Mapping the Spatial Divisions of Europe
1st Edition
Published on 7. August 2025
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-78945-181-8 (ISBN)
Description
The European continent has given rise to the greatest number of spatial divisions. Its limits have provoked numerous debates, both within and outside of the continent. The European Union, for its part, has become a laboratory for the production of divisions.
Each of these divisions, a vector of identity and territoriality, reflects an intentionality, as revealed in Mapping the Spatial Divisions of Europe. The book shows the multiplicity of forms and modalities of these divisions and the actors who produce, use and question them in a globalized, and reticular world.
From the continent as a whole to the individual regions via metropolitan areas and their networks, from meshing to zoning, from regionalization to representations, this book explores how these divisions are used to govern, plan, imagine and build European territories beyond the heritage of states and their borders. The chapters shed new light on the theoretical and practical issues involved in carving Europe on different time and space scales.
Each of these divisions, a vector of identity and territoriality, reflects an intentionality, as revealed in Mapping the Spatial Divisions of Europe. The book shows the multiplicity of forms and modalities of these divisions and the actors who produce, use and question them in a globalized, and reticular world.
From the continent as a whole to the individual regions via metropolitan areas and their networks, from meshing to zoning, from regionalization to representations, this book explores how these divisions are used to govern, plan, imagine and build European territories beyond the heritage of states and their borders. The chapters shed new light on the theoretical and practical issues involved in carving Europe on different time and space scales.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
585 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78945-181-8 (9781789451818)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Guy Baudelle | Emmanuelle Boulineau
Mapping the Spatial Divisions of Europe
E-Book
07/2025
1st Edition
Wiley
€130.99
Available for download
Guy Baudelle | Emmanuelle Boulineau
Mapping the Spatial Divisions of Europe
E-Book
07/2025
1st Edition
Wiley
€142.99
Available for download
Persons
Guy Baudelle is Professor Emeritus of Spatial Planning at the University of Rennes 2, France. He is also a member of the UMR CNRS ESO research unit and former Jean Monnet Chair (2003-2022). His work focuses on territorial development policies in the European Union and France.
Emmanuelle Boulineau is Professor of Geography at the Ecole normale superieure de Lyon, France, and a member of the CNRS EVS research unit. She specializes in the political geography of territorial reform in Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.
Emmanuelle Boulineau is Professor of Geography at the Ecole normale superieure de Lyon, France, and a member of the CNRS EVS research unit. She specializes in the political geography of territorial reform in Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.
Content
Introduction xi
Guy BAUDELLE and Emmanuelle BOULINEAU
Part 1. Europe and Its Divisions: A Matter of Scale, Time and Perspective 1
Chapter 1. Europe, a Region with Variable Geography 3
Yann RICHARD
1.1. Introduction 3
1.2. Europe between globalization and (macro)regionalization: from continent to functional macroregion 4
1.3. European community: an undefinable regional political object without limit? 10
1.4. Europe and its divisions, old and new 14
1.5. Conclusion 20
1.6. References 22
Chapter 2. Europe, a Continent? A Geohistorical Analysis 25
Vincent CAPDEPUY
2.1. Introduction 25
2.2. A division with a history 26
2.3. A territory 36
2.4. Conclusion: an empty shell? 47
2.5. References 47
Chapter 3. The Dissemination of European Administrative Divisions throughout the World 49
Nathalie FAU, Stephanie LIMA, Hubert MAZUREK and Julien THOREZ
3.1. Introduction 49
3.2. The Western European model of the nation-state: dissemination and new divisions 51
3.3. Internal divisions: adaptation, resurgence and innovation 57
3.4. The Europeanization or regionalization of the world? 63
3.5. Conclusion 67
3.6. References 69
Part 2. Divisions of Europe by the European Union 75
Chapter 4. Three Patterns of Territorial Division: NUTS, Macroregions and Cross-border Areas 77
Emmanuelle BOULINEAU
4.1. Introduction 77
4.2. NUTS: a European gridding beyond the simple carving up of space 78
4.3. Macroregions: discontinuous, supraregional, integrational zoning with fuzzy stakes 83
4.4. Cross-border spaces: a typology for European integration and cohesion 87
4.5. Understanding the impact of the three patterns of territorial division in the construction of Europe 92
4.6. References 95
Chapter 5. Dividing the EU for Its Own Development 97
Frederic SANTAMARIA
5.1. EU action without territory or legal authority 97
5.2. EU promotion of regional divisions versus the diversity of choices in the organization of national territory 99
5.3. More territorialized EU action: a desire confined to certain areas 104
5.4. The idea of (right) (territorial) governance as a substitute for divisions 116
5.5. Conclusion 119
5.6. References 119
Chapter 6. The Blue Banana or the Influence of Symbolic Divisions on Our Representations of Europe 123
Guy BAUDELLE
6.1. Introduction 123
6.2. The theoretical framework: the power of symbolic representations of space 124
6.3. The thunderclap of the blue banana 126
6.4. The effect of a division on public action 132
6.5. Lessons from an enduring episode 134
6.6. Conclusion 137
6.7. References 138
Part 3. Questioning Europe's Divisions 145
Chapter 7. The Difficulty in Adjusting Metropolitan Perimeters 147
Marianne GUEROIS, Brice LAMENIE, Dominique RIVIERE and Anne BRETAGNOLLE
7.1. Introduction 147
7.2. The evolution of functional metropolitan divisions in Europe 149
7.3. Institutional perimeters tested by metropolitan challenges 157
7.4. Conclusion 167
7.5. References 169
Chapter 8. Urban/Rural Divisions in Europe 173
Samuel DEPRAZ
8.1. Introduction 173
8.2. Why a rural spatial notion?. 174
8.3. Dividing the countryside: guidelines 179
8.4. Conclusion 187
8.5. References 188
Chapter 9. Europe, Water and Divisions: River Basin Districts and Bodies of Water 193
Stephane GHIOTTI and Anne RIVIERE-HONEGGER
9.1. Introduction 193
9.2. A Europeanization of divisions in the face of environmental diversity, challenges and national policies 196
9.3. The European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000), an initiator of new divisions 202
9.4. Two divisions put to the test: the hydrographic district and the body of water 207
9.5. Conclusion 211
9.6. References 213
Chapter 10. Reticular Divisions for Transportation 219
Antoine BEYER
10.1. Introduction: rethinking territorial divisions based on the Trans-European Transportation Network 219
10.2. The development of transportation as an allegory for overcoming borders 221
10.3. Technical systems still largely influenced by national borders 222
10.4. Hybridization of technical apparatuses: the proliferation and spread of borders in railway networks 224
10.5. Pre-community transportation systems, the hidden dimension of European integration before the EU 227
10.6. The core network: the stages of creating a community doctrine for transportation networks 229
10.7. Eurocorridors: laboratories for European integration 233
10.8. From division by corridor to development axes 235
10.9. Conclusion: corridors, powerful vectors for the territorialization of EU policies 238
10.10. References 239
Chapter 11. Networked Cities 241
Ninon BRIOT
11.1. Introduction 241
11.2. Constructing a unified EU through cooperation between cities crossing State borders 244
11.3. Deconstructing EU links 248
11.4. Surpassing EU borders: international cooperation to connect with the rest of the world 253
11.5. References 260
List of Authors 263
Index 265
Guy BAUDELLE and Emmanuelle BOULINEAU
Part 1. Europe and Its Divisions: A Matter of Scale, Time and Perspective 1
Chapter 1. Europe, a Region with Variable Geography 3
Yann RICHARD
1.1. Introduction 3
1.2. Europe between globalization and (macro)regionalization: from continent to functional macroregion 4
1.3. European community: an undefinable regional political object without limit? 10
1.4. Europe and its divisions, old and new 14
1.5. Conclusion 20
1.6. References 22
Chapter 2. Europe, a Continent? A Geohistorical Analysis 25
Vincent CAPDEPUY
2.1. Introduction 25
2.2. A division with a history 26
2.3. A territory 36
2.4. Conclusion: an empty shell? 47
2.5. References 47
Chapter 3. The Dissemination of European Administrative Divisions throughout the World 49
Nathalie FAU, Stephanie LIMA, Hubert MAZUREK and Julien THOREZ
3.1. Introduction 49
3.2. The Western European model of the nation-state: dissemination and new divisions 51
3.3. Internal divisions: adaptation, resurgence and innovation 57
3.4. The Europeanization or regionalization of the world? 63
3.5. Conclusion 67
3.6. References 69
Part 2. Divisions of Europe by the European Union 75
Chapter 4. Three Patterns of Territorial Division: NUTS, Macroregions and Cross-border Areas 77
Emmanuelle BOULINEAU
4.1. Introduction 77
4.2. NUTS: a European gridding beyond the simple carving up of space 78
4.3. Macroregions: discontinuous, supraregional, integrational zoning with fuzzy stakes 83
4.4. Cross-border spaces: a typology for European integration and cohesion 87
4.5. Understanding the impact of the three patterns of territorial division in the construction of Europe 92
4.6. References 95
Chapter 5. Dividing the EU for Its Own Development 97
Frederic SANTAMARIA
5.1. EU action without territory or legal authority 97
5.2. EU promotion of regional divisions versus the diversity of choices in the organization of national territory 99
5.3. More territorialized EU action: a desire confined to certain areas 104
5.4. The idea of (right) (territorial) governance as a substitute for divisions 116
5.5. Conclusion 119
5.6. References 119
Chapter 6. The Blue Banana or the Influence of Symbolic Divisions on Our Representations of Europe 123
Guy BAUDELLE
6.1. Introduction 123
6.2. The theoretical framework: the power of symbolic representations of space 124
6.3. The thunderclap of the blue banana 126
6.4. The effect of a division on public action 132
6.5. Lessons from an enduring episode 134
6.6. Conclusion 137
6.7. References 138
Part 3. Questioning Europe's Divisions 145
Chapter 7. The Difficulty in Adjusting Metropolitan Perimeters 147
Marianne GUEROIS, Brice LAMENIE, Dominique RIVIERE and Anne BRETAGNOLLE
7.1. Introduction 147
7.2. The evolution of functional metropolitan divisions in Europe 149
7.3. Institutional perimeters tested by metropolitan challenges 157
7.4. Conclusion 167
7.5. References 169
Chapter 8. Urban/Rural Divisions in Europe 173
Samuel DEPRAZ
8.1. Introduction 173
8.2. Why a rural spatial notion?. 174
8.3. Dividing the countryside: guidelines 179
8.4. Conclusion 187
8.5. References 188
Chapter 9. Europe, Water and Divisions: River Basin Districts and Bodies of Water 193
Stephane GHIOTTI and Anne RIVIERE-HONEGGER
9.1. Introduction 193
9.2. A Europeanization of divisions in the face of environmental diversity, challenges and national policies 196
9.3. The European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000), an initiator of new divisions 202
9.4. Two divisions put to the test: the hydrographic district and the body of water 207
9.5. Conclusion 211
9.6. References 213
Chapter 10. Reticular Divisions for Transportation 219
Antoine BEYER
10.1. Introduction: rethinking territorial divisions based on the Trans-European Transportation Network 219
10.2. The development of transportation as an allegory for overcoming borders 221
10.3. Technical systems still largely influenced by national borders 222
10.4. Hybridization of technical apparatuses: the proliferation and spread of borders in railway networks 224
10.5. Pre-community transportation systems, the hidden dimension of European integration before the EU 227
10.6. The core network: the stages of creating a community doctrine for transportation networks 229
10.7. Eurocorridors: laboratories for European integration 233
10.8. From division by corridor to development axes 235
10.9. Conclusion: corridors, powerful vectors for the territorialization of EU policies 238
10.10. References 239
Chapter 11. Networked Cities 241
Ninon BRIOT
11.1. Introduction 241
11.2. Constructing a unified EU through cooperation between cities crossing State borders 244
11.3. Deconstructing EU links 248
11.4. Surpassing EU borders: international cooperation to connect with the rest of the world 253
11.5. References 260
List of Authors 263
Index 265