Comparing Cross-border Metropolitan Integration in Europe: Towards a Functional Typology

Abstract

This article analyses the process of spatial integration in ten European cross-border metropolitan regions by comparing three indicators, relating to flows of cross-border commuters, differentials of gross domestic product per capita and residents' citizenship. Our results allow, firstly, confirmation of the hypothesis that the greater the economic disparities, the greater the level of interactions measured by cross-border commuting. Our work also allows confirmation of the hypothesis that strong economic interactions have an impact on the cross-border integration of communities, measured by the proportion of residents based on the other side of the border. Finally, this article leads to a typology based on three models of cross-border integration being proposed: by specialization, by polarization and by osmosis.

Building a cross-border territorial strategy between four countries: wishful thinking?

“…Indeed, and as an example, intense asymmetrical flows between two border regions can potentially increase the territorial disparities instead of reducing them. This latter observation seems to contradict the hypothesis that more cross-border interactions always lead to more territorial convergence (Decoville, Durand, Sohn, & Walther, 2013;Topaloglou, Kalliora, Manetos, & Petrakos, 2005). Cross-border integration can therefore not be summarized as a process which only has a single causal effect.…”

The Border as a Resource in the Global Urban Space: A Contribution to the Cross‐Border Metropolis Hypothesis

“…This point was demonstrated by Decoville et al . (forthcoming) in relation to European CBMRs, and was central to Alegría's () reasoning against Herzog's hypothesis, noted earlier. On the other hand, convergences between distinct territories can just as easily result from the presence of flows that contribute to the erosion of disparities as they can from the absence of interactions (De Boe et al ., ).…”

Symmetry or asymmetry? Cross-border openness of service providers in Polish-Czech and Polish-German border towns

“…Even in crossborder metropolitan regions, where integration processes are advanced, the border effect is strongly felt (Dörry and Decoville, 2012). The significance of cultural differences, as well as large discrepancies in the level of socio-economic development, strongly affects the integration possibilities of border cities (Decoville et al, 2013;Lundén, 2004).…”