AbstractsGeography &GIS

THE INTEGRATED TERRITORIAL INVESTMENT (ITI) AS A TOOL FOR GOVERNING THE RURALURBAN LINKAGES: EVIDENCE FROM POLAND

by PIER PAOLO SARACENO




Institution: DIVA
Department:
Year: 2016
Keywords: European Funds; Poland; rural-urban cooperation; Integrated Territorial Investment; EU Cohesion Policy; soft space; soft planning; Social Sciences; Social and Economic Geography; Economic Geography; Samhällsvetenskap; Social och ekonomisk geografi; Ekonomisk geografi; Engineering and Technology; Civil Engineering; Architectural Engineering; Teknik och teknologier; Samhällsbyggnadsteknik; Arkitekturteknik; FMAJP Joint Masters Programme in European Spatial Planning, Environmental Policies and Regional Development; FMAJP Gemensamt masterprogram i europeisk planering, miljö; FM2564 Masterarbete i fysisk planering med inriktning mot europeisk planering och regional utveckling; FM2564 Master's Thesis (120 credits) in Spatial Planning with an emphasis on European Spatial Planning and Regional Development
Posted: 02/05/2017
Record ID: 2065057
Full text PDF: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-12919


Abstract

The growing awareness of functional linkages between rural and urban territories has led to a re-thinking of the rural-urban dichotomy. This was flanked by a more general reconceptualization of space, directly coming from the rise of spatial planning and the shifting process from government to governance. Thus, the concept of “soft space” came to the fore, defined as the space of governance and integrated approach. The EU Commission has launched a new instrument aimed at fostering the territorial approach of the new Cohesion Policy, namely the Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI). This research wants to investigate the added value of the ITI instrument in governing and institutionalizing the rural-urban linkages at the metropolitan level. In doing so, the author has created a conceptual framework based on three main concepts directly coming from the concept of soft space, namely institutionalization, governance capacity, and integrated approach. The empirical study is focused on Poland, in particular, dealing with the case of Warsaw, Krakow, and Wroclaw. As a result, this research argues that the ITI in Poland has represented an attempt to improve the cooperation between capital cities and their surrounding areas, even though its outcomes can be questionable.