Search results

This paper is focused on development strategies of peripheral areas. In particular, the issue of integration effects on (internal) border regions after the completion of the internal European market is addressed. After a review of recent EC policies, it is claimed that there is an urgent need for the design and evaluation of active development strategies for former internal border areas. A case study on two Dutch (peripheral) border provinces is described to see how the indigenous development potential of such areas can be exploited as a strategic vehicle for enhancing their international competitiveness. A multiple criteria analysis is used to identify the most plausible and desirable development scenarios for these regions.

This paper contains a discussion of some issues concerning spatial aspects of energy problems. Attention is paid to regional impact analysis of energy developments. Also included is a discussion of conflict analysis in the area of energy policy, with a special view of multiobjective policy analysis. Finally, the relationships between energy consumption and transportation and between energy consumption and location patterns are described.

This book argues that complexity theory offers new departures for (spatial-) economic modelling. It offers a broad overview of recent advances in non-linear dynamics (catastrophe theory, chaos theory, evolutionary theory and so forth) and illustrates the relevance of this new paradigm on the basis of several illustrations in the area of space-economy. The empirical limitations - inherent in the use of non-linear dynamic systems approaches - are also addressed. Next, the application potential of biocomputing (in particular, neural networks and evolutionary algorithms) is stressed, while various

There is over the last few years a clear trend in Europe to privatise traditionalgovernmental tasks, also because of new EU legislation. Many of these taskshave traditionally been carried out by the government itself, largely because ofthe `natural monopoly' argument. Examples of current and future privatisationpolicies are the telecommunication and energy sector. For transport infrastructure(in this paper limited to roads and railways) however, the picture is lessunambiguous, as in the past decade the governments have even tended toincrease their influence, e.g., by formally taking over the financing of infrastructure.In this paper it is analyzed in how far the traditional arguments for governmentintervention are still valid. First, the strategic importance of transport infrastructureis investigated by analyzing the resulting economic impacts at several spatiallevels. Next, we investigate how this affects the financing and operation oftransport infrastructure as a traditional government task, by applying inter aliathe so-called Pentagon model and by employing the well-known Coase-theorem.In this context, the traditional arguments for government intervention and

New information and telecommunication technologies in the transport sector, often named `Advanced Transport Telematics' (ATT), play a key role in thenew European network economy, as they have the potential to offer new solutions to the emerging transport problems in Europe. However, the successfulexploitation of ATT in European transport markets depends on the technology being implemented in a way which meets the distinct needs of the differentroad user groups in order to achieve social acceptance and thereby political approval.It is therefore vitally important that decision makers (i.e. those influencing theadoption of ATT) have sufficient information on the needs of (commercial) road users and on the way they perceive ATT options in addressing those needs. The ATT market comprises a large number of actors from both the public and the private sector. At the demand side, some major potential market sectorscan be identified. In addition to private users, there are intermediate or collective users (e.g., road authorities) and commercial users (e.g., thefreight sector). In the latter case ATT may play a strategic role by facing the need of the freight sector to orient itself towards the opportunitiesoffered by theEuropean internal market, which has far-reaching impacts not only on organisations operating in intemational networks, but also on those operatingnationally.The aim of the underlying study is to investigate the potential ATT market among these main user and interest groups, where the range of telematicsapplications will be Restricted to those applied to inter-urban road transport. The focus will be on collective users (road managers) and commercialusers (road freight operators). Surveys and in-depth interviews have been used to gather relevant information on the views, attitudes and expectations

The main objectives of this paper are (1) to review some main trends from the past decades in assessing the interactions among development and environmental changes, and (2) to propose some future research directions. The so-called policy life-cycle hypothesis is used, which takes for granted that the political interest in new issues passes through various phases, ranging from awareness and agenda formation to policy strategies, solutions, and management. The potential impacts of projected changes in global climate and in technology on society and the environment may emerge a new wave of the policy life-cycle.

Technology policy must be considered as a tailor-made endeavour towards the creation of specific innovative activities in specific sectors and at specific locations. It therefore cannot be implemented only from the national level but must be aimed at mobilizing also the self-organizing potential at regional and local levels. Technological change and regional structures turn out to be closely interrelated. For this theme issue contributions have been invited on general aspects of technology policy (Zegveld), on its regional implications (Malecki and Nijkamp), and on the relevance of sectoral policies and entrepreneurial strategies on the spatial diffusion of innovations (Dyckman and Swyngedouw). In further papers, three spatial types of technology policy are represented: A spatially deconcentrated major technology project in the form of the French technology city Sophia-Antipolis (Perrin), a decentralized three-tier national technology policy in Japan (Kawashima and Stöhr), and a federal setting of technology policy in the case of the USA (Premus). In drawing conclusions from the papers in this theme issue, its editors discuss the question of how technology policy and regional policy can join to help create a broad entrepreneurial and innovative climate at the local scale.