Beyond Plan B

Beyond Plan B Workbook II Core & Periphery Beyond Plan B - Core & Periphery Contents → Intro page 4 The workbook Core & Periphery is the second in a row of several workbooks within the research-project Beyond Plan B. → Chapter 1: The Center of Europe In the context of economic crises Beyond Plan B wants to bring together knowledge and expertise from the fields of economy, spatial-planning and governance to facilitate ↘ Unofficial Core & Unofficial Periphery page 15 a debate on options how to strengthen the resilience, the spatial qualities and the ↘ Official Core & Official Periphery page 25 governance of different area’s. → Chapter 2: Rhinelands The study Core & Periphery investigates the spatial reality around the economical loaded debate around a Core Europe and a Peripheral Europe. Unsurprisingly the ↘ Rhine Official page 47 study discovers that the Rhine can be seen as the core region of Europe in many ↘ Rhine Culture page 61 different layers. Yet this core is not one solid mass but is polycentric porous structure. ↘ Rhine Unofficial page 73 Depending on the definition of what is a core, this field can be interpreted and contextualized differently. From the utmost strong clump to a weak field one can find anything in it. The utmost strength of the core zones along the Rhine (London included) is its advanced state of ubiquity. The quest is, to discover the fundaments of Europe’s core to discover the basic structure of this ubiquity which gives the area its utmost resilience. On the base of it we hope to discover the deep relationship between the organization of space and the organization of economy. Next to the aim of drawing some preliminary conclusions the workbook should be seen as a first trigger for a debate. study conducted by: TD Theo Deutinger Lisa Deipenbrock Pedro Rey Antón TD 2013 2 Beyond Plan B Workbook II 3 Beyond Plan B - Core & Periphery Intro Core & Periphery In order to understand the influence of the Rhine ion, which for some poses a threat while for others Banana and has taken on since then various shapes Spatial expansion always involved spatial planners area and the area that influences the Rhine area, it it is a reassurance of their seemingly strong posi- but never really left the area spanned between Liv- and triggered fantasies of future occupation. Not is necessary to investigate its context. A collective of tion. Generally it is assumed that Europe’s core is erpool and Genoa, with the river Rhine at its center, so with the EU expansion. No strategic masterplan factors (demographic, cultural, infrastructural, etc.) financially healthy, well educated and blessed with is still gaining people while Europe’s periphery (in seems to exist for the new territories that joined make the area along the river Rhine to a focus zone less corrupt administration. “Europe might be sick, demographic sense) is gradually thinning out and is the soft empire. Instead an unprecedented library within Europe. We try to mistrust this fact as much but at its core it is healthy”, this is the image most becoming ever more peripheral. of rules and standards needs to be taken over by as possible in order to redefine its current condi- Europeans, which are of course from the core, want each new member state. But each and every little tion. to present to the world outside. But is this true? Seen in this light, Europe’s core seems to intensify rule in this compilation has the ability to influence What and who is the core? rather than disintegrate. If one looks at infrastruc- the physical landscape of the member state. Most Europe does not have a clearly defined center or ture densities, headquarters of multinational corpo- of theses rules are not indented as regional or core but one can surely talk about a certain central- Generally, the core is a myth. Since we learned that rations or hourly wages, in each of these values urban planning tools but e.g. to protect the health ity, from a core zone, which is economic, institu- not the earth is the center of the universe, we know the core is much better off than the area we call of the citizens or in the case of “Natura 2000”, to tional and cultural dominating. In our part of the that everything is circling around everything. Even periphery. No wonder that for example Italy is not maintain or increase Europe’s bio-diversity. Thus project Beyond Plan B we go on a quest for Europe’s our sun is, only is the center and fix within our solar getting tired to point out that it is not at Europe’s unnoticed (or not?) the spatial organization and periphery and core with the help of economic, system, because if one zooms out it is clear that periphery with the hint that it is at least one of the layout of the European Union transformed but not social-political and cultural parameters. also she is circulating around a core in the galaxy, founding member states of the European Union, an through planning but govern. Maybe this subver- which itself is again circulating and so on and so on. idea which was born in the center. sive planning style is nothing new and always has The current relationship between urbanity and eco- Another fact is that standing right at the core and in been the strongest tool for shaping the cities? Are nomic growth seems to be easy explained. Where the center, it is impossible to realise ones position All founding members of the European Union are the rules and laws of the EU just like the market there is a high concentration of people, there is a and the scale of it. It need messengers that provide “Blue Banana States” and the EU’s major institu- rights in the Middle Ages and the defence strate- high concentration of connections which leads to a us with news and gossips from the periphery/core tions are all based within its core zone. The juvenile gies in the Renaissance? higher information flow than in less populated -ar or one needs to go there themselves, anyway, core-community had at its beginning still competi- eas. A higher information flow is resulting in higher something has to move to be able to realize. tion from the EFTA (European Free Trade Associa- These are some of the main questions we are deal- exchange rates and consumption. This advantage tion) which was in the 1960s referred to as the ing with right at the moment. of high concentration in a rather small area can’t be Everything is both, a center and periphery simul- “Outer Seven” while the EU, called EEC (European competed by other, softer qualities, of less densely taneously. Being core or periphery is a relative Economic Community) at that time, was nick- Of course there might be no core, and there might populated zones. Thus, according to this theory, condition that depends on the current perspective named as the “Inner Six”. The Suez Crisis made the be no periphery and it is possible that exactly what high density is good business. and context. Thus if we talk about a core (or center), UK rethink its geopolitical position in Europe and we define as core is the periphery and what we see it only can be a core on the move and a core in a provided the incentive to switch sides from the as periphery is the core. As said before, the core What happens to high density areas can be ex- specific scale, at a specific moment in a specific “Outer Seven” (with its numerical majority) to the is a trap, since everybody defines it’s own focus of plained with the core-periphery model which con- genre, with dynamic observers. Only in this light the “Inner Six”. From that time on the battle was won investigation as the core around which everything structs the link between areas of high concentration current economic discussion about core-Europe and for the group now called European Union and from else is centring. to areas of low concentration of, inhabitants, trade periphery-Europe can be discussed since we have to that time on it kept on expanding outward. volumes, infrastructure, etc. The most intriguing accept and respect the economic unstable condi- We intend to avoid this trap but also to step into it, part of this model is its scalelessness, thus it is not tion of this core. By the time this text will be read But what is the nature of this EU expansion? Of wholeheartedly. only applicable to cities but also to villages and a disintegration of this core can already be set in course one has to apply to become a member social groups as well as to the world at large. motion, or even at the time this text is written this but how much pressure is there on non member disintegration of Europe’s core could be fully under states? How much dinner invitations does one miss In our study we investigate Europe in the light of way since I could be simply not aware of it. if one is not a member of this club? the core-periphery model to either prove it or trash it but as starting point it helps us to reorganize this Next to the economic reality there are also spatial, Is the EU expansion a spatial, a geopolitical project? vast atomized space. demographic, cultural realities and if we choose Or is it, as often presented, a redistribution project to define the core for example by the density of which gives money from the rich (the core) to the Since the financial crisis hit the Euro Zone the word population, than there is no sign of disintegration poor (the periphery)? Or does the core need cheap ‘core’ got used frequently in attempts to describe in Europe.

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