Discussing the ongoing and future challenges of EU Cohesion Policy, this book critically addresses the economic, social and territorial challenges at the heart of the EU's policy. It identifies the multifaceted and dynamic nature of the policy as well as the interlinkage with other policies and considers unresolved questions of strategic importance in territorial governance, urban and regional inequalities, and social aspects and well-being. Interdisciplinary perspectives offer well-founded historical views, conceptual thoughts, policy insights and empirical analyses of EU Cohesion Policy, exploring under-represented territorial and spatial perspectives. Fostering a long term, visionary debate, the book looks into the controversial aspects of the policy. It concludes with a rich synthesis of the debate, emphasising three key concerns: disintegration as an alternative to the eroding idea of greater European integration; the discontent of cities and regions due to widening inequalities; and the discretion of member states which prevents the EU from engaging more deeply with social issues. With commentaries on each of the key areas provided by top scholars, this book will be an invigorating read for EU policy makers keen to gain a more critical understanding of key issues around territorial, social and economic cohesion. It will also be an insightful read for economic geography, spatial planning, political science, international relations, European studies and social science scholars in general.

Contents: Preface xix 1 EU Cohesion Policy and European spatial governance: an introduction to territorial, economic and social challenges 1 Franziska Sielker, Daniel Rauhut and Alois Humer 2 EU Cohesion Policy: the past, the present and the future 17 Philip McCann and Raquel Ortega-Argiles PART A TERRITORIAL GOVERNANCE 3 Territorial governance aspects in the EU's Cohesion Policy: an introduction 27 Alois Humer and Daniel Rauhut 4 Spatial framing within EU Cohesion Policy and spatial planning: towards functional and soft spaces, yet on different paths 31 Eva Purkarthofer and Peter Schmitt 5 Cohesion Policy as a driver of Europeanisation: a comparative analysis 48 Giancarlo Cotella and Marcin Dabrowski 6 Territorial cohesion and the sea: experiences from European maritime spatial planning 66 John Moodie, Franziska Sielker and David Goldsborough 7 Urban Policy in European Cohesion Policy 83 Karsten Zimmermann and Rob Atkinson 8 European (dis)integration: implications for the EUropean Cohesion Policy 98 Estelle Evrard and Tobias Chilla 9 Commentary: complex EU cohesion and 'integration mark 2' 115 Andreas Faludi PART B URBAN AND REGIONAL INEQUALITIES 10 Urban and regional inequality aspects of the EU's Cohesion Policy: an introduction 124 Franziska Sielker and Alois Humer 11 Territorial cohesion, polycentrism and regional disparities: revisiting an unsolved debate 127 Evert Meijers and Krister Sandberg 12 Can the EU Cohesion Policy fight peripheralization? 142 Julia A. Nagy and Jozsef Benedek 13 Does Cohesion Policy affect territorial inequalities and regional development? 156 Lionel Vedrine and Julie Le Gallo 14 Smart specialisation, peripheries and the EU Cohesion Policy 171 Cristina Serbanica 15 What regions benefit from the post-2009-crisis Cohesion Policy? Evidence from a Territorial Cohesion Development Index 185 Daniel Rauhut and Nuno Marques da Costa 16 Commentary: urban and regional inequalities and the architecture of EU Cohesion Policy 199 Tomasz Komornicki PART C SOCIAL ASPECTS AND WELLBEING 17 Social aspects in the EU's Cohesion Policy: an introduction 208 Daniel Rauhut and Franziska Sielker 18 EU Cohesion Policy: towards grounded cities and regions 216 Yvonne Franz and Alois Humer 19 Mobility in the Danube Region: the role of transnational cooperation in addressing challenges of migration 230 Elisabeth Gruber and Adam Nemeth 20 Between markets and social rights: confused EU housing policies 244 Ivan Tosics and Simone Tulumello 21 Commentary: social issues and wellbeing in the EU - challenges for Cohesion Policy 260 Eduarda Marques da Costa PART D CONCLUDING REMARKS 22 Unsettled questions of disintegration, discontent and discretion 272 Alois Humer, Daniel Rauhut and Franziska Sielker Afterword: territorial cohesion, a never-ending academic challenge? 276 Klaus R. Kunzmann Index