Towards Fluid Territories in European Spatial Development: Regional Development Zones in Finland

Abstract

Introduction The concepts`territory' and`territorial' have emerged as important notions in the vocabulary of contemporary spatial policies in the European Union (EU). Most visibly, these terms appear in European policies for territorial cohesion (see CEC, 2008; European Commission, 2010a), envisioning the development strategies and practices for the EU programming period after 2013. The objective of territorial cohesion strongly emphasizes territorial diversity and specificity, integration of territorially influential policy sectors, and cooperation between the European regions (CEC, 2008). The Territorial Agenda, reflecting the views of the EU member states, calls for a more territorial approach in the EU by better use of resources in the European regions. Here, territorial cohesion is seen as a``prerequisite for achieving sustainable economic growth and implementing social and economic cohesion'' (Territorial Agenda of the European Union, 2007, page 3). In definition, it also``extends beyond the notion of economic and social cohesion, its objective being to help achieve a more balanced development, to build sustainable communities in urban and rural areas and to seek greater consistency with other sectoral policies which have a spatial impact'' (CEC, 2005, page 29). The emphasis on territorial dimension recognizes the need for new spatial frameworks in the EU from the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP), which was the key and long-debated achievement of European spatial development in the 1990s (see Du« hr et al, 2010; Faludi and Waterhout, 2002). After the challenges in meeting the goals of the Lisbon Strategy, the strategy for the 2010s in Europe, Europe 2020, puts more strain on places and regions to achieve smart, sustainable, and

Education Development In Russia: Aspects Of Strategic Planning And Project Activities

“…In the absence of a vertically coordinated system of strategic planning, which is a characteristic feature of foreign countries (Antikainen & Vartiainen, 2005;Felsenstein & Portnov, 2005;Jauhiainen & Moilanen, 2011;Kalliomäki, 2012;Scott, 2006;Vasanen, 2013) and allowing to reasonably determine and coordinate the priorities of the socio-economic development of the country and its regions. The regions are forced to solve problems of their educational systems "case-by-case".…”

The role of leadership in place-based development and building institutional arrangements

“…However, till now, little is known about the best way to implement a place-based approach ( Jauhianen and Moilanen, 2011 ). We would argue that such an approach should not merely be understood as a means to enhance competitiveness between and within regions, but support decentralization and self-efficacy of people, to enhance the resilience of vulnerable regions, responding to the structuring and spatially dispersed forces of globalization.…”

Real Geographies, Real Economies and Soft Spatial Imaginaries: Creating a ‘More than Manchester’ Region

“…Summarizing a rich but already well argued set of debates, attempts to reconceptualize subnational planning and economic development spaces as relational have led to a productive dialogue between those advocating the ‘boundlessness’ of space (Allen et al ., ; Amin, 2004) and those who point to the everyday reality of ‘performing’ local and regional development (Paasi, ; ; Jones, ). The ‘polymorphic’ nature of space is now widely recognized in the production of strategies, policies and laws that often involve the interaction of bounded territorial units with unbounded political, economic and social processes (Jauhiainen and Moilanen, ; Varró, ).…”

“…Drawing on these debates, the concept of soft spaces has emerged from research undertaken in the UK and Ireland (Allmendinger and Haughton, ; Haughton et al ., ), and has since been widely adopted across different European planning and economic development contexts (see Jauhiainen and Moilanen, ; Metzger and Schmitt, ; Allmendinger et al ., ). At the heart of this concept is the idea that while territorial governments work to clearly defined territorial boundaries, such as those of local government, the boundaries of many ‘governance’ initiatives tend to avoid following those of single local government jurisdictions, with a variety of alternative geographies summoned into being instead.…”