ESPON Seminar November 2006 Espoo, Finland Key messages from final ESPON results: Territory matters for competitiveness and cohesion

Policy context  Territorial potentials of European regions increasingly important in times of accellerating globalisation  Territorial imbalances a challenge for cohesion  Contributions from cities, regions and larger territories a neccessity for meeting Lisbon/Gothenborg objectives  A rich regional diversity is an asset for Europe requiring targeted policy mixes to explore  Territorial cooperation can create added value  Strategic objectives for territorial development shall opt for improving  Cohesion and competitiveness  Attractiveness for investments  Liveability for the citizens  Evidence on European territorial structures and dynamics inevitable for territorial policy making

Territorial cohesion trends  European core is spreading  Pentagon is a reality  Extending along several corridors  Several strong urban nodes outside the core  Metropolitan urban agglomerations  Small and medium sized cities  Overarching trends and structures stimulate imbalances and challenge territorial cohesion  Market forces supporting geographical concentration  Demographic trends of aging  Imbalances in access and connectivity  Increasing disparities between neighbouring areas in parts of Europe

Main economic structures of the European territory

Increasing competitiveness  Contribution to the Lisbon strategy  Regions potentials differ  For many regions the optional specialisation is not a knowledged based economy  Accessible urban areas have the best Lisbon performance  The core and the north of Europe in the most favorable position  Even less urbanised and less accessible areas can do well  Innovation potential has a distict territorial pattern  R&D and creative jobs weaker in the periphery (east, west and south)  Metropolitan areas highest on R&D spending

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. (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.

Cultural and creative professions and GDP per capita

Accessibility and connectivity  Important factor for regional development  Multi modal accessiblity show a core-periphy pattern across Europe and in many countries (even stronger for road and rail)  Accessibility is best in the core and larger urban agglomerations with international airport  Increasing energy prices will have negative impact accessibility, particular in rural and remote areas  ICT connectivity divides Europe north-south, east-west and urban-rural  Information society roll-out shows considerable territorial variations  Information Society performance have less variation than GDP per capita

Potential accessibility multimodal, 2001

Connectivity to transport terminals, 2001

Information society readiness, growth and impact

Attractivity and liveability  Hard and tangible factors such as infrastructure endowment and human capital stand no longer alone  Soft location factors are gaining importance attracting investments and skilled labour  High quality urban and natural environment, cultural endowment and services, good governance offer synergy to the jobs and growth agenda  Hazards in general seem not undermining territorial competitiveness  For some areas impacts of hazards such as drought create a long-lasting negative impact  Hazards and climate change might put attractiveness and liveability at risk in the longer term

Aggregated natural and technological hazards

Urban areas  Urban areas are significant nodes for territorial cohesion and competitiveness at Europan and national level  Major metropolitan agglomerations (around 76) are of European significance with London and Paris leading  Their GDP per capita growth shows potential for more polycentricity at European scale  Functional specialisation of cities define their importance in the larger territorial context  Cities are best endowed with knowledge infrastructure and human capital in support of Lisbon aims  Small and medium sized cities have a vital role in economic development and provision of services  Many options for territorial cooperation exists

Major urban and economic development

Areas within 45 minutes reach from urban centres

Rural areas  Huge variety throughout Europe and within Member States  Successful in using endogenous potentials  Challenge of structural change  Rural areas not synonymous with agriculture  Rural areas in proximity to major urban centres  Rural areas with smaller urban development poles  Remote rural areas facing decline  Depopulation is a challenge for many rural areas  The diversification of the rural economy depends also on intangible factors and ability to capitalise on potentials  Rural-urban partnership is an option in many areas

Urban-rural typology

Areas with special geographical characters  Territories with specific geographical features:  Coastal, mountaneous, islands, outermost regions  Territories with specific governance challenges:  Border regions, cross border and transnational cooperation zones  Require often specific taylor-made policy mixes  Share many development prospects and challenges with other type of areas  Regions with specific geographical features may face specific challenges, such as accessibility and connectivity and other services of general interest  Cooperation intensity differs in transnational zones

Intensity of INTERREG IIIB cooperation

The global position of Europe  European Union share of world GDP and population constant due to EU enlargements  Significant disparities exist between Europe and its neighbours which impact trade and migration  Connections to global networks vary between places  Only a few European cities have a truly world-wide reach  Diversity of territorial potentials for global relations  Exploring historic ties and current connections to world regions  Supporting hub functions and specialised links to other world regions

Differences in GDP per capita in Europe and its neighbourhood, 2002

Global airports, 2000

Territorial impacts of EU sector policies  Various sector policies stimulate local action and capacity- building and support exploitation of territorial potentials (e.g. SF, R&D, TEN/TINA)  At European level the support to cohesion objectives is mixed  Sector policies contribute rather coincidentally to territorial cohesion  Converging policy aims could liberate under-used potentials and release synergies  Territorial Impact Assessment ex-ante may facilitate policy coherence

Structural Funds and Pre-accession aid spending as share of GDP,

Scenarios  Future perspectives important for informing policy development related to the development of the European territory  Key drivers include globalisation, migration, economic integration, transport, energy, agriculture and rural development, climate change, further EU enlargements and territorial governance  The long term future may require re-thinking and innovation in several policy fields  Future territorial cohesion and competitiveness is influenced by decisions of today

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Demographic perspectives 2030

Demographic change, Population decline (natural population change and migration) Highly fragmented pattern with both declining and increasing regions Competition between regions for human resources Major urban areas and pleasant retirement areas in good position