Mapping the Spatial Divisions of Europe: (ISTE Invoiced)

The European continent has given rise to the greatest number of spatial divisions. Its limits have provoked numerous debates, both within and outside of the continent. The European Union, for its part, has become a laboratory for the production of divisions. Each of these divisions, a vector of identity and territoriality, reflects an intentionality, as revealed in Mapping the Spatial Divisions of Europe. The book shows the multiplicity of forms and modalities of these divisions and the actors who produce, use and question them in a globalized, and reticular world. From the continent as a whole to the individual regions via metropolitan areas and their networks, from meshing to zoning, from regionalization to representations, this book explores how these divisions are used to govern, plan, imagine and build European territories beyond the heritage of states and their borders. The chapters shed new light on the theoretical and practical issues involved in carving Europe on different time and space scales.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xi Guy BAUDELLE and Emmanuelle BOULINEAU Part 1. Europe and Its Divisions: A Matter of Scale, Time and Perspective 1 Chapter 1. Europe, a Region with Variable Geography 3 Yann RICHARD 1.1. Introduction 3 1.2. Europe between globalization and (macro)regionalization: from continent to functional macroregion 4 1.3. European community: an undefinable regional political object without limit? 10 1.4. Europe and its divisions, old and new 14 1.5. Conclusion 20 1.6. References 22 Chapter 2. Europe, a Continent? A Geohistorical Analysis 25 Vincent CAPDEPUY 2.1. Introduction 25 2.2. A division with a history 26 2.3. A territory 36 2.4. Conclusion: an empty shell? 47 2.5. References 47 Chapter 3. The Dissemination of European Administrative Divisions throughout the World 49 Nathalie FAU, Stéphanie LIMA, Hubert MAZUREK and Julien THOREZ 3.1. Introduction 49 3.2. The Western European model of the nation-state: dissemination and new divisions 51 3.3. Internal divisions: adaptation, resurgence and innovation 57 3.4. The Europeanization or regionalization of the world? 63 3.5. Conclusion 67 3.6. References 69 Part 2. Divisions of Europe by the European Union 75 Chapter 4. Three Patterns of Territorial Division: NUTS, Macroregions and Cross-border Areas 77 Emmanuelle BOULINEAU 4.1. Introduction 77 4.2. NUTS: a European gridding beyond the simple carving up of space 78 4.3. Macroregions: discontinuous, supraregional, integrational zoning with fuzzy stakes 83 4.4. Cross-border spaces: a typology for European integration and cohesion 87 4.5. Understanding the impact of the three patterns of territorial division in the construction of Europe 92 4.6. References 95 Chapter 5. Dividing the EU for Its Own Development 97 Frédéric SANTAMARIA 5.1. EU action without territory or legal authority 97 5.2. EU promotion of regional divisions versus the diversity of choices in the organization of national territory 99 5.3. More territorialized EU action: a desire confined to certain areas 104 5.4. The idea of (right) (territorial) governance as a substitute for divisions 116 5.5. Conclusion 119 5.6. References 119 Chapter 6. The Blue Banana or the Influence of Symbolic Divisions on Our Representations of Europe 123 Guy BAUDELLE 6.1. Introduction 123 6.2. The theoretical framework: the power of symbolic representations of space 124 6.3. The thunderclap of the blue banana 126 6.4. The effect of a division on public action 132 6.5. Lessons from an enduring episode 134 6.6. Conclusion 137 6.7. References 138 Part 3. Questioning Europe’s Divisions 145 Chapter 7. The Difficulty in Adjusting Metropolitan Perimeters 147 Marianne GUÉROIS, Brice LAMENIE, Dominique RIVIÈRE and Anne BRETAGNOLLE 7.1. Introduction 147 7.2. The evolution of functional metropolitan divisions in Europe 149 7.3. Institutional perimeters tested by metropolitan challenges 157 7.4. Conclusion 167 7.5. References 169 Chapter 8. Urban/Rural Divisions in Europe 173 Samuel DEPRAZ 8.1. Introduction 173 8.2. Why a rural spatial notion?. 174 8.3. Dividing the countryside: guidelines 179 8.4. Conclusion 187 8.5. References 188 Chapter 9. Europe, Water and Divisions: River Basin Districts and Bodies of Water 193 Stéphane GHIOTTI and Anne RIVIÈRE-HONEGGER 9.1. Introduction 193 9.2. A Europeanization of divisions in the face of environmental diversity, challenges and national policies 196 9.3. The European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000), an initiator of new divisions 202 9.4. Two divisions put to the test: the hydrographic district and the body of water 207 9.5. Conclusion 211 9.6. References 213 Chapter 10. Reticular Divisions for Transportation 219 Antoine BEYER 10.1. Introduction: rethinking territorial divisions based on the Trans-European Transportation Network 219 10.2. The development of transportation as an allegory for overcoming borders 221 10.3. Technical systems still largely influenced by national borders 222 10.4. Hybridization of technical apparatuses: the proliferation and spread of borders in railway networks 224 10.5. Pre-community transportation systems, the hidden dimension of European integration before the EU 227 10.6. The core network: the stages of creating a community doctrine for transportation networks 229 10.7. Eurocorridors: laboratories for European integration 233 10.8. From division by corridor to development axes 235 10.9. Conclusion: corridors, powerful vectors for the territorialization of EU policies 238 10.10. References 239 Chapter 11. Networked Cities 241 Ninon BRIOT 11.1. Introduction 241 11.2. Constructing a unified EU through cooperation between cities crossing State borders 244 11.3. Deconstructing EU links 248 11.4. Surpassing EU borders: international cooperation to connect with the rest of the world 253 11.5. References 260 List of Authors 263 Index 265

About the Author :
Guy Baudelle is Professor Emeritus of Spatial Planning at the University of Rennes 2, France. He is also a member of the UMR CNRS ESO research unit and former Jean Monnet Chair (2003-2022). His work focuses on territorial development policies in the European Union and France. Emmanuelle Boulineau is Professor of Geography at the École normale supérieure de Lyon, France, and a member of the CNRS EVS research unit. She specializes in the political geography of territorial reform in Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.