Significant discrepancies are sizable between the regions of the Interreg Central Europe (CE)[1]

– that was the message João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of Environment and Climate Action delivered in his message to the ESPON online debate on the transition and transformation of rural areas. The event, titled “Transition and transformation for rural areas” was part of the ESPON week that is organized together with the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU and was held in a hybrid form -with some participants online and others in the studio in Lisbon.

Being peripheral in their own countries the EU eastern external border regions face particular development challenges and less entrepreneurship than in other parts of the same country.

Every day, about 250 football fields of land in Europe is converted to urban use. How and where does this typically occur? Are city-regions becoming more compact or diffuse?

“The European Green Deal is a really superb policy document. It has inspired now China to make a commitment to decarbonize by 2060.

While Europe accelerates its plans to support areas in need of phasing the coal industry, the pandemic hits hard European regions and cities threatening economic and social cohesion.

Age-friendly cities benefit from integrated policies that are developed together with people of all generations. In an age-friendly city, inhabitants of all ages can live a happy life and enjoy a high quality of life at an advanced age. Different ways in which cities can become more age-friendly were researched in the ESPON ACPA Targeted Analysis on age-friendly cities, supporting the WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing.

Results from a new ESPON study and three scenarios for the future of BSR - to support VASAB members to design and implement evidence-based policies for the future of the Baltic Sea Region

Places in decline, are not left behind, they are kept behind, by decades of neglect, under-development, lack of investment and misguided policies said Professor Simin Davoudi, from

Peoples’ lives exceed administrative borders. They live, work and travel from one place to the other: They may live in a town and work in a near big city, they may enjoy cycling in a forest of their neighbouring region or go for shopping at the mall next to the borders.