Read the latest UK ESPON Bulletin.

UK ESPON Contact Point workshop - Overcoming urban and rural and development challeng

A UK ECP workshop was held in Newcastle on 23 November. The event focused on rural and urban development issues, as well as policy-making at cross-border level.

England's urban growth challenge

A report drawing together some of ESPON's key findings on urban areas was launched at the recent UK ECP workshop. England's urban growth challenge is a concise guide to the practical implications of ESPON research on urban competitiveness and governance.

UK ECP interviews Chris Poulton

Chris Poulton, Team Leader of International Planning Policy at DCLG, recently took the time to answer the UK ECP's questions on his role, the benefits of ESPON research and the importance of international engagement. Read the interview.

Unlocking growth in cities

The Government's publication 'Unlocking Growth in Cities' makes use of applied research carried out by the ESPON project SGPTD (secondary cities).

Map of the Month

This month's map is taken from the TIGER project, which has looked at the spatial impact of globalisation in Europe.

The map shows the development of inter-city relations from 2000 to 2008 across 285 world cities. The size of the circles represents the total number of connections (links with other cities) and the colour represents how established the connections are.

Since 2000, approximately 60% of the cities considered improved their networking capacity. Europe's cities have done better than US cities, and cities in Eastern Europe have particularly excelled.

As some core cities in Europe have declined in terms of their networking capacity (e.g. Frankfurt and Munich), cities such as Warsaw, Prague and Bucharest are improving, and helping to create a more balanced European territory. Read more.

Indicators of territorial cohesion

The ESPON project INTERCO is aiming to provide reliable indicators for measuring territorial cohesion and spatial challenges and opportunities. Cliff Hague from the UK ESPON Contact Point went to one of their recent workshops, and reported back on what was discussed. Read Cliff's report.

Latest ESPON results and reports

The latest reports can be accessed here. The UK ESPON Contact Point produces commentary reports which summarise the full reports from a UK perspective.

The First Synthesis Report presents results from the major Applied Research projects undertaken as part of the ESPON 2013 Programme. Read the ESPON UK Contact Point report commentary.

Read the ESPON UK Contact Point's commentary on the Fifth Cohesion Report, Territorial Agenda and ESPON Synthesis Report entitled 'Tying the pieces together'.

ESPON has updated its Project Overview presenting key facts on current projects as of November 2011. See individual ESPON project reports.