European Territorial Trends - Facts and Prospects for Cities and Regions

Recent challenges such as financial crises, migration and security issues made evident that global and local solutions have to be found simultaneously and coherently. Policies are called to reflect on and respond to these challenges with new evidence-based approaches, taking into account the specificities of a territory, while also integrating its broader context. This report  presents facts and prospects that highlight European regional and urban diversities, as well as their likely future development given ongoing trends and policies. This report analyses a set of territorial trends at pan-EU, national and sub-national scale. Past and prospective demographic and economic trends provide a picture of ‘what, where, when and how’ things happen in European cities and regions with a specific emphasis placed on urban areas since they are acknowledged sources of both opportunities and challenges.

The need to take into account the geographical diversity and the specific characteristics of a place or territory is increasingly recognised in European policy-making processes. The need to assess territorial impacts is now fully embedded in the European Commission “Better Regulation Guidelines” for assessing the impact of newly proposed initiatives and evaluating existing ones. In this context, the “LUISA Territorial Modelling Platform” is now part of the European Commission's toolbox offered to support the elaboration of such territorial impact assessments. The value added of this tool is that it integrates and analyses a wealth of data and indicators at high thematic and geographic granularity, while considering both EU and national characteristics. It can support a new paradigm of policy-making, aiming to address specific needs and exploit opportunities at the most appropriate territorial level and be responsive to expected or emerging challenges.