Prospective Future Trends in Urban–Rural Relationships Within the Territorial Agenda of the EU: A Critical Analysis of Implementation with a Special Focus on the Example of the Czech Republic

Abstract

In recent years, urban–rural relationships have attracted an increasing interest for more than just the issues they represent, i.e. the growing polarization of economic growth and the ever widening disparities between cities and the countryside. Another factor includes their conceptual context that concerns—above all—the implementation of the Territorial Agenda (TA) of the EU. This paper mainly focuses on identifying the solutions of urban–rural relationships under the umbrella of the TA EU within the practical context existing in the Czech Republic. The conclusions from this paper were used as the expert basis for primary research on this issue within the framework of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2009. The recommendations for policy-making at both the EU and the CR levels can be applied over the long-term horizon and should also be seen in the next programming period.

Acknowledgements

This contribution was prepared thanks to the research project Competitiveness of regions within the Czech Republic and the European Union number 402/09/0179 granted by Grant Agency of the Czech Republic and research project Regional differentiation of rural municipalities in Czechia: disparities and developmental opportunities number WD 01-07-1 supported by the Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic. The authors are much obliged for kind support.

Notes

The “morphological concept” (Shucksmith et al., 2005, p. 7) of polycentrism represents a situation in which an analysed region includes more than two cities that are both historically and politically independent and in which the hierarchical links between them are either weak or non-existent.

The Czech Republic's position is comparatively good. On the one hand, the Czech Republic's settlement structure is fragmented and, on the other hand, the settlement structure has been relatively equally distributed over the long term.

“The TA of the EU” (EC, 2007), which was approved on the occasion of the Informal Ministerial Meeting on Urban Development and Territorial Cohesion in Leipzig on 24–25 May 2007.

The successor of the Lisbon Strategy, the new European strategy “Europe 2020” (European Commission, 2010), is in compliance with the TA EU in terms of its priorities, which are aimed at supporting the smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Act 1.1—“Prepare and promote policy options to foster coordination between spatial and urban development in light of the TA and the Leipzig Charter, at the EU and MS levels”.

The Northern Way (2006) Available at http://www.thenorthernway.co.uk/.

These include the Economic Growth Strategy of the Czech Republic, the Territorial Development Policy of the Czech Republic, the State Policy for the Development of the Tourist Industry and the Sustainable Development Strategy of the Czech Republic.