Economic growth and territorial cohesion in CEECs: what changes for local development?

Year, pages: 2006, 259 - 277

Whereas the goals of territorial cohesion and economic growth are in many cases considered equally important aims, it seems uneasy to met the requirements of both at the same time, as they might be conflicting, sometimes even contradictory. Bearing this in mind is worth to analyse potentialities and threats surrounding the territorial cohesion principle, trying to underline where major vulnerabilities undermining the principle lie. The spatial focus of the paper is directed on Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs), in desperate need of both triggering national economic growth and achieving internal territorial cohesion. Unfolding the tensions between the two concepts, the need for a multi-scalar approach to smooth them become evident, as in order to foster economical development in regions hardly targeted by strong economical investments, the engine of the development should be mainly based on local initiatives, less spatially selective. Whether at the national level it is possible to pursue national economic growth, in order to obtain growth benefits’ diffusion it is important to promote bottom-up initiatives. A key role can therefore be played by local communities, embedded for 40 years in a rigid hierarchical structure, and now experimenting a new era of autonomy.

Cotella, G. 2006. Economic growth and territorial cohesion in CEECs: what changes for local development?. In Geografický časopis, vol. 58, no.4, pp. 259-277. 0016-7193.

Cotella, G. (2006). Economic growth and territorial cohesion in CEECs: what changes for local development?. Geografický časopis, 58(4), 259-277. 0016-7193.