English

In and with this new issue of Borders in Perspective we invite you to engage in productive boundary work and encourage you to critically examine the relationship between nature and culture in the Anthropocene. In the current geological epoch of the Anthropocene, in which humankind is seen as the central driving force for global changes in ecological systems, seemingly secure boundaries between nature and society are on the one hand dissolving and on the other hand being redrawn elsewhere. The boundaries between society and nature, science and politics or individual disciplines are no longer clearly and easy to define. In view of pressing phenomena such as climate change, the loss of biodiversity and growing social inequalities, cross-border research is needed - research that does not stop at disciplinary boundaries, but transcends them. This issue is therefore intended to provide an impetus for exploring boundary phenomena in the relationship between nature and society, which have so far not been the focus of border studies. The authors of the new issue of Borders in Perspective, for example, examine the various ways in which borders are drawn and dissolved in the Anthropocene from multiple perspectives and multidisciplinary directions.

Cross-border regions are often laboratories for the circulation of ideas and practices. This article asks whether, in Greater Geneva region, it is possible to transpose the cooperative housing model, fairly developed in Switzerland, into the French context, where this type of housing is less common. Using the example of Viry, a French municipality located within the institutional perimeter of Greater Geneva, the article analyzes the possibilities and limits of such a transposition. The results show the difficulty in emulating a context specific to reproducing the Swiss model of cooperatives in France. The legislative and institutional differences, but also cultural differences with regard to housing in its various dimensions are all obstacles to reproducing, identically in France, proven methods of construction of cooperative housing in Switzerland. It is therefore necessary to develop creative adaptations of different kinds so that the original model can find a place in the new context.

In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, borders have become relevant (again) in political action and in people's everyday lives within a very short time. This was especially true for the inhabitants of border regions, whose cross-border life worlds were suddenly irritated by closed borders and police controls. However, the COVID-19 pandemic also led to an increased evidence of social, cultural, economic, health and mobility boundaries beyond national borders, which raised pressing questions about social inequalities. The authors shed light on these dynamics from the perspective of territorial borders, social boundaries and (dis)continuities in border regions through a variety of thematic and spatial approaches. The critical observations and scientific comments were made during the lockdown in April and May 2020 and provide insights into the events during the global pandemic. 

In current times, the coronavirus is spreading and taking its toll all over the world. Inspite of having developed into a global pandemic, COVID-19 is oftentimes met with local national(ist) reactions. Many states pursue isolationist politics by closing and enforcing borders and by focusing entirely on their own functioning in this moment of crisis. This nationalist/nationally-oriented rebordering politics goes hand in hand with what might be termed ‘linguistic rebordering,’ i.e. the attempts of constructing the disease as something foreign-grown and by apportioning the blame to ‘the other.’ This paper aims at laying bare the interconnectedness of these geopolitical and linguistic/discursive rebordering politics. It questions their efficacy and makes a plea for cross-border solidarity.

The object of the current Thematic Issue is not to focus on the individuals (the cross-border commuters) but on the organization of the  cross-border labor markets. We move from a micro perspective to a macro perspective in order to underline the diversity of the cross-border labor markets (at the French borders, for example) and shed light on the many aspects that impact cross-border supply or demand. Trying to understand the whole system that goes beyond the cross-border flows, the question we address in this thematic issue is about the organization of the labor markets: is the system organized in a cross-border way? Or do the borders still prevent a genuinely integrated cross-border labor market?

The Greater Region belongs to the most important regions in the European Union in terms of cross-border cooperation. After a start in the 70ies the cooperation in the field of spatial planning arose to an important pillar of cooperation. However, concrete evidence on the high relevance of cross-border spatial planning is scarce. This issue is mostly picked up in relation to the legal and institutional framework. This strategic paper on hand calls for cross-border spatial planning resulting from planning practices that aim at sustainably take into account the societal needs in space besides law, plans and concepts. After a short presentation of the most decisive milestones of cooperation in the field of cross-border spatial planning in the Greater Region, the strategic paper presents the results of an experimental workshop (planning game) that was conducted in 2017 and involved researchers as well as planning practitioners. At the end, several recommendations are presented which are based on the analysis of the research material.

The spatial development of cities and regions is influenced by trends such as climate change, demographic shifts and structural change, which do not stop at administrative boundaries but shape the development of larger territories. Additionally, often functional and thematic interrelations exist across national borders that lead to frequent exchanges and interdependencies of territories and its citizens. Therefore, the coordination of the cross-border territorial development is crucial for a future-oriented and sustainable spatial development. Due to its great importance, this topic is examined from different perspectives by European scientists in the first issue of Borders in Perspective.