Area of Interest

Central Europe

The Central European capital cities urged the need for researching potentials for their future orientation. Central concerns are local and regional preconditions for metropolitan development on the one hand, and competitive and cooperative potentials within a Central European urban network.

Within POLYCE this network of the five metropolises is regarded as 'CED-zone' (Central Europe - Danube global integration zone), taking up the long-issued notion that within Europe economically integrated zones must be supported to be better prepared for increasing globalization effects and sustainability concerns (Mehlbye, 2000). Furthermore, the term is giving recognition to the recently adopted European macro-regional strategy for the Danube region, of which the territory is a Central part - in spatial as well as in conceptual terms.

Hence, on the Central European level POLYCE takes up several spatial orientations in its analysis and policy recommendations:

• Interrelations of the five metropolises Bratislava, Budapest, Ljubljana, Praha, and Wien
• The role and position of this network (as integrated CED-zone) within the Danube macro region
• Indications of further outward relations on a conceptual level.

The 5 POLYCE cities

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is home to more than 400.000 inhabitants. Key developments of the city are located around the transport nodes and along the Danube. Urban development policies see Bratislava as an important center of research and science, trying to reinforce its role as administrative and cultural center of Slovakia. The city wishes to transform its economic structure by rescheduling and developing more sophisticated production in order to find a more sustainable balance with the urban and natural environment, as well as living conditions and quality of life for its citizens. In order to reach these objectives Bratislava wishes to better integrate the city in the European urban space and to become an essential city of Centrope.

Budapest, the capital of Hungary, counts 1,7 million inhabitants. Formerly closed borders induced a migration boom, reversing a trend of demographic decrease. Foreign citizen immigration to Budapest indicates an increasing attractiveness of the city - also in economic terms. The economic structure is since long highly service oriented. The transformation period in the early 1990s particularly boosted sectors like finance, consulting and retail, with IT and pharmacy benefiting from recent foreign direct investment. Rocketing real estate markets and increasing investments in building and construction stimulate further growth and diversification of the service sector. After a boost of small scale personal services (e.g. gastronomy, arts, health and beauty) now also creative businesses (e.g. marketing, design and media) arise. Urban dynamics are nowadays much focused on the Danube embankment, providing appropriate scale and environmental quality for further metropolitan development. Former brown field areas as well as underused embankments along the Danube provide the last preserves of urban growth required by post-crisis metropolitan development. Further integration of metropolitan catchment areas into urban development planning is an ongoing project. The political arena is becoming more aware of the metropolitan dimension of urban policies, although policy documents don’t yet fully reflect this. Anyhow, new forms of metropolitan planning and co-operation are already being set up, with growing awareness also of polycentric urban integration.

Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, has more than 250.000 inhabitants, of which in 2006 nearly 44.000 were students. The city welcomes over one million tourists a year that add up to more than 3 million overnight stays. The municipal spatial plan adapted in 2010 lays down the spatial policies for the city. Some key objectives are the improvement of municipal public transport and reinforcing regional public transport development as well as the establishment of a regional public transport authority. The inner city general traffic policy is also important for the city as is the upgrading and reduction of motorized traffic. Furthermore the reduction of land and housing prices is a key ambition of Ljubljana. The regeneration project 'Partnership Smartinska' together with the so-called 22 Mayors' projects form key developments of the city. The city also initiated 86 ongoing development projects for housing, offices, and economic parks.

Praha, the capital of the Czech Republic, hosts a population of 1,2 million inhabitants. As one of Europe´s richest regions it produces 171,8 % of the EU average GDP per capita. With regard to key developments the city enforces the expansion of the new city-wide center and the further development of current or new centres in localities that are well-serviced by public transport. The area directly linked to the international airport has great potential to become an important administrative and commercial center within Central Europe. The development of R&D branches is also a priority, which is taken up in urban development policies. Further key policies of the city are to complete the Praha Inner Ring Road, the Praha Outer Ring Road (in cooperation with the state and the neighbouring region Central Bohemia), and to initiate the extension of the subway line A to the west of the city center.

Wien, the capital of Austria, counts nearly 1,7 million inhabitants. Compared to other European cities, Wien has seen a substantial population growth over the past ten years with population forecasts showing that the Wien Region will gain 450.000 residents in the period until 2035 due to immigration. The income and purchasing power is comparable with other well-off Western European capital cities. Wien shows considerable efforts in becoming a competence center in bio-technology and life sciences. The city is leading in terms of supply of public services, like public transport, water, social services, and health care. Social housing has a long tradition in Wien and one of its top priorities is to provide affordable quality housing for all income brackets. These factors contribute to the high level of the city´s quality of life. The urban development plan of 2005 defined 13 target areas that have special potential and a key function for the city's further development. Wien has started to cooperate with other federal provinces on regional issues at a very early stage, with several successful examples (e.g. Planning Community East, Regional Transport Board, and City Environs Management Programme).

 

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