Session 3
Polycentric urban regions: territories for the future?

The development at regional level of polycentric urban territorial systems is today seen as a major challenge in planning strategies. The example of the Randstad, an urban region enjoying strong connections with the rest of the world by way of the existence of several complementary, strongly interactive poles, and possessing today of a large green space in the centre, is viewed as an ideal in the field of planning. Consequently, medium size towns are being strongly recommended to cooperate and create links with their neighbours so as to generate forms of synergy liable to provide them with international visibility.

The aim of this session is to take a critical look at these models of spatial organisation. The ambition is to sketch out the scope of an alternative approach fully incorporating all possible options, and avoiding a single development model arising from and unduly “economist” view of territories.

Session 4
Exchange and cooperation networks

The concept of a worldwide economy based on networks of relationships is not new. Yet the functionality of a network of relationships is rarely taken into account. There is much reluctance: institutional, methodological and ideological inertia is still today an obstacle to rethinking these issues.

The aim of this session is to show that, in the European territory which is in a phase of rapid integration, particular attention should be paid to exchange and cooperation networks. Deeper consideration should be given to the part played by flow as a factor in producing territory. The issue is not to set out a new normative model, or a new dominant theory. By viewing territories and networks of cities in terms of the way they articulate one with another and in terms of functional relationships, rather than principally in terms of locality and distribution, the ambition is to highlight all possible integration patterns for the European space that is in the process of forming.