This GreenLink Mediterranean seminar is the major event of the INTERREG IIIBMedocc project GreenLink performing, from 2006, networking activities in the Mediterranean between a transnational sample of cities and regions that exchange experiences and elaborate exemplary pilot projects for the integration of town planning and environment/nature protection tools in urban boundary areas.
The seminar is also held, looking forward to a capitalisation performance of the GreenLink experience through interregional cooperation EC programs.
The suburban areas of the Mediterranean are characterised by highly critical conditions, weakness of management, fully open positions (territories waiting to be used) and by degradation. The added economic values, essential to attract investments, often create procedures which do not pay enough attention to the risks for the environment and nature quality and which do not develop a preliminary base line recognition, a strategic vision and an integrated approach through a wise evaluation of the impacts. This condition reduces the competitiveness and produces a structural weakness of the global system of the metropolitan area. On the other hand the potentiality of these territories is very important and, if well exploited, can generate quite positive repercussions, considering the improvement of the suburban quality conditions, the level of global quality of the urban region and consequently its competitiveness and increased attraction.
The more qualified environmental values, needed by the city, are situated in the suburban peripheral areas, where there are also major pressures for development. On the other hand, many services, requested by the surrounding rural hinterland, can be delocalised from the inner urban areas, to the suburban and near hinterlands, avoiding interdependence stress. An obligatory platform of alliance between cities and rural hinterlands should lead to wise and integrated planning, needed for promoting innovative dynamic profiles in border urban systems, solving conflicts and tackling opportunities.
Paper draft submission sheet. GreenLink Seminar.doc