Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
style and use of cartographic representations in different spatial planning
systems.
These differences in European countries' approaches to visualising spatial
policy, and the influence of these differences on transnational spatial planning
processes, are the focus of this topic. In the following sections, the European terri-
torial co-operation agenda will be discussed, followed by a review of experiences
with visualising the European territory in transnational and national spatial strat-
egies to date.
EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT
Intergovernmental co-operation on the use of European space has a long tradition,
and some agreements, such as the Rhine Treaty, date back to the nineteenth
century. The interest in co-operation between European countries increased
significantly after World War II, and the first supranational administrative authorities
were set up in the 1950s. Many bilerateral co-operation agreements between
European countries, for instance the Benelux countries, have been in place now for
several decades, and some multilateral conferrals have been institutionalised early
on (for example the Conference on Spatial Planning in North West Europe,
CRONWE, in 1962). The main reasons for these co-operation efforts can be found
in the rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in north-west Europe, and the effects
on the economy and standard of living that this implied.
However, a specific interest in supranational spatial development and European
initiatives directly focusing on spatial planning only gained more importance during
the 1990s. This growing interest in European spatial planning was fuelled by the
recognition that in the light of ongoing European integration and EU enlargement
there is a need to co-ordinate objectives and policies across the European territory
(CEC, 1998). Territorial development effects stemming from globalisation, the Eco-
nomic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the completion of the Single Market, the
enlargement of the EU to twenty-five members in 2004, and the increasing functional
interdependences of regions and nation-states due to technological changes in com-
munication and transport are all reasons for improved European co-operation. The
issue of spatial disparities and concern about the impact of global economic change
are at the heart of European policy-making. Although this is not always explicitly
referred to as spatial policy, there is growing recognition amongst policy- and
decision-makers in Europe that sectoral policies have (sometimes counterproductive)
spatial impacts and that spatial planning might provide a mechanism for co-ordinating
the territorial impacts of various sectoral policies - both horizontally across different
sectors as well as vertically among different levels of government (Williams, 1996).
