Peter M.J. Pol Faculty of Economics Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Leo Van den Berg Faculty of Economics Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Willem Van Winden, Department of Regional, Port and Transport Economics Faculty of Economics Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Knowledge Cities in the European Core and Periphery (assigned to theme H1)

Most European urban regions try to improve their competitiveness by stimulating their knowledge-intensive economic activities. There are however wide discrepancies regarding the point of departure of these regions. This point is normally substantially better for European core regions than those located in the periphery. This article compares ten European cities, six of them core regions and four of them peripheral regions. We will assess the economic performance and the accessibility of those regions. We will focus in this respect on the available high-speed transport infrastructure, such as air, HST and ICT. Furthermore we will discuss the foundations of the knowledge economy of those cities as well as the activities of those cities to stimulate knowledge-intensive activities. Finally, we will discuss the possibilities for peripheral regions to obtain a better position in the European urban hierarchy.

Paper not on CD

Conference organized through conf-vienna (copyright Gunther Maier)

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