How to Reach the Eurocities? A Retrospective Review of the Evolution Dynamics of Urban Planning and Management on the Iberian Peninsula Territories

Abstract

Cities have been designed according to their needs and challenges—i.e., structural, social, and technological advances. The city can be understood as a centre where our past, present, and future coexist. Furthermore, cities reflect the actual tendencies and directions, as exemplified by globalization and cross-border cooperation. Similarly, the creation of Eurocities in Iberian Peninsula territories can be an example how these processes can be implement and use the territories’ development, based on shared resources of neighbouring cities. Contextually, the paper addresses not only urban planning models as well as Eurocities case studies, but also projects of planning and territorial management within Iberian Territories—i.e., of the cross-border cooperation projects and strategies. Throughout the present research it was possible to understand the creation and genesis of Eurocities projects and strategies. Furthermore, the research was able to define a timeline of the process of urban and common planning carried out on the Iberian Peninsula, from the past to the present. Moreover, the study reveals the disadvantages or obstacles present during the Eurocities creation, as well as some interactions among planning methodologies, tools, and public policies and the Eurocities conception on the Iberian Peninsula.

Euroregion as an Entity Stimulating the Sustainable Development of the Cross-Border Market for Cultural Services in a City Divided by a Border

“…"Work of the Polish-Czech-Slovak EuroInstitute TRANSCARPATHICA" published on a regular basis by the Polish side of the Cieszyn Silesia Euroregion). Similar areas of activity supporting the development of cross-border cooperation in the area of culture were also indicated by Castanho et al, who conducted research on the conditions of the functioning of Eurocities on the Portuguese-Spanish border [46][47][48].…”

Euroregion as an Entity Stimulating the Sustainable Development of the Cross-Border Market for Cultural Services in a City Divided by a Border

“…Similar areas of activity supporting the development of cross-border cooperation in the area of culture were also indicated by Castanho et al, who conducted research on the conditions of the functioning of Eurocities on the Portuguese-Spanish border [46,47].…”

Political commitment and transparency as a critical factor to achieve territorial cohesion and sustainable growth. European cross‐border projects and strategies

“…Furthermore, the performed analysis revealed the increasing complexity of CBC governance models, according to which CBC planning policies need to consider a significant variety of factors—employment, life's quality, cultural barriers, common spatial planning, political cohesion/commitment, transportation/connectivity, citizens' involvement—in order to enable CBC projects, not only to succeed, but also in order to foment economic, social and territorial cohesion (Castanho, Vulevic, Fernández, Pozo, Loures, & Gómez, ; Castanho, Kurowska‐Pysz, & Naranjo Gómez, ; Naranjo Gómez, Castanho, Cabezas‐Fernandez, & Loures, ). In fact, these results (and in particular the political‐strategic and the socio‐economic ones) are corroborated by the ESPON (ECR2) (, p. 9) report: “There is no single set of policies to promote resilient economies that can, or should, be applied consistently across all territories.…”

“…Apart from all the above mentioned the economic crises effects above‐mentioned, other reasons should be discussed, namely: low resources of some regions and also the lack of policies towards a greater transboundary cohesion. Therefore, CBC is and remains a political task and a priority of the EU as the most important instrument for European integration and cohesion (Castanho et al, ; EU, ; González‐Gómez & Gualda, ; Medeiros, ; Reitel, ; Vulevic, Djordjevic, Castanho, & Cabezas‐Fernandez, ). Furthermore, Robert Keohane (2007, p. 709) claims: “I believe that people committed to democracy and international cooperation around the world should be taking advantage of the opportunities we have to build, piece by piece, a pluralistic accountability system in world politics.…”