; Formalized management/governance structures; Mobility of people, goods and information.

Thank you for your attention Ministry of Regional Development, Public Administration and European Funds www.mdrap.ro Overview of European Functional Areas: Definition and Typologies (Items extracted from the Questionnaire launched on the theme of Functional Areas)