“New perspective on towns in Europe: from analysis to policy agenda”

Leuven (BE), 29 November 2013

Evidence shows that small and medium sized towns (SMSTs)are rooted in local specificities and existing territorial capital, which becomes vulnerable if not well supported by tailored policies, in particular during and after periods of crisis, which have affected in different way these specific urban areas.

Therefore, paying specific attention to SMSTs could offer opportunities to increase the resilience of territories facing global economic trends, retaining population that otherwise would be attracted by bigger metropolitan areas, and boosting the specific potentialities of territories.

The scope of the workshop is two-fold:

1. to discuss some preliminary findings. The different spatial performances that characterise SMSTs across Europe and in particular in the case study areas will be combined to provide an overview of different policy issues that emerged from the analysis.
2. to use the findings as a starting point for further discussions with stakeholders and policy makers from different EU regions. The various regional and national cases will provide different perspectives and approaches while indicating good practices, difficulties and future opportunities.

Further information and registration

Contact Loris Servillo [email protected]

Programme of the Workshop, version 28 October 2013

ESPON TOWN project - Small and Medium-Sized Towns