Given the scarcity of resources, the growing demand for policies that are broadly focused on territories (or place-based, according to the well-known definition of Barca) and highly selective led to a shift of attention of the scientific and administrative communities of Europe to sub-national partitions that take on an economic significance.
The functional areas, usually defined on the basis of commuting for work reasons, are valuable for evidencing the real organization of economic and social relations, rather than the administrative boundaries, which are influenced by too remote historical and political events. In addition, if they were identified through a shared and harmonized methodology, these units allow more well-founded and reliable territorial comparisons.

Published in EyesReg – Giornale di Scienze Regionali
Articolo

Autore: Sabrina Iommi