82 / 132
Cross-border
economic
development
82
Cross-cutting themes in cross-border economic development
Ì
Ì
The example of the TTR-ELAt region
(Top Technology Region –
Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle), an informal cooperation area
coordinated by local private and semi-public economic players,
which is dedicated to the development of cross-border economic
relations and differs from the Meuse-Rhine Euregio
124
in terms of
its geographical scope, clearly shows the need to adapt cross-
border cooperation to the economic realities of the situation. Be
that as it may, public action does demonstrate a real awareness
of such specificities and the need to rethink its organisational
arrangements in relation with the design, implementation and
monitoring of its strategic approaches in a given territory.
124
A Euroregional cross-border cooperation entity comprising parts of Belgium, the Netherlands
and Germany.
Beyond economic
governance: territorial
governance
However, governance of economic development must also be considered
from the perspective of the governance of territories and their planning
and development, which is an important framework condition for
economic development and falls largely to the public sector. Here, too,
the framework for this introductory guide is the place-based approach,
which it explores in the particular case of cross-border territories.
There is a certain degree of consensus
125
regarding the relevance of
three levels of public action in the area of planning and development:
Ì
Ì
The local level – everyday residential and employment areas –
which can be metropolitan areas, conurbations, rural areas, etc.
This is the logical level at which to implement urban transport
policies, housing policies and everyday public services.
In
cross-border terms, this level corresponds to Eurodistricts,
Eurometropolises, cross-border natural parks.
125
See P. Veltz,
La grande transition
, Seuil, 2008, and J. Levy and M. Lussault,
Dictionnaire de la
géographie et de l’espace des sociétés
, Belin, 2003.
Basel
© Eurodistrict Trinational de Bâle