Polynuclear Urban
Regions & the Transnational
Dimension of Spatial Planning
Proposals for Multi-Scalar
Planning in North West Europe
Housing & Urban Policy Studies, No. 26

By Bart Lambregts & Wil Zonneveld
December 2003
Delft University Press
ISBN: 90-407-2462-8
112 pages, Illustrated, 6 ½" x 9 ½"
$43.50 Paper Original


This third volume on the EURBANET project focuses on the 'building blocks' for transnational planning in North West Europe. This research which looks at the different aspects of polynuclear urban regions in a North West European context shows the crucial importance of putting spatial issues in a wider perspective and seeking connections between different spatial scales.

The first building block is a synthesis of the regional case studies carried out in the Randstad, RheinRuhr, the Flemish Diamond and Central Scotland. The message is that the polycentric urban regions examined still have a long way to go before they can come up to the high expectations articulated in the most recent generation of transnational spatial planning documents, and that there is considerable scope for learning between the regions.

The second building block deals with visioning at the transnational spatial scale. This contains a thorough discussion of the difficulties involved in vision making at this scale and outlines of a network-oriented approach. The third building block deals with the possibilities to give shape to specific forms of cooperation in order to tackle policy issues relevant for polycentric urban regions.

The EURBANET Reports 1 and 2 have been published in Housing and Urban Policy Studies volume 18 and 25.

Urban Planning

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