Models for the sustainable development of the border area. The urban area of 
The project falls within the context of the entry of Slovenia in the European Union and the corresponding dismantling of the border between Italy and Slovenia, and aims at identifying useful instruments to coordinate territorial management and planning and, in turn, territorial planning with a medium-long period approach in order to develop the economy of the interested area. Specifically, the project intends to carry out an geo-economic analysis of the urban expansion of the towns of Gorizia and Nova Gorica in order to gather all the necessary information relevant to a joint and shared territorial planning. The starting point is the awareness that even though, so far, the two areas have been separated by a border and conceived as alternative entities, they are actually a single unit, which can engender common territorial-economic scenarios. The objective - namely a strategic planning of the area - guides research activities towards a close interaction with the end users of the resulting product, which translates into a Panel of privileged interlocutors made up of professionals and experts in the field - both Italian and Slovenian - active in the sectors of public administration, the economy, culture and social activities, who will contribute information and constantly evaluate the proposals that will be drawn up over the course of project development. In order to carry out a joint approach to territorial development in the towns of Gorizia and Nova Gorica, the research project - assisted by cartographic reference material - intends to provide guidance for subsequent planning processes (both on a vast and a more detailed scale) to implement joint actions.