Study on the impact of the Information Society on territorial planning in less-favoured regions
The European Commission, DG XIII, has published an open call for tenders for a study on the impact of the Information Society on the territorial planning in less-favoured regions. New developments in Information Society (IS) services and applications have the potential to reduce the relevance of distance, narrow the cost disadvantage of being located in remote areas and improve therefore the geographical integration of the Community. To what extent these new facilities will contribute to the centralization or to the decentralization of the economic agents, industry and services is not well understood. The study will analyse the major sectors of activity within the less-favoured regions and will report where and in which sectors there is a tendency for centralization, decentralization, delocalization, etc. The results of this study will enable the identification of application areas and systems of particular importance for individual regions to their territorial planning and local development and the relationship with the IS. The study will also analyse to what extent the new opportunities opened by the IS at the social and societal level, in particular tele-medicine and distance learning, will have an impact on the population spatial planning, in particular concerning remote and/or peripheral regions. The suggested approach is to select a limited number of case studies that illustrate the role played by the IS in the development of a particular region, to explain what kind of activities (industries, trade, etc.) are concerned. The socio-economic analysis should be able to explain what conditions should be met to allow the development of the region or to retain a population in a rural area. The role played by the regional and urban authorities should also be indicated. If such an approach is followed, the case studies should be selected in two or three different countries affected by cohesion problems or industrial decline. It is expected that at least three different regional approaches are covered. A summarized description and justification for the case studies should be included in the proposal. The study will be completed with recommendations to be addressed to the Commission in order to stimulate private investments, according to the catalyst role of the Commission. The terms of reference for the study may be requested from: European Commission DG XIII - Telecommunications, information market and exploitation of research Division A Ms. Alison Birkett 200 rue de la Loi (BU31 3/58) B-1049 Brussels Tel. +32-2-2968342/2968209; Fax +32-2-2968393