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practising an explicit national urban policy, most of the national policy that affects the
towns, is spatial-planning policy and sectorial policy. Within those policies, the relevancy
of the towns and cities is increasingly acknowledged. But the adjustment of the policy
efforts deserves more attention in the future, for urbanisation is progressing in the
countries of the European Union. The logical consequence is that more and more states
include the results of urbanisation in their policy. Indeed, national urban development
appears more and more on the political agendas of the national governments of member
states. Nevertheless, the majority of EU-countries have not yet proceeded to a genuine,
explicit, national urban policy.
To the future prosperity of the member states, the development of an explicit national
urban policy is highly relevant. That is pleaded not only by the arguments offered above,
but also by the fact that cities are more and more functionally related. To achieve a
balanced development of the national urban system, the national government needs a
clear vision of the preferable evolution of the towns within the national system. Naturally,
that vision should do justice to the development potentialities of the several towns and
their important role for stimulating wider regional development. To that end, the towns
themselves will have to draw a clear picture of their development potential.
The voice of the towns should be heard in the development of a national urban policy.
Cities need a clear vision and strategy as a basis for their own policy, to increase their
own competitive power, and to deal adequately with their social-economic problems. An
indispensable element of such a strategy is good cooperation with the higher authorities,
based on a jointly evolved vision of the urban development that is advisable on the local,
regional and national levels. Such an atmosphere of cooperativeness is conducive to the
most efficient use of all resources available for urban development. A fact to keep in
mind in that context is that the strategic cooperation between towns and the higher
authorities cannot remain confined to one country, since united Europe is diligently
striving to strengthen its own competitive power. From the European point of view as
well, and with the cities’ function of economic motor in mind, to make the most of their
economic potential is of the essence. Moreover, the tendency of cities to combine into
urban systems appears increasingly to ignore national frontiers. On the European level as
well, cities on both sides of a national border tend to join the same functional urban
network. All in all there is every reason for the EU to try for a European vision of
preferable paths of urban evolution. Again, such a vision should be reached in close
cooperation with the European cities themselves.
No need to argue that the above expectations refer to a remote future. Nevertheless, now
is the time to design, on the basis of a clear vision, a policy for cities that does justice to
their potentials as well as to the need to support the European cities fast and efficiently in
their efforts to prevent and solve the grave social problems which are, or will be,
confronting them. Contrary to some national governments, the European Commission has
shown its concern with urban development. Although the member states have primary
responsibility in developing urban policies, the European Commission suggests to
improve the contribution of European policies to urban areas by stressing the need for an