An empirical approach to cross-border spatial planning initiatives in Europe

Cross-border spatial planning is a means by which to enhance territorial continuities between border regions still hindered by differences and sometimes tensions, and thus to make more tangible the political paradigm of European integration. This article offers a systematic analysis of all the Interreg IV A projects related to cross-border spatial planning that were conducted along all Europe’s internal borders between 2007 and 2013. It reveals the diversity of the initiatives that fall under this scope according to whether they aim to create or improve actors’ networks, produce spatial observations, develop strategies or achieve tangible outputs at the cross-border scale.