COHSMO

INEQUALITY, URBANIZATION AND TERRITORIAL COHESION: DEVELOPING THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL MODEL OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEMOCRATIC CAPACITY

Introduction - The COHSMO project

The COHSMO project ran from 2017-2021 with funding from the EU research programme Horizon 2020. The overall aim was to deepen our knowledge about the ways localities matter for spatial justice. The project is concerned with the resurgence of territorial inequalities and the reduced capacity of social cohesion policies to mitigate them. Moreover, it focuses on the increasingly challenging task that faces policies at different scales that aim to manage the impact of the huge social, economic and demographic changes affecting vulnerable territories and that must keep pace with the ongoing dynamics of transformation. The main research question guiding the project was:

“How can we understand the relation between socio-economic struc- tures of inequality, urbanization and territorial cohesion and howdoes territorial cohesion at different European scales affect economic growth, spatial justice and democratic capacities?”

The seven COHSMO-cases and their locations

During the research process, it became clear that, when compared on a pan-European basis, case study areas within the same category displayed an ‘intra-category’ variation along several dimensions. While each area type represents geographical areas that share some fundamental conditions in terms of demographics and urban or rural morphology, the case studies within each area type are characterized by variations in territori- al-capital constellations, specific territorial problems, territorial business life, autonomy of local governance, mobilization of local civil society and local traditions. The consequence is that place-making approaches and policies aimed at increasing territorial cohesion must consider such varia- tions. Below is an overview of the intra-category variation along the most central dimensions for the three types of case study area (rural, suburban, and metropolitan/urban).

Urban areas: High population density, High degree of population turbulence.

Suburban areas: Neither high nor low population density, Tendency to population influx.

Rural areas: Low population density, Tendency to out-migration.

The Seven COHSMO Cases - Hit the red button to see the localities in each case.

Denmark

In Denmarks the three locations is in The Central Region of Denmark. The Central Denmark Region consists of 19 municipalities and it has a total population of 1,313,596, equal to 22.7% of the Danish population. Geographically, it covers an area of 13,000 square kilometres, equal to 30.3% of the country.

The three localities, Aarhus, Horsens and Lemvig, share the position of being part of the same intermediate region, in the sense that it is neither the main region of growth nor the one struggling the most. This defines the position of all three localities within the region. They all face challenges but at the same time offer potentials and identifiable routes for future development. The challenges and potential differ however. For the metropolitan and suburban case, main challenges relate to spatial segregation and specific social housing areas marked by concentrated deprivation. For Horsens, a main aspiration of importance for its future is to become a thriving educational centre that can hold on to and even attract students, offering an alternative to education in the main educational cities such as Aarhus. Both the suburban and the rural case are interesting with respect to growth policies; both trying to some extent to reinvent themselves: Horsens by a transformation of the city from a traditional industrial city to a city of mixed economy connected to the knowledge economy and Lemvig through developing the west coast of the municipality to a recreational area with a focus on more summerhouses and a thematic focus on surfing, the geological history and nature in general

The rural case - Lemvig

Austria

In Austria the area is the region Vienna and the surrounding federal state Lower Austria. Based on this selection, Vienna was chosen as the metropolitan case. As for the suburban and rural case, we chose the areas based on the governance instrument 'Kleinregion' (small planning region). 'Kleinregion Ebreichsdorf', an inter-municipal cooperation of 10 municipalities, serves as the suburban case and the 'Kleinregion Waldviertler Kernland', an inter-municipal cooperation of 14 municipalities ad the rural case.

The main differences in terms of demographic trends can be first and foremost found along population growth and loss. Whilst the metropolitan and suburban case show substantial population growth, the rural case is characterized by population loss. Vienna, as the metropolitan case is much more affected by international migration, both by high and by low status groups. Although not necessarily the only explanation, this leads to strong patterns of intra-local socio-economic disparities for the metropolitan case. The rural case shows considerable intra-local socio-economic disparities, mostly related to disparities in the structure of the local economy, whilst intra-local differences in population size, commuting and local employment characterize the suburban case. Ageing, however, will affect all case studies, but the rural case most, because the working age population will be decreased through outmigration. On the contrary, the share of elderly people will grow of the suburban case, but at the same time the working age population will grow as well, although less than in the metropolitan case. Connected to that is another line of difference. Whilst the rural and especially the suburban case show weak local economies in terms of local employment and high figures of outward commuting as a consequence, Vienna, to the contrary, is an (international) employment and economic centre. The latter is characterized by a major tertiary sector, whereas the rural case is characterized by substantial amounts of employment in agriculture.

Overview Vienna,

Kahlenberg; Vienna.

Vienna

Pop-Up-Pool Gürtelfrische on intersection of outer and inner district. Zipping together low-income and posh area as well as combating Urban Heat Islands, 08/2020; Vienna.

The urban - Vienna

Impressions of new housing sites: Community Gardens, Community-Only Pool, Community Building Site.

Greece

Greece is divided into 13 regions and the selected region is the Region of Attica, which encompasses the contry's capital and largest city (the city of Athens). Its population raises up to almost 4 million inhabitants, out of a total population of almost 11 million inhabitants. Thus, the region of Attica hosts 36% of the total population, followed far behind by the region of Central Macedonia, which hosts only 17%.

Within the region of Attica, the selected study areas include the metropolitan area of the central Municipality of Athens (located in the centre of Attica Basin), the suburban Municipalities of Pallini and Peania (located in the north-eastern suburban zone very close to the Municipality of Athens) and the rural Municipality of Marathon (located in the north-eastern "periphery" of the region of Attica).

The urban case - Athens

Italy

Lombardia is the selected region in Italy. It is one of the biggest regions and is the most populated region with 10,019,166 residents on 01/01/2017. The three locations here is Milan, Legnano and Oltrepò Pavese.

Milan is a leading-edge city in terms of inclusive local policies. Policy innovation promoting the economic growth and attractiveness of the city has been very important in the last years. In 2015, Milan hosted the Expo and since then it has seen a strong increase in touristic flows, supported by specific municipal policies aimed at renewing the most attractive parts of the city. Big private investments have been recently contributed to develop new residential and commercial areas. Nevertheless, in spite of some interesting policy innovation, levels of social inequality has also increased in the city: youth unemployment is very high; care-work reconciliation is still very hard without family help; non-EU migration has hugely increased paving the way for high segregation risks in some parts of the city, and the housing conditions of the poorer have been deteriorating in the last years due to cuts in social housing programs.

Legnano is a city included in the Functional Area of Milan. This city is part of a territorial corridor comprised between three rivers (Lambro-Seveso-Olona), intensively urbanized and with a high population density. Its suburban position within the territorial hierarchy of the region is clearly shown by its high dependency on Milan (as shown by huge daily commuting flows). Nevertheless, this dependence is strongly mitigated by the centrality of Legnano for a large surrounding area. Its big size, the distance from Milan (more than 30 km), and its strongly locally rooted social and economic role, have therefore contributed to make the city an interesting case of network-based suburbanization.

Finally, Oltrepo Pavese is the selected rural area. It is rather remote from the main metropolitan areas and it has in general a quite low level of accessibility. Due to its geographical position, lack of accessibility and to ongoing depopulation, the area has been selected as one of the targets for the National Strategy for Inner Areas (with co-funding by the Region Lombardy).

Lithuania

The three locations in Lithuania is Kaunas city (urban), Kaunas district (suburban) and Pakruojis district (rural).

The main differences of the selected localities (municipalities) lay in their demographic, social and economic challenges and local potential to implement territorially-driven growth policies. For example, “The 2014-2020 Investment Action Program of the European Union Funds” approved by the government of the Republic of Lithuania for implementation of “2014-2020 National Progress Program” emphasize that the larger cities of the country including Kaunas city municipality have a large potential for investments: besides creating polycentric urban districts and functional transportation system, the renewal of residential districts, the use of cultural potential and the maintenance of creative local communities are planned. The similar potential is characteristic for suburban Kaunas district municipality which is developing under the strong influence and proximity of Kaunas city in terms of commuting infrastructure, transportation networks, public services delivery and labor market supply. The extensive economic interdependence is also significant, especially, considering the proximity of Kaunas Free Economic Zone in Kaunas district territory which brings the large amount of new jobs and stimulates the increasement of household incomes. In this sense, the effective inter-institutional collaboration between both municipalities becomes one of the most important aspects. The geographic proximity and resources interdependence also creates some challenges for uncovering the specificity of territorial cohesion policies which could be related to specific territories. Contrary, the rural municipality of Pakruojis district reveals the challenges to grasp the innovative policies approach which could combine the scarce local resources and potential. The quick demographic decline and dependence on low value-added agriculture activities creates the continuous problems for municipal administration of re-shaping the economic growth strategy. One of the examples, is newly approved “Program for Small and Medium Business Promotion in Pakruojis” and continuous efforts to encourage cultural tourism (Pakruojis manor ensemble).

Kaunas city

Kaunas city

Kaunas District

Kaunas District

Kaunas District

Pakruojis

Pakruojis

Pakruojis

Poland

The selected region is Pomerania (województwo pomorskie). The region is located in the Northern Poland on Baltic sea shore. The region has 2.3 million population and over 18,000 sq.km. Its core is Gdańsk agglomeration, consisting of three cities of the core area (Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot) and surrounding suburban zone.The three selected localities within the chosen region include metropolitan city of Gdańsk, which is the capital of Pomerania region and together with Gdynia and Sopot form so-called “Tri-city agglomeration”, Pruszcz Gdański, a suburban locality adjacent to the city of Gdańsk which belongs to its metropolitan area and consists of two municipalities (which is explained in the description of this particular locality) and Debrzno, a rural locality located in the south-west periphery of the region.

Urban (Gdansk) vs. Rural (Debrzno)

United Kingdom

The UK team will focus on the following case studies: 1) Metropolitan area - Greater Bristol – includes surrounding municipalities. Here the contrast will be between Bristol and the functional and morphologically integrated suburban local authority of South Gloucestershire (with a particular concentration on the North Bristol Fringe); 2) Suburban area - North Staffordshire which is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, distinct local authority areas but functionally and morphologically integrated. Here we will focus on the suburban market town of Newcastle-Under-Lyme and contrast it with one of the towns that make up Stoke-on-Trent; 3) Rural area - West Dorset, a ‘classic’ English rural area experiencing a wide range of problems (aging population, ‘brain drain’, the need for new forms of economic growth, problems of accessibility to services related to rurality and associated issues of connectivity).

In terms of our three case studies the Metropolitan area (Greater Bristol) and Suburban area (North Staffordshire) are both functionally and morphologically integrated and this is typical of the type of urbanisation found in England. However, both are administratively separate and this raises important issues of territorial governance, most notably around cooperation and coordination and the need to reconcile ‘conflicting political and economic interests’ which have implications for territorial cohesion. In both areas attempts have been made to address these issues, through various formal and informal partnership arrangements, which appear to have been more or less successful. West Dorset on the other hand is a ‘classic’ English rural areas made up of small towns and villages and experiencing problems associated with rurality (e.g. accessibility to services). Like the metropolitan and suburban areas it too is engaged in a range of partnership structures with adjacent local authorities (e.g. Weymouth & Portland) and the upper tier of local government (Dorset County Council).

Bristol

Key lessons from the seven COHSMO countries

    AUSTRIA

    • Local cooperation can step up to cover service provision
    • Top-down structures can facilitate local innovation
    • Both formalized governance mechanisms and stakeholders' cooperation may increase territorial sensitivity
    • An integrated governance structure increases coherence in policy making
    • Subsidiarity can be a means to balance territorial inequalities
    • Expanding local childcare services is a key to increasing employment among women

    DENMARK

    • Social investment policies can be coupled with new territorial agendas
    • Local innovation and learning results when buttom-up initiatives tie into top-down structures
    • Territorial capital is mobilized in collaborative and flexible governance arrangements
    • A strong local narrative can be a doble-edged sword
    • Extensive local leverage exists within centralizes policy fields

    GREECE

    • With a view to territorial cohesion, we need integrated policies rather than policy priorities
    • Collective efficacy and democratic capacity are essential elements of innovative territorial governance
    • Sharing knowledge and experience among different localities is also an ingredient for place-based policies
    • Useful european financing tools are there; the whole point is for them to be used at local level
    • Cooperation, cooperation, cooperation (territorial cooperation is the key)

ITALY

  • Urban and territorial policies mainly focus on economic development and only address social cohesion rhetorically
  • The presence of rent-seeking interests in open, strategic and collaborative local coalitions undermines the success of cohesion policies
  • A territorially balanced articulation of public services impacted on a local community's life chances and generates synergies between efficiency and equity in the long-term
  • The availability of financial, administrative, and cognitive resources increases the chance for the positive response of localities to social investment policies
  • Horisontal and multi-level coordination can maximise synergies and tackle complex challenges
  • The country's rising socio-spatial inequalities call for a territorially sensitive social investment approach

LITHUANIA

  • Rural areas continue to 'live small' rather than compete in regional economic arenas
  • Localities transcend the economic growth narratives by suggesting quality of life and social innovations
  • Territorial economic capital is an advantage that has been prioritized over community networks by local authorities
  • Spatial configurations and settlement patterns of urban and rural areas are important for social investment policy
  • Network governance may be understood as an alternative to hierarchical arrangements between central authorities and municipalities in implementing social investment policies

POLAND

  • Spatial planning is used as a tool for strategic coordination and balancing between local growth and sustainable co-(production) of public goods
  • Embracing demographic changess is one of the key challenges for development strategies
  • There is on universal answer to the question of the proper scale for growth and cohesion policies
  • Local leadership can promote cross-sectoral collaboration
  • Local civic leadership can help mobilize (scarce) territorial capital

UNITED KINGDOM

  • A long-term strategic vision and strategic plan that are inclusive
  • While institutional leadership is important in planning and policy making for territorial cohesion, leadership needs to go beyond traditional forms of top-down leadership
  • Territorial governance and the integration of previously unaligned strategies/policies
  • The dominant focus of national spatial policy on city-regions risks exacerbating the problems of "places left behind"

COHSMO – INEQUALITY, URBANIZATION AND TERRITORIAL COHESION: DEVELOPING THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL MODEL OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEMOCRATIC CAPACITY

This project has recieved funding from the European Union’s Horizion 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 727058.

Urban (Gdansk) vs. Rural (Debrzno)