Forschungsabteilung 1
BEST METROPOLISES – Best development conditions in European metropolises: Paris, Berlin, Warsaw
An international research project funded by the European Commission under the framework of the ESPON Programme 2013 under Priority 2: Targeted Analysis
Duration: November 2010 to May 2012
The Issue
The policy development in relation to EU Cohesion Policy, the description of the European aim of territorial cohesion and the TA2020, stress the need for a better understanding of regional development conditions. Various themes considered by documents like the 5th Cohesion Report, the Europe 2020 Strategy, the TA2020, the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion etc. affect different types of regions to different extents and in different ways. Metropolitan regions can be considered as one such type of regions, which face specific development options and constraints.
ESPON and its objective
The ESPON 2013 Programme, the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion focuses on spatial development of an enlarging EU and is co-financed by the ERDF under Objective 3 for European Territorial Cooperation. It is the follow-up of the ESPON 2006 Programme.
The ESPON 2013 Programme shall support policy development in relation to the aim of territorial cohesion and a harmonious development of the European territory. It shall provide comparable information, evidence, analyses and scenarios on framework conditions for the development of regions, cities and larger territories.
In doing so, ESPON shall be facilitating the mobilisation of territorial capital and development opportunities, contributing to improving European competitiveness, to the widening and deepening of European territorial cooperation and to a sustainable and balanced development.
The activities of the ESPON 2013 Programme are carried through within 5 priorities at programme level:
- Applied research on territorial development, competitiveness and cohesion: Evidence on territorial trends, perspectives and policy impacts
- Targeted analysis based on user demand: European perspective to development of different types of territories
- Scientific platform and tools: Territorial indicators and data, analytical tools and scientific support
- Capitalisation, ownership and participation: Capacity building, dialogue and networking
- Technical assistance, analytical support and communication. (www.espon.eu)
The Project
This project is funded under Priority 2, the Targeted Analyses projects, of the ESPON 2013 Programme. Projects of this priority aim to put ESPON results into practice by bringing (research) experts together with national, regional and/or local stakeholders. The stakeholders from the three cities have expressed their analytical interest in metropolitan development conditions. An expert team, provided by the ESPON 2013 Programme, now carries out the analysis in close collaboration with the three cities’ stakeholders in order to achieve conclusions and recommendations of which the stakeholders can make use in policy or strategy development or other policy activities.
BEST METROPOLISES aims to identify those factors which are crucial for the specific metropolitan development in the three selected metropolitan areas: Paris, Berlin and Warsaw. On basis of the comparative analysis of the three cities the project shall provide data and information that enable the identification metropolitan development trends not only in the selected cities but for other European metropolitan areas as well. The project will furthermore support the development and assessment of urban development policies.
Against this background the project aims to answer mainly the following guiding questions:
- What are the metropolisation processes’ consequences for the three cities and their metropolitan areas in relation to living conditions, mobility and governance?
- How do these metropolisation processes impact on the cities’ corresponding potential development?
- How do political, organizational, spatial and socio-economic contexts influence urban development policies and their performance?
The research is structured along the themes of living conditions, mobility and governance and differentiates between 9 activities:
Activity 1: Historical background and development trends of Paris, Berlin, and Warsaw
Activity 2: Theoretical and conceptual framework of spatial organization
Activity 3: Housing conditions and life quality
Activity 4: Evolution of socio-spatial and economic structures
Activity 5: Transport, job accessibility and daily mobility
Activity 6: Intra - metropolitan migrations
Activity 7: Models of governance and social participation in development and spatial planning
Activity 8: Development strategies, visions and recommendations
Activity 9: Stakeholders’ involvement
The Partnership
- Polish Academy of Sciences, Stanisław Leszczycki Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization – Poland (Lead Partner)
- Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IRS) – Germany
- Institut d’Aménagement et d’Urbanisme – Île de France (IAU – ÎDF) – France
- Spiekermann&Wegener, Urban and Regional Research (S&W) – Germany
- Nordregio – Sweden
Stakeholders
- European Funds Department of the City of Warsaw – Poland (Lead Stakeholder)
- Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development – Germany
- International Relations Department, General Secretariat, of the City of Paris – France
Contacts
Dr. Mirosław Grochowski (project co-ordinator)
Polish Academy of Sciences
Phone: +48 22 697 88 41
e-mail: mgrochow_at_twarda.pan.pl
Dr. Sabine Zillmer
Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning
Phone: +49 3362 793 186
e-mail: zillmers_at_irs-net.de
Martine Liotard
Institut d’Aménagement et d’Urbanisme – Île de France
Phone: +33 1 77 49 78 74
e-mail: martine.liotard_at_iau-idf.fr
Dr. Peter Schmitt
Nordregio
Phone: +46 8 463 54 18
e-mail: peter.schmitt at nordregio.se
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Wegener
Spiekermann&Wegener, Urban and Regional Research
Phone: +49 231 1899 441
e-mail: mw_at_spiekermann-wegener.de
