1,720,968 research outputs found
'Doing more with less' or 'doing less with less'? Assessing EU cohesion policy's financial instruments for urban development
No full textIn the context of a severe economic crisis and austerity, new ideas were put forward to reform cohesion policy to enhance its effectiveness and the return on investment. Among them, financial engineering instruments, such as JESSICA, expected to offer a means to ‘do more with less’ in this difficult budgetary context. In the case of such instruments, EU funds are not offered as grants co-financing investment projects, but rather are used to provide repayable assistance to projects, a form of support. Such revolving funds approach is in stark contrast with the grant-based assistance typically offered as part of EU cohesion policy and was expected to increase the sustainability and effectiveness of interventions. But does it fulfil those expectations? This paper examines JESSICA through the conceptual lens of policy instruments literature. It verifies whether JESSICA is actually fit for its purpose of supporting sustainable urban development. It also gauges the impacts of instrument on the behaviour of the actors involved in its implementation at the sub-national level. The findings indicate that JESSICA is a flawed and overly complex instrument that instead of doing ‘more with less’ only allows for achieving ‘less with less’. However, it still exerts a positive influence on the sub-national authorities involved by promoting cross-sectoral interactions and facilitating learning. It also promotes a change in the approach to EU cohesion policy and public investment more generally, putting more emphasis on economic viability of investment.UrbanismArchitecture and The Built Environmen
Boundary spanning for governance of climate change adaptation in cities: Insights from a Dutch urban region
No full text Adapting to climate change in the urban setting requires cooperation across scales, levels of government, organisational boundaries and policy sectors. The study presented in the paper explores governance of urban adaptation policies through the conceptual lens of multi-level governance and boundary spanning. It focuses on the South Wing of the Randstad in The Netherlands, an urban region that is heavily exposed to the negative impacts of climate change, particularly to flooding, due to its location in the Rhine-Meuse delta and concentration of population and economic activity. Yet, it is also a region with strong traditions of cooperation and a track record of pioneering urban climate change measures. The study investigates how the features of the wider institutional context, in which this urban region operates shape the governance of urban adaptation policies and how the contextual factors constrain the scope for spanning horizontal, vertical and temporal boundaries needed for delivering those policies and making the cities of that region more climate-proof. </jats:p
The development of strategic spatial planning in Central and Eastern Europe: between path dependence, European influence, and domestic politics
No full textFocusing on three of the Central and Eastern European countries–Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary–the paper investigates the evolution of spatial planning systems and the introduction of strategic planning practices from the beginning of the post-communist transition in the early 1990s to the present. It sheds new light on this issue by applying the conceptual lens of historical institutionalism to explain this process and elucidate the role of the accession to the European Union (EU) as a catalyst for change. In particular, the paper identifies and analyses the critical junctures at which path dependencies emerged and later constrained the capacity of the regional and local actors to adjust to the EU Cohesion Policy framework and engage in strategic planning as part of it.Spatial Planning and Strateg
EU–China Regional Policy Dialogue: Unpacking the Mechanisms of an Unlikely Policy Transfer
No full textThis article investigates EU–China dialogue on regional policy, a puzzling exercise in policy transfer because such policy is by its nature inward-oriented and the intricacies of regional development imply uncertainty about its effects in different contexts. The article sheds light on the reasons of both sides for engaging in this unlikely policy learning effort and identifies its actors and mechanisms. It also critically assesses this process, stressing its one-way nature and the active role of the EU as a ‘policy-sender’, in contrast to most policy transfer literature citing demands by the policy-recipient as the predominant reason to engage in such cooperation.Spatial Planning and Strateg
Unlocking the potential of sustainability transitions to make cities more just and liveable
No full textCities are the main culprits in terms of carbon emissions. It is in cities that the effects of climate change, from heat stress, to damage and casualties brought by extreme weather, to coastal flooding, are the most acutely felt. But cities are also where technological, environmental, economic, social, and political innovations needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change and usher in more sustainable futures are designed, experimented with and upscaled. Against the backdrop of insufficient or sluggish national climate policies, cities are able to respond to the growing demand from citizens for taking more decisive and meaningful actions in the face of the climate crisis. However, the debate on how to enact urban sustainability transitions tends to focus on economic shifts or technological fixes. At the same time, the distribution of benefits of green urbanism across social groups and neighbourhoods remains deeply uneven, while access to decision-making on sustainability strategies and policy is restricted to the most influential and resourceful stakeholders. Building on the notion of spatial justice and lessons from a selection of urban experiments in planning for climate resilience, socially inclusive circular economy energy strategies, and nature-based solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation, this talk will shed light on the underused potential of urban sustainability transitions to make our cities not only climate-neutral, but also more liveable, vibrant and fair. It will also identify the key barriers for tapping into this potential and demonstrate how to overcome them by bridging policy agendas and co-producing change with the citizens.Spatial Planning and Strateg
Writing your first academic article
No full textAs academics, we must debate our research with peers, build on the existing body of research to address knowledge gaps and contribute to developing knowledge and theories that help us make sense of the increasingly complex and uncertain processes that shape regional and urban futures. We are also increasingly expected to step out of the ‘ivory tower’, engage with traditional and social media, co-create knowledge with stakeholders in the ‘real world’, and participate in a dialogue with society at large. Consequently, we witness the emergence of new (often online) tools and platforms to debate and spread knowledge and engage in these interactions. Despite all this, peer-reviewed research papers published in authoritative scholarly journals remain the cornerstone of academic work and the main medium for scholars to spread insights and lessons from their work.However, the bar for publishing in highly-ranked academic journals is very high. Moreover, academic writing can be frustrating and very daunting, not only for beginning researchers. There is good news, though: writing academic papers is a craft, and like any craft, it builds on a set of principles, skills, and formulas. All of these can be learned and developed. In this short article, I outline some of those, along with ideas and tips on how to begin and succeed in writing your first academic paper.Spatial Planning and Strateg
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
From Degradation to Regeneration: Revitalizing the socio-ecological agricultural landscapes of North-West European Lowlands
No full textThe current food production and distribution system has led to extensive degradation on both the global and local scale, requiring a transformation of the vast, urbanized rural - beyond just climate-change mitigation but radical regeneration. The ongoing intensive agricultural practices have contaminated air, soil, and water, while their market- driven character disallows the emergence of locality and circularity, exploiting workers and small-scale farmers, and disrupting the social welfare of the countryside. This system is analysed through the lenses of ecology, economy, and society, highlighting the problematic character of the Lowlands of North-West Europe, due to the immense sprawl of degenerative agriculture practices, as well as the small and fragmented network of ecosystem-valuable spaces. Following the most urgent climate-change scenario from the IPCC report, we will attempt the transition from a degenerative system towards a regenerative one, based on the pillars of ecosystem restoration, ensuring food security through sustainable means, and the shift towards regenerative agriculture practices. Concerns about spatial justice permeate all pillars horizontally, to ensure the socio- spatial regeneration of the countryside. To transition towards our vision, the strategy is approached through a series of interconnected key projects. The formation of a pan-European network of tree nurseries ensures the necessary capital of seedlings for reforestation and agroforestry practices, while a trans-border policy zone can integrate conservation and agriculture, enhancing the connectivity between ecosystems. The greenhouse zone of Westland is experimented upon, aiming towards the development of a replicable model of sustainably intensive food production model. These strategic interventions are underlined by a policy framework, stressing the liveability of the Lowlands for all rural dwellers, farmers, and workers, through access to services, education, and housing. Through this experimentation we hope to have highlighted that the examination of the countryside needs to be intrinsically tied to any effort of envisioning a future of climate- change mitigation and socio-ecological regeneration. AR2U086 R&D Studio – Spatial Strategies for the Global MetropolisArchitecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Urbanis
Introduction: historical institutionalist perspectives on European spatial planning
Get PDFIn a context where European integration is put into question, under the weight of external (migration, safety issues, economic) and centrifugal forces (Brexit, growing Euroscepticism), European spatial planning has been somewhat sidelined in the debates on the European Union’s goals, cohesion and future. This special issue aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of these dynamics by revisiting the history of European spatial planning – from its origins, gradual institutionalization to its current rolling back – by exploring it both at the European and the national level, stressing its difficulties and idiosyncrasies. The conceptual framework of historical institutionalism is used across the papers in an attempt to shed more light on this processes, through the analysis of critical junctures and path dependency of planning and cohesion agendas, transnational networks as well as changes to the national institutions and planning systems. This tightly woven collection of papers touches upon not only the underlying arguments for European cohesion, but also the questions about the future of European spatial planning as an ‘EU microcosm’ in light of current discussions concerning democratic credentials and legitimacy of the EU project as a whole.Accepted Author ManuscriptSpatial Planning and Strateg
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