Inner areas in Europe from an accessibility point of view

Klaus Spiekermann

ESPON Seminar“Territories Acting for Economic Growth:

Using territorial evidence to meet challenges towards 2020”

Inspire policy making by territorial evidence

TRansport ACCessibility at Regional/Local Scaleand Patterns in Europe

Project partner1.Spiekermann & Wegener, Urban and Regional Research (S&W), Dortmund, Germany (Lead Partner)

2.Charles University in Prague, Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Prague, Czech Republic

3.RRG Spatial Planning and Geoinformation, Oldenburg, Germany

4.Mcrit, Barcelona, Spain

5.University of Oulu, Department of Geography, Oulu, Finland

6.TRT Trasporti e Territorio, Milan, Italy

7.S. Leszczycki Institute of Geography and Spatial Organisation - Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland

ESPON TRACC

Inner areas are being addressed by policy makers as areas with low access to basic services of general interest. These are often rural and remote areas that need to develop on endogenous potentials such as nature and culture assets.

-> “Inner peripheries”

Inner areas

• Main 'product' of a transport system

• Determines the locational advantage of an area relative to all areas

• Indicators of accessibility measure the benefits households and firms in an area enjoy from the existence and use of the transport infrastructure relevant for their area.

• Two components of accessibility:

• Opportunities of interest

• Effort to reach opportunities

Accessibility

• Regions inbetween (larger) agglomerations• Low accessibility regarding opportunities of interest

Three dimensions of “innerness”:• Global• European• regional

Inner peripheries

Travel time to New York

Intermodal

Minutes

Europeanaccessibility

potential travel, rail

ESPON = 100

European potential

accessibitlity, by rail,

to GDP, freight,

unitised (ESPON

space = 100)

Availability of urban

functions (60 min. by road)

TRACCRegional

case studies

• access to regional centres• availability of jobs• accessibility potential to population• access to hospitals• availability of higher secondary schools• accessibility potential to medical doctors

TRACC regional case studies: indicators

PolandTravel time to next regional

centre

Czech RepublicTravel time to next regional

centre

FinlandJobs available by

car within 60 minutes travel

time

Northern ItalyJobs available by

car within 60 minutes travel

time(in thousand jobs)

Baltic StatesTravel time

to next hospital by car

(minutes)

Western Mediterranean

Travel time to next hospital

by car(minutes)

BavariaUpper

secondary schools

(gymnasium) within 30

minutes car travel time

BavariaUpper secondary

schools (gymnasium)

within 30 minutes public transport

travel time

1. How could Europe address inner areas or peripheries in policy terms?

2. Is their development more a national or regional responsibility than a European?

3. Would European policy for inner areas be a way forward and, if so, which EU policies are relevant?

Concluding questions

Further Information

• www.espon.eu-> TRACC project

• Dr.-Ing. Klaus SpiekermannSpiekermann & Wegener, Urban and Regional Research (S&W) Dortmund, Germanyks@spiekermann-wegener.de

www.spiekermann-wegener.de