EU Cohesion Policy and Spatial Governance: Territorial, Social and Economic Challenges (Elgar Studies in Planning Theory, Policy and Practice)

"Discussing the ongoing and future challenges of EU Cohesion Policy, this book critically addresses the economic, social and territorial challenges at the heart of the EU's policy. It identifies the multifaceted and dynamic nature of the policy as well as the cohesions goal interlinkage with other policies and considers unresolved questions of strategic importance in territorial governance, urban and regional inequalities, and social aspects and wellbeing. Interdisciplinary perspectives offer well-founded historical views, conceptual thoughts, policy insights and empirical analyses of EU Cohesion Policy, exploring under-represented territorial and spatial perspectives. Fostering a long term, visionary debate, the book looks into the controversial aspects of the policy. It concludes with a rich synthesis of the debate, emphasising three key concerns: disintegration as an alternative to the eroding idea of greater European integration; the discontent of cities and regions due to widening inequalities; the discretion of member states which prevents the EU from engaging more deeply with social issues. With commentaries on each of the key areas provided by top scholars, this book will be an invigorating read for EU policy makers keen to gain a more critical understanding of key issues around territorial, social and economic cohesion. It will also be an insightful read for economic geography, spatial planning, political science, international relations, European studies and social science scholars in general"-- Provided by publisher Front Matter Copyright Contents Figures Tables Contributors Preface 1. EU Cohesion Policy and European spatial governance: an introduction to territorial, economic and social challenges 2. EU Cohesion Policy: the past, the present and the future PART A Territorial governance 3. Territorial governance aspects in EU Cohesion Policy: an introduction 4. Spatial framing within EU Cohesion Policy and spatial planning: towards functional and soft spaces, yet on different paths 5. EU Cohesion Policy as a driver of Europeanisation: a comparative analysis 6. Territorial cohesion and the sea: experiences from European maritime spatial planning 7. Urban Policy in European Cohesion Policy 8. EUropean (dis)integration: implications for the Cohesion Policy 9. Commentary: complex EU cohesion and ‘integration mark 2’ PART B Urban and regional inequalities 10. Urban and regional inequality aspects of EU Cohesion Policy: an introduction 11. Territorial cohesion, polycentrism and regional disparities: revisiting an unsolved debate 12. Can EU Cohesion Policy fight peripheralization? 13. Does EU Cohesion Policy affect territorial inequalities and regional development? 14. Smart specialisation, peripheries and EU Cohesion Policy 15. What regions benefit from the post-2009-crisis EU Cohesion Policy? Evidence from a Territorial Cohesion Development Index 16. Commentary: urban and regional inequalities and the architecture of EU Cohesion Policy PART C Social aspects and well-being 17. Social aspects in EU Cohesion Policy: an introduction 18. EU Cohesion Policy: towards grounded cities and regions 19. Mobility in the Danube Region: the role of transnational cooperation in addressing challenges of migration 20. Between markets and social rights: confused EU housing policies 21. Commentary: social issues and well-being in the EU – challenges for Cohesion Policy PART D Concluding remarks 22. Unsettled questions of disintegration, discontent and discretion Afterword: territorial cohesion, a never-ending academic challenge? Index Discussing the ongoing and future challenges of EU Cohesion Policy, this book critically addresses the economic, social and territorial challenges at the heart of the EU‘s policy. It identifies the multifaceted and dynamic nature of the policy as well as the interlinkage with other policies and considers unresolved questions of strategic importance in territorial governance, urban and regional inequalities, and social aspects and well-being.Interdisciplinary perspectives offer well-founded historical views, conceptual thoughts, policy insights and empirical analyses of EU Cohesion Policy, exploring under-represented territorial and spatial perspectives. Fostering a long term, visionary debate, the book looks into the controversial aspects of the policy. It concludes with a rich synthesis of the debate, emphasising three key concerns: disintegration as an alternative to the eroding idea of greater European integration; the discontent of cities and regions due to widening inequalities; and the discretion of member states which prevents the EU from engaging more deeply with social issues.With commentaries on each of the key areas provided by top scholars, this book will be an invigorating read for EU policy makers keen to gain a more critical understanding of key issues around territorial, social and economic cohesion. It will also be an insightful read for economic geography, spatial planning, political science, international relations, European studies and social science scholars in general.