A Regional Core, Adjacent, Periphery Model for National Economic Geography Analysis

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Although the information in Table 2 provides a comprehensive overview of regional classification,
Table 3 presents a more detailed view that considers the urban population density criteria. Table 3
represents the regional classification of a segmented Europe, as was the case before the signing of the
Maastricht Treaty in 1992. The column numbers of Table 3 correspond to those of Table 2.

[Figure 5]

5.1.1 Core Regions

Europe is comprised of seventy-two core regions, varying in population density and number of
urban areas. Of these, nine are single city core regions C. Three of these single city core regions are
located in Germany. The UK has three multiple city core regions C1. There are sixteen core regions
C2 with urban areas whose population density exceeds 2,000 people per square kilometre, of which
twelve are located in Germany. Germany also has the most C3 core regions with an urban population
density that exceeds 1,000 people per square kilometre. A third of the total core regions consists of
regions with urban agglomerates C4 of 500 or more, but less than 1,000 people per square kilometre;
seven of these are found in the UK, five in Belgium and four in Germany. There are four C5 core
regions with urban agglomerate whose population density is less than 500 people per square kilometre.
These agglomerates are found in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Finland, and Sweden.

5.1.2 Adjacent Regions

There are a total of sixty-nine adjacent regions in the individual countries that form the first
order contiguity circle of regions.¹⁴ There are three adjacent regions, A that surround a core region.
This type of region is characterised by towns and cities with a very low (< 20/km²) population density,
where the core region attracts all economic activity. For example; in Belgium, Vlaams-Brabant
surrounds Brussels; in Germany, the region of Brandenburg surrounds the core city-region of Berlin;
and in Austria, the region of Niederosterrech surrounds the region of Vienna. Of the sixty-nine
adjacent regions, forty-two have urban agglomerates A1 with a population density between 100 and

¹⁴ The term ‘first-order contiguity’ refers to the first concentric circle around the core region.

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