Welcome to

COST C10

Outskirts of European Cities

Internal Structure/Work Groups

Chair: Genevieve Dubois-Taine

	WG1 Governance	WG2 Structures	WG3 Dynamics	WG4 Theoretical Background
Chair	John Jorgensen, DK	Axel Borsdorf, Aut	Margareta Gavatin, SW	Malachy McEldowney, UK
Delegates	Inger Lise Saglie, Nor Andres Walliser,Sp Klaus Einig, Ger Jean Ruegg, Sw Ola Wetterberg, Sw	Aimo Huhdanmaki, Fin Peirre Zembri, Fr Michael Koch, Sw Paolo Giovannini, It Chris Demetriou, Gr	Pekka Lahti, Fin Eckhard Wolf, Ger Christoph Stadel, Aut Gianluigi Sartorio, It Jean Marie Halleux Metka Sitar Jakil, Slo Anna Caramondani, Cy Genevieve Dubois-Taine	Axel Borsdorf, Aut John Jorgensen, DK Genevieve Dubois-Taine
Experts	Philippe Estebe, Fr Ingemar Erlander, Sw	Anna-Joh Klassander, Sw Pierre Frankhauser, Fr Stefano Crivelli, It	Francois Bellanger, Fr D Corominas, Sp Michaela Paal, Aut Mats Frazen, Sw	.

Scientific Secretary: Jan Spoutsa, European Commission, Research Directorate.

1 - Working Group 1 : Governance.

1 - Who are the actors ?; The State, the Region, the Municipality,...; The different economic actors ? the people ? the associations ? the farmers ? ...; What are their main interests ?; What are the areas they are involved in ?; Who are the public actors especially involved in the comprehension and the support of the <outskirts> ?; Necessity to build a grid of them with the adequate topics. How to describe them ?
: 2 - The right perimeters, the right scales; How to deal with the perimeters linked with the different kind of elected people, of administration ? of States ? (France and Spain in the BAB); How to deal with these perimeters and with (project areas) such as those for public transport, water supply,...; How can the perimeters take into account the specificities of the outskirts ?; Transnational planning
: 3 - What are the right places and right processes to make the decisions ?; Different things are to decide in urban areas : urban planning, urban management, new projects (roads, services, to solve a local problem .; Who decides that a question has to be solved or that a new idea have to be taken into account ?; How can a project be a stimulation for a dynamic urban process ?; What are the ways to make clear the questions, the proposals ? to involve people and each of the actors ?; Are the processes different in the outskirts ?

4 - Transnational Planning

How to negotiate between two different countries with different laws and rules ?

To examine the differences between the Spanish and French laws and rules.

What influence of the decisions (laws, rules, regulation, ...) taken by the European Union ?

5 - A sustainable governance.

How to define in each case, the right human settlement structure in regard to sustainability ? the best economic way to reach the goals, the best project that maintains the ecology....

- what could be a sustainable process ?

II - Working Group II : Structures.

1 - Description of different human settlements structures.

metropolises in a hierarchical system : a main town centre, secondary centres, outskirts connected to the subcentres, all the main functions being set up in the main centre, secondary functions in the secondary centres,

- polynuclear or multipolar territories : a network of big towns or of medium sized towns (a network of independent cities), agriculture and <green> in-between, a network (a grid) of transport system,... The centres have complementary functions (BAB, Ruhr, Aix Marseille area,) What definitions for the outskirts in this case ?

- a partnership between medium sized towns quite isolated each from the others (it can be about 50 km). All connected through a transport network, these cities share the services in order to complete each other and to be competitive in the world economy

rural metropolises : many villages with their own dynamics. They form, all together a cloud of little human settlements, have their own economy, (Emilie Romagna: around Bologna, Luberon in France with 150.000 inhabitants,)

2 - Transport network and its role in the urbanisation. (see also 111)

- the hierarchical system is supported by a <x star system> of transport, the polynuclear system, by a grid of urban transport, the system of medium sized towns by a grid of rural roads which are more important than in the last model.

- pre-eminent role of the transport on the urbanisation : what different kind of urban growth around the main roads and/or public transport stations.

3 - Centres, polarities, dense areas,; Centres, polarities organise the territories.; - what can be defined as a centre : the old one, the commercial centre, the main public transport stations,....are centres always dense ? Can a centre have an <outskirts architecture> ? (for example, Anglet); - relationships between the old centres and the new centres.; - can a centre be a void as the green earth of the Randstatt ?; - Why do people need centres ? or don't they ?; - The services organise the territories too, event if they are not in a centre : Schools, shops, shopping centres, leisure areas,
: 4 - The intermediate areas.; The intermediate areas between the urbanised areas structure the territories as well as the centres and polarities.; - what are their functions ? : a reserve for the future urbanisation, green structures,...; - In the second case (polynuclear), the green structures organise the metropolises (Ruhr, BA.B,...); - how to maintain agriculture in-between the urban areas and the villages ? (see 1); - is the urban sprawl to organise around (urban villages), or is the rural sprawl to organise, for maintaining the dissemination ?; Social structuration
: 5 - Then, what are the outskirts ?; - the areas outside of the centre ?; - the sprawled areas ?; - are the outskirts specific entities ? have the outskirts a specific identity ?
: 6 - Architectural and urban shapes.; - how to describe the architecture and the urban shapes of the outskirts in comparison with those from the centre ? Are they specific ? Is it possible to have a town centre with an (outskirts architecture) (Anglet) ?; - how to deal with the many new <urban pieces> as technologic centres, leisure areas, commercial centres, multi-screens cinemas ? Are they, with their <outskirts architecture> to be later integrated in the centres ? How to build an homogeneous town with them ? (San Sebastian)
: 7 - Sustainable urban structures, at the different scales; with respect to the environment,; with respect to the sustainable economic growth; with respect to a sustainable social development

III - Working Group III: Dynamics

1 - History of the territories -.; - main facts that explain the urban development, the urban sprawl , the different kinds of outskirts.; role of the urban laws, rules , administration,...
: 2 - Role of the economy,; - the strategies of the economic actors: shops, factories, main chains, offices, farmers,. - the world economy; - the new economy (Internet,...),; - tourism, money of the retired people,; - the role of the land values
: 3 - Role of the kind, of the level of services; - schools, Universities,...; - health, hospitals,...; - social services, ..; How their location do structure the settlements
: 4 - The infrastructures organise the territories,; - roads, motorways, nodes, ...how they are organised (star system, grid,) at the different scales (agglomeration, district,); - public transport system, facilities for the bicycles, at the different scales
: 5 - Needs of the populations, new ways of life : what is quality ?; - the need of leisure, of free time, of nature....; - the of work, of education, ...; - the need to have the ability to choose, mobility,; - the need to live in high or in law density areas,..; - the effects of the new time distributions,; - what kind of society do we want to have ? (connected to governance too); - what are the definitions of quality ?; - needs of the population at different ages (young people, young retired, old retired,..) where do they want to live ? to move ? in the centres ? in the outskirts ?

IV - Working Group IV : theoretical background

- the concept of equilibrium is an utopia: the normal situation is desequilibrium.

- what is a centre, a node, a pole, a dense area, an intensive area ?

- what are outskirts ? the sburbs ? the urban villages that organise part of the urban sprawl ?

- are the outskirts a first step of the future town ? in terms of shape, in terms of urban life

For further details E-Mail: COST_C10