Newsletter #60

territorial future thoughts by spatialforesight

In June, our Spatial Foresight blog series covered three topics that are relevant for territorial development in Europe. These ranged from demographic change in the context of various broader development scenarios and the importance of tax incentives for local authorities to the polycentric nature of Europe’s AI industries.

Why Europe’s fragmented AI geography may be an advantage. In Europe, we often discuss artificial intelligence in an anxious manner. The usual comparison is with the United States and China, and the usual benchmark is the race for frontier models. But is Europe’s fragmented AI geography necessarily a weakness? If properly integrated, Europe’s polycentric structure could offer a competitive advantage in applied AI. (Read (Öffnet in neuem Fenster))

(Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

Why local tax incentives matter for cohesion policy. Why should a municipality support renewable energy deployment, enable industrial transformation, strengthen resilience to climate change, and foster innovation? If local governments are expected to actively support economic development and societal transitions, are they sufficiently incentivised to do so? Cohesion policy could assist in creating the right incentives through reforms. (Read (Öffnet in neuem Fenster))

(Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

Demography under uncertainty: 4 futures for Europe’s regions. The territorial consequences of demographic ageing will differ radically depending on the unfolding of global technological, geopolitical and climate futures. Four scenarios reveal uneven territorial futures. Ultimately, Europe’s demographic future is not just about ageing populations. It is about whether ageing occurs in a context of adaptation, resilience and cohesion, or in a context of cumulative territorial inequality. (Read (Öffnet in neuem Fenster))

(Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

In the pipeline

We will continue to reflect on the future of Europe – its spaces, places and people – through a territorial foresight lens. Our focus remains on how governance frameworks can better reflect spatial diversity while enabling structural change.

Stay tuned. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)