Cooperation Strategies Towards Sustainability in Insular Territories

Nowadays, the high environmental sensitivity and economic constraints, as well as future prospects for development, require a strong sustainable energy policy. Such policies should be based on the local resource valorization – which gains more emphasis in ultra-peripheral territories as the case of the Madeira and Canary Archipelagos. In fact, renewable energy sources become more competitive from the economic point of view – however, with high environmental and social benefits in both Archipelagos. Thus, the local policies of Porto Santo Island will be inspired on the neighbor archipelago (Canary Islands), more specifically in the El Hierro Island – which is one of the worldwide leaders in sustainability issues. Contextually, the work enables a view through the cooperation perspective, highlighting sustainability strategies in Porto Santo Island (Madeira, Portugal) and El Hierro Island (Canary, Spain). Therefore, it will address diverse forms of energy production through natural resources with influence on spatial planning.

Marketing Strategies of Cultural Institutions in a City Divided by a Border

In the 21st Century, it is possible to observe a pattern of numerous changes in the sphere of functioning of the cultural institutions also in cities divided by a border. These trends include globalization of culture, development of cultural industries and creative industries, rapid technical and technological growth, occurrence of new cultural management concepts and marketing strategies. Therefore, this chapter presents models of marketing strategies that can be applied in cities divided by a border. Based on individual interviews with 40 experts, four model marketing strategies are proposed which can be used by managers of cultural institutions in cities such as Cieszyn-Czech Cieszyn. Proposed strategies are in relation to specified target markets - residents of a city divided by a border. The practical application aspect of this chapter is evident in the indication of the direction future marketing efforts of cultural institutions should take to improve their market position.

Analysis of Housing for Rent in Borderlands

The current problems in the construction, sale, purchase, offer, or search of housing, present questions about the future of the real estate market, questions that will have to be possible solutions in the medium and long term. This document proposes obtaining primary information through “Opinion survey aimed at the population on housing and its influence on the land market,” through an applied methodology and variables associated with the survey. This chapter elaborates a methodological proposal to analyze the situation of the houses for rent in the border city of Badajoz to provide a document of support to the professionals and technicians who are dedicated to the territory and urban planning, to solve the problems about the construction, sale, purchase, offer, or search of housing.

The Assessment of the INTERREG VA Program

The chapter concerns the implementation assessment of cross-border projects supported by the INTERREG VA Poland - Slovakia 2014-2020 Program. The authors diagnosed the state of implementation of the Program (2018), and analyzed the conditions for managing cross-border projects on the Polish-Slovak borderland. The chapter outlines the role of a cross-border project in management of borderland development, and presents the life cycle of a cross-border project. The authors drew special attention to the results of projects and the administrative burden related to their implementation. The authors carried out quantitative and qualitative research with the participation of Polish and Slovak beneficiaries of the Program to achieve the objectives of the work. The research was supplemented by the desk research analysis covering the selected documents and statistical data (2014 – 2018). The conclusions and recommendations can be useful in the process of programming rules for implementing cross-border projects on the Polish-Slovak borderland and other borderlands after 2020.

Benefits of a Spatial Data Infrastructure on the Sustainability of a Southwestern European Territory

OTALEX C is a cross border project elaborated by several entities of the administrations, agencies, and Portuguese and Spanish enterprises. The aim is to develop joint cartography, in addition to the union of territorial and environmental data and their interexchange. SDI-OTALEX C has defined a method capable of assigning the degree of sustainability through the integration of environmental, social, and economic indicators. Thus, a link has been established with consumption and productivity, which promotes the appropriate use of resources and, consequently, the sustainable development of the territory. The benefits for local population of this territory fall within the very term of sustainable development since its objective is to define viable projects and reconcile economic aspects, social and environmental impacts of human activities. To reconcile all these aspects, the SDI makes it possible to contribute to sustainability and to try to envision projects that help to keep the population of these largely depopulated territories.

Nationalistic Independent Movements Within the European Union and Its Challenge to Create a Territorial Identity

Throughout history, humanity has been known to move in groups as a way of surviving, to expand their identity and culture. In Europe this has led to international and civil wars in the past but changed with the creation of the European Union. This chapter analyzes the creation and demarcation of nations during the past, the territorial identity that was formed and the need of the EU to create a European Identity to overcome the threat of independent movements. Secessionist nationalistic movements have gained importance since the economic crisis which started in 2007 and have been rising in different regions and countries of the EU. The main question that needs to be solved in this chapter: How does the EU cope with the rise of new nationalistic movements? It can only be overcome with the creation of a European territorial identity.

Economic Context of the Real Estate Bubble Crack

The crisis that shook the global financial institutions in 2007/08 revealed the weaknesses and irrationalities of a system that led millions of people, without compatible returns, to the category of “owners” of their home. During the previous decade, the absurd growth of supply in parallel with the progressive increase in real estate value, made housing “the hen of the golden eggs” of the regional and national economy: banks earn with a credit and families with the valuation of homes. This chapter examines the economic context in the crack of the real estate bubble and analyzes as a practical case the incidents of this crisis at international level in the border region of Extremadura.

Scale Matters

Climate change has palpable cross-scale implications given the severity of the matter epitomized in the prolonged discussions and negotiations between various parties that incur the consequences of the policy applications. Cross-border adjustment, though seemingly plausible, is a controversial method employed to mitigate the adverse potential impact of carbon emissions through placing an extra cost for the goods imported from countries that lag behind the standards set by multiple global agreements. Exercising cross-border adjustment on international trading activities is likely to have positive reverberations on taming the perils posed by climate change as well as triggering unforeseen perturbations in the interaction of actors involved in the global trading system. This chapter intends to shed light on cross-border adjustments via diagnosing the issues emerging out of the inter-scale interactions and question its effectiveness in micro and macro terms.

The Impact of Being a Border Region in Business Demography

The promotion of the entrepreneurship has been a challenge in recent years because it is recognised that entrepreneurial activity enhances economic growth. Border regions, because of the possibility of increasing cooperation between economic agents, gained a special status. Still, some of those cross-border regions continue to grow slower than other regions. Authors analyse business dynamics and entrepreneurial activities at a regional basis for the EU. Considering data availability, authors analyse 13 different countries. Indicators under analysis are birth rates, death rates, business churn, and survival rate. This chapter identifies and analyses the existence of significant differences between regions located alongside border areas, and analyses if there exist differences depending on the countries of those regions. To compare business demographic indicators, parametric tests will be used. The results are analysed considering the potential differences between cross-border and non-cross-border regions.

The Mercosur Waterway as a Cooperation Strategy Between Brazil and Uruguay

This chapter analyzes the territorial policies for the implementation of the Mercosur Waterway. The study contributes to the existing gap regarding the repercussions of the territorial policy of the Mercosur Waterway. The context is set around the Brazil/Uruguay border within its relations to South America and Mercosur. Authors analyze the cooperation in the scope of Mercosur with its developments and obstacles. The Border Strip between Brazil and Uruguay is analyzed, and the Mercosur Waterway as a Brazil-Uruguay integration strategy is commented. Commercial relations between southern Brazil and Uruguay are closely connected to their productive basis dependent on production, commodities, and imports, where cargos are not regular. The strategic meaning of the Waterway still needs to be reinforced in an integration context since efforts have not yet been sufficient so that it could be prioritized in the strategic agenda of the countries.