The debate on urban resilience and metabolism has directed increasing attention to the ecological footprint of food consumption, self-sufficiency as a means of food security, and regionalisation of ...food systems for shortening supply chains. Recently, metropolitan regions have proposed food policies that aim to foster local food systems connected to their cities. Our research thus focused on the relationship between urban food demand and metropolitan land use.
We have developed the Metropolitan Foodshed and Self-sufficiency Scenario (MFSS) model, which combines regional food consumption and agricultural production parameters in a data-driven approach to assess the spatial extent of foodsheds as well as the theoretical self-sufficiency of the communities they serve. The model differentiates between food groups, food production systems, levels of food loss and waste as well as food origin. With regard to future urban growth, we applied the model to current and future population projections.
Results show substantial variations in the spatial extent of metropolitan foodsheds and self-sufficiency levels between the case study regions London, Berlin, Milan and Rotterdam, depending on population density and distribution, geographical factors and proximity to neighbouring urban agglomerations. The application of the model as a food planning tool offers a new perspective on the potential role of metropolitan regions for strengthening urban self-sufficiency. It also enables the ex-ante assessment of spatial consequences of changes within metropolitan food systems, on both demand and supply sides. In particular, we discuss possible dietary and consumption changes, but also production and supply chain alternatives.
•A spatial model to depict metropolitan foodsheds and self-sufficiency is proposed.•Scenarios of changing food demand and supply are applied.•Regional situations indicate different food stress, especially for future population growth.•Increasing area demand by organic production can be balanced by food waste reduction.
Who drives regional economic development in entrepreneurial ecosystems of different types? Using longitudinal data on 267 NUTS-3 European regions during the period 2008-16, we apply the ...entrepreneurial ecosystem theoretical framework to study how entrepreneurial ecosystem type moderates the relationship between a variety of entrepreneurship and regional economic development. It is found that regional economic development proxied by gross value added per resident responds differently to solo self-employment, job creators and new-firm birth rates as well as changes in a share of productive high-growth entrepreneurship across different entrepreneurial ecosystems. The findings have implications for regional and national policy-makers and scholars who study the geography of entrepreneurship.
This paper assesses whether both the levels and the degree of change in government quality influence regional economic performance in the European Union and, in particular, in its lagging regions. ...The results of the econometric analysis, covering 249 NUTS-2 regions for the period 1999-2013, suggest that (1) government quality matters for regional growth; (2) relative improvements in quality of government are a powerful driver of development; (3) one-size-fits-all policies for lagging regions are not the solution; (4) government quality improvements are essential for low-growth regions; and (5) in low-income regions basic endowment shortages are still the main barrier to development. In particular, low-growth regions in Southern Europe stand to benefit the most from improvements in government quality, while in low-income regions of Central and Eastern Europe, investments in the traditional drivers of growth remain the main factors behind successful economic trajectories.
A comprehensive perspective of transformative regional development is pertinent considering complex present and future challenges such as the climate crisis. Particularly in face of ecological ...boundaries which manifest themselves in limited resources and result in social disputes, a realistic grip on transformative regional development is of utmost importance. To advance this field, we propose a research agenda that draws on the debates on regional industrial path development and sustainability transitions. We define two core dimensions: interrelations between several industrial paths and interrelations between regions and between spatial scales. We argue that both dimensions need to be considered against ecological boundaries and as embedded in social dynamics. We combine specific questions on these interrelations into a research agenda.
Regional Development in Romania Remus Gherman; Ana-Mariana Dincu; Lucreţia Florica Gherman ...
Lucrări științifice zootehnie şi biotehnologii,
09/2023, Letnik:
48, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
Regional development policy is a policy of investment for economic development by supporting competitiveness, increasing the standards of living, improving the quality of life, creating new jobs. ...Regions and regional development policy occupies in recent decades an increasingly important position in the list of the economic and social factors being found on the agendas of governments, both central and local authorities, of political groups and civil society. Regional development and regional development policy in Romania are present both in the economic reform and in social one. Development Regions from Romania are set up in 1998 by Law number 151 and supported by their own institutional framework. The applicability of regional development in Romania must take into account the fundamental elements of the possibilities of Regional Development, meaning the major indicators of reference for measuring the level of disparities, GDP per capita and unemployment.
•Mosaic governance helps to analyse active citizenship in relation to UGI planning.•Active citizens can significantly contribute to urban green infrastructure.•Governmental involvement is critical ...for upscaling active citizenship.•NGOs can be important knowledge brokers and facilitators for active citizenship.
Compact urban development, social demands and austerity measures are increasing pressures on urban greenspace. Meanwhile, active citizens, defined as voluntary individuals or groups who self-organize to contribute to urban green space development, provide ecological and social benefits to urban societies. This has inspired local governments to seek collaborations with non-state actors, including active citizens. However, the diverging aims, place-specific focus, and varying expertise of active citizenship may inhibit its contribution to ecological connectivity and upscaling beyond the local scale.
In this paper, we investigate how “mosaic governance” has potential as a framework for understanding active citizenship, its potential for upscaling and its relationship to strategic UGI planning. Using the policy arrangements approach, we analyse the role of discourse, resources, actors and rules of the game in the upscaling of active citizenship. Based on eight empirical cases from seven European cities, we analyse the diversity of collaborations between local governments and active citizens in greenspace development.
The cases show how active citizens can significantly contribute to UGI planning and implementation, for example by developing large parks with volunteers or designing a network of green corridors. The cases reveal multiple ways citizens and local governments benefit from collaborations, as well as different pathways for upscaling innovative discourses and practices from local communities to formal policy or to other cities. To enable upscaling, UGI planning needs to combine long-term, more formalized and higher-scale strategic approaches with more incremental approaches that correspond with localized, fragmented and informal efforts of local communities. While collaborations between municipalities and active citizenship is not without its difficulties, the examples of upscaling in our cases demonstrate the transformative power active citizens may have towards a more green, just and democratic city.
To promote regional economic development, China introduced regional development plans (RDPs) in 2009. This is the first study to investigate the net effect of the RDPs on China's regional economic ...growth by employing the multi-stage difference-in-differences (DID) strategy and a city-level panel data set during the 2004–2015 period. We reduce the self-selection bias by employing the propensity score matching strategy and explore the mediating effects from two perspectives, i.e., investment scale and production efficiency. Finally, using nighttime satellite light data, we conduct a robustness test of the previous results. The results show that the RDPs have a significant negative impact on economic growth, with strong regional heterogeneity. The RDPs have no effect on economic growth in western cities when reducing self-selection bias, and the underlying reason is that their impacts on both the investment scale and production efficiency are unclear. However, the RDPs exert significantly negative impacts on economic growth in the eastern and central regions. The negative impacts are mainly because the RDPs decrease production efficiency to inhibit economic growth. Therefore, the central government needs to attach great importance to the improvement of the production efficiency when regulating regional development.
•The effect of the Regional Development Plans (RDPs) on economic growth is investigated.•The self-selection effects and mediating mechanisms are also discussed.•The RDPs has a significant negative impact on economic growth.•The RDPs' impacts show clear geographical differences.•The negative impact occurred mainly because the RDPs decreased production technological efficiency.
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