ESPON UK Network Bulletin 1/2011

Network news

UK involvement in new ESPON projects

Three new ESPON projects have been awarded to UK institutions. The University of Birmingham has been selected as the lead partner in RISE (Regional Integrated Strategies in Europe), headed by Stewart MacNeill and Chris Collinge. The University of Liverpool has been named lead partner in both EATIA (Development of a Territorial Impact Assessment Framework), led by Thomas Fischer, and ESPON Seas in Territorial Development, led by Sue Kidd.

Next ESPON call and partner finding

The 8th call for proposals and expressions of interest opens on 24 January 2011. An Info Day and Partner Café is being held on 10 February 2011, and a Partner Café group has been created on LinkedIn to help with the formation of Transnational Project Groups (TPGs). The ESPON Partner Café now has 249 registered potential partners for creating TPGs, and further information can be found on our partner finding web pages.

ESPON UK workshop 14 February

LondonSouth Bank Universitywill host the rescheduled ESPON UK Contact Points workshop cancelled on 3 December by the severe weather. The workshop will include presentations on the EDORA and FOCI projects and will shape a report on UK implications of emerging ESPON research. Please register on the event web page by 3 February as places are limited.

ESPON ReRISK final report

ESPONs Regions at Risk of Energy Poverty (ReRISK) project has produced its final report, in time for EU energy policy discussion at the new presidencys first EU summit in February. The report shows that increasing prices of fossil fuels opens up opportunities for the development of renewable energy resources.

ESPON UK Contact Point commentary tying the pieces together

The ESPON UK Contact Point has produced a commentary entitled 'Tying the pieces together' which considers some of the implications of the Fifth Cohesion Report, ESPON Synthesis Report and forthcoming Territorial Agenda.

Regional Studies Association International Conference

The Annual International Conference is being held from 17-20 April 2011 at Newcastle University. This years event is entitled Regional development and policies: challenges, choices and recipients. It will include a special session based on the ESPON EDORA project "Patterns of Rural Change and Rural Cohesion Policy. Register to attend.

Budapest Declaration signed

The Budapest Declaration, which aims to set up a European platform of support structures for cross-border cooperation at national level, has been signed. The Declaration expresses the intention to remove barriers to the development of border or cross-border areas and to build shared initiatives and projects. Read the press release.

Calls for papers

Territory and environment: from representations to action

The International conference on territory and environment takes place in Tours, France from 8-9 December 2011. Papers are welcomed, particularly from the fields of public policy and action, natural resources regulation and ecological inequalities. The deadline for submission of proposals is 28 February 2011.

Other publications

Achieving sustainable land use management in Europe

The findings of the LUMASEC URBACT project have been published in a handbook entitled 'Sustainable Land Use Management in Europe'. The guide provides practical information on land-use management systems in Europe and tools to achieve sustainable land-use management.

URBACT Tribune 2010

The URBACT Secretariat has produced the URBACT Tribune 2010 entitled 'Can European cities grow smarter, sustainable and inclusive?' which includes articles written by URBACT Lead Experts. The report includes issues of knowledge hotspots, inclusive growth and multifunctional regeneration in cities within the URBACT context.

ECOVAST seminar report

A report has been produced following the ECOVAST (European Council for the Village and Small Town) seminar held in Potsdam in November. The event was held under the auspices of the Action to Strengthen Small European Towns (ASSET) project and aimed to discuss policy options for small European towns. Read the report and join the ECOVAST discussion.

EuroMed 2030 presentations

Speakers presentations are now available from the EuroMed - 2030 conference held in December. The event looked at the long-term challenges for the Mediterranean area up to 2030 and discussed the results of the EuroMed 2030 Expert Group report.

Other events

Urban Development 2050: Resource efficiency through city planning

The Urban Development 2050 conference takes place in Vienna on 3 May 2011. The event is part of the Sustainable Urban Metabolism for Europe (SUME) research project and will present a methodology to estimate the impact of energy use, the resource impact assessment of large urban development projects and a number of European urban development policies.

Europa Nostra Annual Congress 2011

This years Europa Nostra Annual Congress will be held in Amsterdam from 8-11 June 2011. The event will bring together Europa Nostra members and representatives of the cultural heritage movement from throughout Europe. For more information, see the Europa Nostra website.

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