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B. Haselsberger:
"Towards 'A Unity of Diversity'. The Impact of Identity on Territorial Cohesion";
Vortrag: 24th AESOP Congress 2010, Helsinki; 07.07.2010 - 10.07.2010; in: "Space is Luxury. Book of Abstracts", (2010), S. 122 - 123.

The multi-national territory of the European Union might be described as a `melting pot´ consisting of a range of nation-states characterised by differing traditions, cultures and identities. Given this extensive and increasing diversity as well as the ongoing relevance of borders within the European Union, the concept of `territorial cohesion´ as a general policy objective turns out to be very difficult to realise.

It is widely acknowledged within the European Union that (territorial) borders have negative consequences for the areas directly adjoining them, but also that territorial cooperation has the potential to reduce the disadvantages experienced by both border areas and trans-border regions. In this sense the added value of `territorial cohesion´ becomes increasingly visible and underlines the growing interest of multi-national entities in addressing issues of peripherality in a number of Member States, and improving living conditions for the population in an enlarging EU.

Hence the emerging question in the European Union planning context is how to overcome the `inside/outside´ dichotomy caused by borders, which, even if a territorial border is abolished, remains persistent - to some extent - in the mind of inhabitants. This complex reality underlines the need to develop or rediscover forms of trust and/or social capital. Therefore the debates concerning a `Europe without Borders´ and the accrual of a `joint European structure´ maintaining a rich cultural diversity must take into consideration not only the geography or the foreign policy of the territory, but also topics like history and mental borders. Overcoming these mental borders is a long and difficult process, and effective solutions must recognise and come to terms with the `others´ and the other identity.

In this regard the paper builds on the hypothesis that spatial planning and consequently the success of territorial cohesion is strongly (but often unconsciously) influenced by identities, collective and cognitive (mental) pictures of a specific area, adapted from `collective memories´ of social groups like societies, which are only coherent in a relative sense. The paper emphasises the complex concept of `identity´ by examining the significance of personal and social identity for planning processes. It will then focus in particular on the impact of identity on territorial cohesion, introducing a future pathway for the building up of an integrated European Identity.

Core References:
ASSMANN, J. (1995) Collective Memory and Cultural Identity. New German Critique, 65, pp.125-133.
ANDERSON, A; O´DOWD, L.; WILSON, T.M. (2003) (Eds.) New Borders for a Changing Europe. Cross-border Cooperation and Governance. Routledge.
NADIN, V.; STEAD, D. (2008) European Spatial Planning Systems, Social Models and Learning. disP, 172, pp.35-47.
ZONNEVELD, W. (2005) Expansive Spatial Planning: The New European Transnational Spatial Visions. European Planning Studies, 13(1), pp.137-155.

Identity, Borders, Territorial Cooperation, European Union