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Urban Areas as Nodes in Polycentric Development: Potentials and Challenges

This report explores the role of urban areas as nodes in polycentric development. It discusses the specific situation, potentials, and challenges of urban areas in terms of functional division of labor, economic and institutional integration, and political cooperation. The report also examines levels and issues, concepts, policies, plans, governance, and international flows in urban areas. It provides insights into the synergy of urban complementarities at regional, national, and European levels, with a focus on peripheral cities and regions. Additionally, the report presents data and analysis on the polycentricity of urban areas, including potential polycentric regions and the importance of transnational links. It highlights the need for infrastructure investments, strategic planning and cooperation, and EU policies to promote balanced national urban systems, EU competitiveness, and territorial cohesion. The report also addresses key challenges and future directions for research and policy-making.

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Urban Areas as Nodes in Polycentric Development: Potentials and Challenges

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  1. The role, specific situation and potentials of urban areas as nodes in a polycentric development ESPON Project 1.1.1 Lead partner Nordregio Third interim report ECP-meeting Oct. 2003, Italy

  2. Polycentrism A Spatial Organisation of Cities characterised by: • Functional Division of Labour, • Economic and Institutional Integration, and • Political Co-operation.

  3. Levels and issues Concepts Policies & Plans Governance International Flows REGIONAL Opportunity: Synergy of urban complementarities Focus: Networking - co-operation - integration NATIONAL Problem: Unbalanced national urban system Focus: Peripheral cities and regions EUROPEAN Problem: Unbalanced European territory Focus (1): MEGAs and regions outside the 5tagon Focus (2): International flows outside the 5tagon TIR focus: European territory

  4. GDP per capita in PPS, EU 27+2, 2000 • Yellow regions are below 44% of EU15 average • Pronounced East-West divide

  5. Change in share of EU 27+2 GDP/capita 1995-2000 • Gain:Green • Loss:Red • A mosaic with East-West catch-up trends

  6. Cities in Europe • No universal definition of a city • Functional Urban Areas (FUAs): Commuting catchment areas or relevant counterparts • FUAs are building blocks in our analysis for potential polycentric urban regions

  7. FUA population • 1,595 FUAs in EU 27+2 • Two bananas: From England • to Italy • to Hungary • Next step: • Trends

  8. Multi-modal accessibility of FUAs (EU 27+2) • Best potential accessibility in Pentagon • No correlation between size and accessibility (i.e. “function matters”)

  9. Functional specialisation • Six additional indicators for functional specialisation • Transport • Tourism • Manufacturing industries • Knowledge • Decision centres of private companies • Public administration

  10. TransportAirports & harbours • Concentrated within countries • Concentrated to the Pentagon • No “European” nodes in accession countries

  11. TourismNumber of Beds • The Alps and the Mediterranean coast … • … and cities like London, Paris and Rome

  12. ManufacturingGross Value Added • NUTS 3-level data not available for UK and France • Strongest FUAs in the Pentagon and in Spain • Low GVA in acc. countries • Small FUAs may be global!

  13. KnowledgeNumber of students • A balanced picture: universities are found all over Europe • Capitals are strongest

  14. Business head-quartersTop 500 (turnover)companies • Extremely concentrated • Stockholm is the only “European” centre outside Pentagon

  15. Public admini-strationNational service centres Hierarchical

  16. Typology of FUAs Three types, based on the seven indicators • 64 MEGAs • Clusters of MEGAs: • England, Be-Ne-Lux, Germany • Italy, France, Switzerland • Czech Rep, Poland, Hungary • Solitary MEGAs • Tissues of FUAs

  17. Polycentricity of 149 grouped FUAs on the basis of proximity • Polycentric: Midlands, Randstadt, Rhine-Ruhr, Po Valley, Ostrava/Krakow • Monocentric: Paris, Madrid, Athens, Berlin, Stockholm

  18. Potentials outside 5tagon Top-Down: • Solitary MEGAs • Potential polycentric FUA-regions Bottom-Up: • SWOTs • Programmes

  19. Policy options Regional potentials • Infrastructure investments: NB: hard and soft measures • Strategic planning and co-operation • EU: Turn funding from nodes to links / new obj 2 measures for PcR / SWOT based programs / Guidelines on PcR More balanced national urban systems • Division of labour between national nodes • Second tier of cities in mono-centric and acceding countries! • EU: funding the 2nd tier / encourage national planning in EU-context EU competitiveness and territorial cohesion • Identify and strengthen potential new global integration zones - NB: dense urban systems in acceding countries! • EU: TENs, EU institutions, funding for PcR: e.g. obj.2 measures for PcR beyond decay and reconstruction / Interreg on joint urban strategies.

  20. Key choices made in the work • To deal explicitly with two concepts of polycentrism: • MEGAS • Functional polycentrism • Deliver the list of FUAs • Include transnational links

  21. Challenges the next period • Feedback check on operationalisation of FUAs and MEGAs • To integrate the top down identification ofpotential polycentric regions and the bottom up verification of practical experience on planning and governance • To further develop the analysis of potential polycentric regions (e.g. the FUA-group analysis) • The contradictions between policy recommendations at different levels (e.g. the EU and the national levels) • The policy context after 3rd cohesion report

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