1 BACKGROUND OF ESPON 1.3.3
The ESPON programme is a major input for the implementation of the European Spatial
Development Perspective, a policy framework endorsed in 1999 by the Informal Council of EU
Ministers responsible for spatial planning, according to which «three fundamental goals of
European policy are to be achieved equally in all the regions of the EU: i) economic and social
cohesion; ii) conservation and management of natural resources and the cultural heritage; iii) more
balanced competitiveness of the European territory.» (ESDP 1999).
The ESPON project 1.3.3 (“The Role and Spatial Effects of Cultural Heritage and Identity”) is
carried out by a network of 12 European research partners1 in an equal number of European
counties, under the general coordination of the Leading Partner Ca’ Foscari University of Venice,
Italy. Its goal is to understand and illustrate the spatial and functional diversity of the cultural
heritage and identity (henceforth: CHI) in European regions and neighbouring countries, the
“EU27+2” territory. It also aims at the production of new knowledge on the spatial impacts and
dynamics of CHI, through the development of a toolkit to evaluate the threats and opportunities
arising from the main social and economic trends shaping the European territory at different scales.
Cultural heritage is seen as a capital asset with ethical and economic value, in a social framework,
and a stimulus to change, implying that new, wider notions of “heritage” will be taken into the
picture compared to previous research efforts focused on static aspects.
When it comes to analysing territorial expressions of CHI, ESPON 1.3.3 focuses on regions rather
than countries, considering the NUTS III level as the main analytic unit, and developing further
research at finer scales (the “urban” level) to illustrate local manifestations of CHI and examples of
cultural policy with strong relevance. However, at the present date, information on the cultural
heritage is not collected systematically in European regions or even within countries, and is not
conceived as a major input for regional or national spatial analysis2. Furthermore, in spite of
important works in the field (Greffe 2005), research on the role and effects of cultural heritage on
social and economic development is still at infant stages.
Hence, the effort of this paper is to define a methodology of CHI data collection (what to measure,
how) and of analysis (how to use this information in order to illustrate spatial and functional
diversity). Spatial indicators are grounded in a thorough conceptualisation of the role of CHI; and
the first results are used to analyse the quality of the data and fine-tune the process of harmonisation
of the CHI information between European regions in order to progress towards the compilation of a
“European map” of the spatial effects of cultural heritage and identity.