Urban-rural connectivity in non-metropolitan regions
Urban-rural linkages and interactions are of vital importance for the future development of the non-metropolitan regions and to achieve the Europe 2020 goals of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth actively supported by the current European Structural and Investment Funds and a number of EU policy initiatives. In particular, the new Cohesion Policy Regulation (2014-2020) puts a strong emphasis on the role of urban-rural interactions for achieving better coordination of structural funds as well as new tools fostering integrated strategies which can allow for EU Member States to make territorial investments in a more flexible and targeted way. The European Commission is currently working with the Member States, industry and public authorities to roll-out the “Intelligent Transport Systems” (ITS) initiative, which is considered “vital to increase safety and tackle Europe's growing emission and congestion problems”, but also for creating new services and jobs as well as supporting growth in the transport sector. This type of innovative demand-response transport management system provides an ideal solution for rural and low-population metropolitan areas as it allows for tailor-made services giving rural residents possibilities to move with the same freedom as residents in cities and towns. This has proven to be a cost-effective type of transport system offering wider territorial coverage. The four stakeholders involved in this targeted analysis have identified a potential opportunity to improving transport policy and systems related to urban-rural connectivity in non-metropolitan areas by engaging in knowledge transfer processes and activities based on networks of exchange. This process will help identify good practices and generate recommendations for policy makers and stakeholders in the stakeholder regions and countries as well as in territories across the EU faced with similar challenges, particularly coastal locations with nearby isolated communities and hinterlands. The territorial evidence that will be produced within this activity will be particularly useful with regards to developing policies for non-metropolitan regions that suffer from limitations of connectivity, poor accessibility to services and unbalanced development by identifying good practices to improve the internal connectivity and sustainability of transport systems, supporting synergies and cross-sectoral dialogue, and advancing public transport planning.