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Towards a European Geography of Future Perspectives: A Story of Urban Concentration

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Part of the book series: The Urban Book Series ((UBS))

Abstract

Urban areas and the diversity of urban areas across Europe are a corner stone of territorial cohesion . At the same time, territorial cohesion in Europe is challenged by the dominant role of urban areas in territorial development and in territorial development policies. One may conclude that the urban perspective and territorial cohesion cannot do without each other, but at the same time, they risk to wreck each other. This contribution will further explore this complicated relation. Starting with the growing importance of urban areas , the first section will address the increasing concentration of economic and demographic growth in Europe to urban areas (Böhme and Lüer 2017; ESPON 2017, 2018). Based on the idea that cities act as motors for territorial development in a wider region, over the past decades they have become the centre points for development and future perspectives . The impact this had on territorial cohesion can be discussed at least at two different levels: (a) European and (b) functional urban/regional level .

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Correspondence to Kai Böhme .

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Böhme, K., Lüer, C., Toptsidou, M. (2019). Towards a European Geography of Future Perspectives: A Story of Urban Concentration. In: Medeiros, E. (eds) Territorial Cohesion. The Urban Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03386-6_9

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