Comparing Cross-border Metropolitan Integration in Europe: Towards a Functional Typology

This article was supported by the European Spatial Planning Observatory within the framework of its METROBORDER “Cross-Border Polycentric Metropolitan Regions” project and this research was part of the MetroNet project supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund.

The globalisation of economic and cultural exchanges, the reduction in the relative role of the Nation States and regional integration processes have led to a profound political and economic territorial reorganisation, in particular in Europe's border regions. However, the development of cross-border economic relations does not necessarily imply a reduction in disparities or a strengthening of territorial cohesion, which is one of the core objectives of European spatial planning. In view of these findings, the article analyses the process of spatial integration in ten European cross-border metropolitan regions. The development of cross-border regions shows that the relationship between the interactions and convergence if far from automatic.  By putting the spotlight on the concept of integration rather than on cohesion, this research avoids using a largely controversial notion.

In this research, cross-border metropolitan regions are defined as functional urban areas that lie across one or more international borders. In this article, the following 10 metropolitan areas are studied: Aix-la-Chapelle-Liège-Maastricht, Basel, Geneva, Copenhagen-Malmo, Lille, Luxembourg, Nice-Monaco-San Remo, Saarbrücken, Strasbourg and Vienna-Bratislava.

The article's main objective is to examine the importance of the concept of cross-border functional integration in the European context, based on a wider interpretation than that generally used in the economic literature. This question is studied using two indicators, which are compared as part of a comparative approach. Firstly, the analysis combines the phenomenon of cross-border with the differences in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Secondly, the consequences of a high level of integration of labour markets are examined from the point of view of residents' residential choices. To do this three indicators are used. The first indicator is the number of cross-border workers. The second indicator shows the differences in GDP per capita between border territories, while the third indicator shows the number of residents in a border region who are nationals of the neighbouring country. As well as the three indicators calculated for this study, it was decided to show the linguistic situation in each case, that is to say whether the border territories share a common language, whether only some of the territories speak the same language or whether the languages used are different.