Franziska Sielker

Franziska Sielker

  • Ab März 2017 British Academy Newton International Fellow, University of Cambridge, Department of Land Economy
  • Jean Monet Centre of Excellence PRRIDE (Positioning Regions and Regionalism in a Democratic Europe“) Visiting Scholar 2017
  • Ab Sept. 2012 wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Institut für Geographie der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (on leave)
  • Dissertation zum Thema: “Macro-regional intergation – new scales, spaces and governance for Europe?” (summa cum laude)Betreuung durch Prof. Dr. Tobias Chilla (Erlangen) und Prof. Phil Allmendinger (Cambridge), DAAD Förderung der Forschungsarbeiten im Donau-, Alpen- und Nordseeraum in 2014 und 2015, u.a. als Visiting Scholar am Department of Land Economy an der University of Cambridge.
  • 2012 Abschluss zur Dipl.-Ing. Raumplanung, TU Dortmund, Fakultät Raumplanung, Diplomarbeit: „Makroregionale Strategien der EU und Soft Spaces – Perspektiven an der Donau“ erstellt im Rahmen eines Forschungsaufenthaltes an der TU Wien, Fachbereich Stadt- und Regionalforschung, Österreich
  • 2010 Traineeship in der ESPON Coordination Unit, Luxemburg
  • 2009-2010 Auslandsstudium in Valdivia an der Universidad Austral de Chile, Tourismus
  • 2008 ASA Praktikum in Borjomi, Georgien

Publikationen

Reviewed Journal Articles

  • Sielker, Franziska, Mirtl Jörg (2017): Positioning EU Macro-regions – When Sectoral Policies Meet Cohesion Policy. European Structural and Investment Funds Journal (3/2017): 223-234
  • Sielker, Franziska (2016): A stakeholder-based EU Territorial Cooperation – the example of European macro-regions. In: European Planning Studies (doi: 10.1080/09654313.2016.1221383)
  • Sielker, Franziska (2016): New Approaches in European governance? – Perspectives of Stakeholders in the Danube Macro-region. In: Regional Studies, Regional Sciences 3 (1) pp. 88-95.
  • Allmendinger, Phil; Chilla, Tobias; Sielker, Franziska (2014): Europ
  • eanizing territoriality- towards soft spaces. Environment and Planning A. 46(11) S. 2703 – 2717.

Dissertation

  • Sielker, Franziska (2017) Macro-regional integration: new scales, spaces and governance for Europe? Doctoral thesis. Available under https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-fau/frontdoor/index/index/docId/8517

Book chapter

  • Sielker, Franziska, Kurze, Kristina; Göhler Daniel. (2018): Governance der EU Energie(außen)politik und ihr Beitrag zur Energiewende. In: Kühne, O. and Weber F. (2018) Bausteine der Energiewende. Springer
  • Chilla, T.; Gänzle, S.; Sielker, F. & Stead, D. (2017). European macro-regional strategies: a new research agenda. In: Trondal, J. (ed). Europe’s Common Political Order. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp.127-153 [http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/the-rise-of-common-political-order].
  • Sielker, Franziska (2017): Governance der EU-Donauraumstrategie – Eine Analyse der Mehrwerte und Herausforderungen der makroregionalen Kooperation aus Akteurssicht. In: Bos, Ellen; Giessler, Christina; Walsch, Christopher: Die EU-Strategie für den Donauraum auf dem Prüfstand – Erfahrungen und Perspektiven. Tagungsband zur Konferenz der AUB in 2013. Nomos
  • Stead, Dominic; Sielker, Franziska; Chilla, Tobias (2016): Macro-regional Strategies: Agents of Europeanization and Rescaling? In: Gänzle, Stefan; Kern, Kristine:  A Macro-regional Europe in the Making. Theoretical Approaches and Empirical Evidence. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Sielker, Franziska; Chilla, Tobias (2015): Regionen als ‚Soft Spaces‘? -Das neue EU-Instrument der makroregionalen Strategien. In: Kühne, Olaf; Weber, Florian (2015): Bausteine der Regionalentwicklung. VS-Verlag. S. 41-54.
  • Sielker, Franziska (2014): Soft borders als neues Raumkonzept in der EU? – Das Beispiel der makroregionalen Kooperationen. In: Grotheer, Swantje; Schwöbel, Arne, Stepper, Martina (Hrsg.) Arbeitsbereicht der ARL 10. Hannover.
  • Diplom-Projekt F 11 2009: Participatory Forest Management in East Africa – The Case of the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. In: Gaesing, Karin (Eds.) 2009: Reconciling Rural Livelihood and Biodiversity Conservation – Lessons from Research and Practice. Spring Research Series Nr. 52. TU Dortmund, S. 163 – 171

Andere Artikel und Publikationen

  • Chilla, Tobias; Sielker, Franziska; Othengrafen, Frank (2017): Governance diffusion in Europe – the EGTC tool and its spatial implementation patterns. Working Paper No. 2. Online: http://blogs.fau.de/regionalentwicklung/wp2‐governance‐diffusion
  • Entwicklungsgutachten (2016): Entwicklungsgutachten für den bayerisch-tschechischen Grenzraum. Projektbericht im Auftrag des Bayerischen Staatsministeriums für Finanzen, Landesentwicklung und Heimat.
  • Chilla, Tobias; Sielker, Franziska (2016): Measuring the added-value of the EUSDR – challenges and opportunities. Input Paper for DG Regio and Danube Strategy Point, Brussels.
  • Chilla, Tobias, Sielker, Franziska (2016): Leitfaden Wohnraumprognose. Lehrforschung „Regionalentwicklung – Konzepte der Wohnraumentwicklung“ im Wintersemester 2015/16 und Sommersemester 2016, Institut für Geographie, Erlanger Signatur: 12GG / F 2a 129
  • Krause, Cindy; Sielker, Franziska; Schattanek, Josephine; Smorra, Layla; Tulke, Melanie (2016): Herausforderungen der kommunalen Planungspraxis – Geprägt von zunehmender Unsicherheit und Risiko? In: ARL Nachrichten 2.2016
  • Sielker, Franziska (2016): What could the future role of macro-regional strategies in the EU be? – Four scenarios. Working Paper No. 1/2016 Published: 22.09.2016. Online available under: https://blogs.fau.de/regionalentwicklung/ what-could-the-future-role-of-macro- regional-strategies-in-the-eu-be-four-scenarios/
  • Sielker, Franziska (2016): Neuere Kooperationsformen in der EU – Makroregionale Strategien und Europäische Verbünde für territoriale Zusammenarbeit, In: PLANERIN 1/2016
  • Sielker, Franziska; Vonhoff, Katja (Eds), (2015): Proceedings – Conference on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region: Challenges and Chances 2014 – 2020.
  • Chilla, Tobias; Sielker, Franziska (2015): Europeanisation and macro-regional cooperation – Nine points for discussion. In: Sielker, Franziska; Vonhoff, Katja (Eds), (2015): Proceedings – Conference on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region: Challenges and Chances 2014 – 2020.
  • Böhme, Kai; Gustedt, Evelyn; Finka, Maros; Schön, Karl Peter; Sielker, Franziska; Zillmer, Sabine (2014): ARL Position Paper, No. 101 Response to the European Consultation on the Future of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Online available under: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/contributions/101431_eu2020pp_arl.doc
  • Sielker, Franziska (2013): Impressions of RSA Conference 2013. In: Regions. No. 291, 3/13 p. 35
  • Sielker, Franziska (2012): Makroregionale Strategien in Europa – Eine Einführung in die EU-Donauraumstrategie. In: RaumPlanung 165/6-2012: ESPON European Spatial Planning Observation Network: 46-50. IfR. Dortmund
  • Sielker. Franziska (2012): Makroregionale Strategien der EU und Soft Spaces. Perspektiven an der Donau. TU Dortmund, Fakultät Raumplanung. Online available under http://hdl.handle.net/2003/29755.
  • Sielker, Franziska (2012): The EU Strategy for the Danube Region – The Emergence of Soft Spaces and the Role of Actors. Proceedings of the 26th Annual Congress of the Association of European Schools of Planning, 11.-15. July 2012. Ankara, Turkey,

Vorträge

2016

  • „Revisiting the concept of scale – EU macro-regional strategies as channels of rescaling“, Vortrag in Kooperation mit Dominic Stead, 3-Länder Tagung Regionalismusin einer entgrenzten Welt der DVWP; ÖGPW und SVWP im Rahmen des PRRIDE Panels, October 2017
  • „Governance diffusion in Europe – explaining the EGTC geography“, Presentation at the 1st AESOP Symposium 2017 of the Thematic Group Transboundary Spaces, Policy Diffusion, Planning Cultures: New challenges – ways forward. – Vortrag in Kooperation mit Tobias Chilla und Frank Othengrafen, September 2016, TU Kaiserslautern
  • „Revisitng the question of scale and rescaling EU macro-regional strategies“, Presentation at the 1st AESOP Symposium 2017 of the Thematic Group Transboundary Spaces, Policy Diffusion, Planning Cultures: New challenges – ways forward. – Vortrag in Kooperation mit Dominic Stead, September 2016, TU Kaiserslautern
  • “Complementarities in disparity: The case of Czech-Bavarian border integration.”, Presentation at the Border Regions in Transition Conference, May 2016, Hamburg HCU, Sonderbørg Southern Denmark University.
  • „Makroregionalen Strategien der EU –  ‘Place-based’ oder ‘Stakeholder-based‘ EU Regionalpolitik?“ Presentation at the Dortmunder Konferenz , February 2016, Dortmund Deutschland

2015

  • ‚Place-based oder ‚Stakeholder-based‘? – paradigmatische Veränderungen in der EU Regionalpolitik? – Vortrag, Deutscher Geographentag , Oktober 2015, Berlin Deutschland
  • „EU Territorial Cooperation: (Macro-regions as an example for a) place-based or stakeholder-based regional policy?“ – Vortrag, AESOP Congress, Juli 2015, Prag, Tschechien

2014

  • “Sea basins and mountain ranges as European Macroregions: Traditional geography reloaded?” – Vortrag in Kooperation mit Tobias Chilla und Phil Allmendinger, AESOP Congress, Juli  2014 Utrecht, Niederlande
  • „Governance und Kohäsion – Der Europäische Verbund für Territoriale Zusammenarbeit als neuer Ansatz?“  – Vortrag in Kooperation mit Tobias Chilla und Frank Othengrafen auf der jährlichen Konferenz der Akademie für Raumordnung und Landesplanung,  Juni 2014, Karlsruhe, Deutschland
  • „Europäische Integration durch transnationale Kooperationen – Neue Möglichkeiten durch die EU Donauraumstrategie?“  – Einladung zum Vortrag auf der internationalen Tagung des Donau-Instituts für Interdisziplinäre Forschung an der Andrássy Universität Budapest: „Konferenz zum 10. Jahrestag der EU-Osterweiterung“. 10.-11. April 2014. Budapest, Ungarn.

2013

  • „An academic assessment of the evaluation of macro-regional strategies“ – Vortrag in Kooperation mit Katja Vonhoff bei der Tagung “Conference on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region: Challenges and Chances 2014-2012“ des Danube Strategy Research Networks. 04.-06. November. Brüssel, Belgien.
  • “Territorial cooperation by macro-regions – a new form of Europeanisation?” –Vortrag in Kooperation mit Tobias Chilla bei der Tagung “Conference on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region: Challenges and Chances 2014-2012” des Danube Strategy Research Networks. 04.-06. November. Brüssel, Belgien.
  • „Governance der EU – Donauraumstrategie – Mehrwert und Herausforderungen der makroregionalen Kooperation“  – Einladung zum Vortrag auf der internationalen Tagung des Donau-Instituts für Interdisziplinäre Forschung: „Die EU-Donauraumstrategie auf dem Prüfstand: Erfahrungen und Perspektiven“. 15.-17. Oktober 2013. Budapest, Ungarn.
  • “Soft borders als neues Raumkonzept der EU – Das Beispiel der Makroregionen” – Vortrag beim Geographentag. 02.-06. Oktober 2013. Passau, Deutschland.
  • “Zur neuen Popularität des Funktionalprinzips” – Vortrag beim Geographentag in Kooperation mit Tobias Chilla, Markus Neufeld. 02.-06. Oktober 2013. Passau, Deutschland.
  • “Europeanizing territoriality – towards soft spaces?”  – Vortrag in Kooperation mit Tobias Chilla und Phil Allmendinger beim AESOP-ACSP Joint Congress, 15.-19. Juli 2013. Dublin, Irland.
  • “Macro-regions and Spatial Rescaling – Experiences in the Baltic Sea and Danube Regions.” – Vortrag in Kooperation mit Dominic Stead beim AESOP-ACSP Joint Congress, 15.-19. Juli 2013. Dublin, Irland.
  • “Internationalization of policies – A comparative analysis from the Baltic and the Danubian Cases.” – Vortrag in Kooperation mit Dominic Stead, eingeladen zum Workshop Makroregionalisierung, 13.-14. Juni 2013. Potsdam, Deutschland.
  • “Soft borders in der EU? – Chancen und Herausforderungen der makroregionalen Kooperationen im Alpenraum“ – Vortrag beim Jungen Forum der ARL, 29.-31.Mai 2013. Kaiserslautern, Deutschland.
  • “Europeanised reterritorialisation – The Example of EU Macro-Regions” Vortrag bei der Konferenz der Regional Studies Association. 05.-08. Mai 2013. Tampere, Finnland.

2012

  • „The EU Strategy for the Danube Region – The Emergence and of Soft Spaces and the Role of Actors.”-  Vortrag  beim AESOP Silver Jubilee Congress , Track European Territorial Cooperation and Policies, 11.-15.07.2012. Ankara, Turkey.

Erlangen:
  • WS 2012/13 – Seminar: Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung
  • SS 2013 – Seminar: Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung
  • WS 2013/2014 – Seminar: Regionalentwicklung in Europa
  • WS 2013/2014 – Kleines Geländeseminar: London: From Docklands to Thames Gateway
  • SS 2014 – Seminar: Strukturwandel und Raumentwicklung
  • SS 2014 – Großes Geländeseminar: Grenzräume Europas
  • SS 2014 – Forschungswerkstatt: Partizipation und Leitbildentwicklung
  • WS 2014/2015 – Seminar: Strukturwandel und Raumentwicklung
  • WS 2014/2015 – Seminar Spezielle Methoden: Methoden und Instrumente der Partizipation in der Stadt- und Regionalentwicklung
  • SS 2015 – Begleitseminar zur Grundvorlesung Kulturgeographie
  • SS 2015 – Großes Geländeseminar: Makroregion Alpen
  • SS 2015 – Seminar zum großen Geländeseminar Makroregion Alpen
  • WS 2015/2016 – Lehrforschung: Wohnraumentwicklungskonzepte und Wohnraumprognose
  • SS 2016 – Lehrforschung: Wohnraumentwicklungskonzepte II
  • SS 2016 – Projektseminar „Campus der Zukunft“
  • WS 2016/2017 – Structural change and regional development

Extern

  • Guest teaching: „European territorial cooperation“ im Rahmen des Planet Europe Studiengangs an der Radboud Universität Nijmegen, October 2017
  • Guest teaching: „Regionalplanung und Politik im Alpenraum“, Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf im Studiengang Regionalmanagement, Juni 2016

 Mein Forschungsinteresse bewegt sich im Spannungsfeld zwischen Politischer Geographie, Regionalentwicklung und Raumplanung, mit einem besonderen Fokus auf europäischen Entwicklungen.
  • Europäische Raumentwicklung und territoriale Kohäsion  (insbesondere makroregionale Strategien und EVTZ)
  • Transnationale Soft Spaces
  • Governanceforschung und strategieorientierte Planung
  • European Integration, Europeanisation, European regional policy
  • Governance
  • (Re-)Territorialisation, Scales and Processes of Rescaling
  • Macro-regional strategies, European Groupings of territorial cooperation
  • border regions

Research Expertise (English)

Having a background in Spatial Planning from the TU Dortmund University  and conducting a PhD in Geography (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg), my research focusses on the crossroads between these disciplines and European Studies and Political Sciences. More concretely, my research profile includes aspects of political and economic geography, planning theory, border studies as well as European and regional development. Conceptually, I am particularly interested in questions of power (re)allocation, reterritorialization and (re)scaling with a focus on processes in contemporary European territorial cooperation and policy diffusion.

In my PhD and my diploma thesis, I have developed a strong expertise in macro-regional cooperation which can be summarized as follows: 1) governance of macro-regional strategies, 2) stakeholder’s perspectives towards the implementation, 3) the (future) role in the EU,  4) forms of European Integration, Europeanisation and processes of rescaling in European policy-making, 5) new soft spaces – macro-regions between territorial and relational spaces.  I developed a regional expertise in the governance structures of the EU Danube Region Strategy, the EU Alpine Region Strategy and the North Sea Region 2020 Strategy. Questions of transport and navigation were in the core of my work.

I further analysed the opportunities of the use of the new EU governance tool of European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation.

In several research projects, I have further worked on issues of urban monitoring.  More specifically, I am interested in university cities, which undergo processes of major transformation. Exemplary, I can name the reallocation of the University and Siemens in Erlangen towards the new “Siemens Campus”.

Summary of research on EU macro-regions

Franziska Sielker scientific work on macro-regional strategies and in particular the Danube Region and Alpine Region encompasses a variety of activities since her Diploma thesis on the Danube Region Strategy in 2012 and her ongoing dissertation (see above). Since then Franziska Sielker has published widely on macro-regional cooperation and the Danube Region Strategy in the fields of human geography, regional development and spatial planning. Her continuous research focusses on questions of governance, Europeanisation and European integration, and in particular on the role of macro-regional strategies in European policy-making. With regard to the Danube Region, her focus lies on the stakeholders’ involvement and the rescaling processes in the fields of navigation and transport.  Apart from her individual research, she coordinates the Danube Strategy Research Network, which is an informal network of researchers from all fields of Humanities and Social Sciences (together with Katja Vonhoff). Her research activities on macro-regional strategies can be summarized along five strands. The three empirically informed strands consider the governance of macro-regions, stakeholder’s perspectives and the role of MRS in European territorial cooperation. In her two conceptual approaches, Franziska Sielker reflects the rescaling of political competences and the implications for processes of European integration. Empirically the work is based on more than 50 interviews and the participation at various macro-regional events as well as a questionnaire.

  1. Governance of EU macro-regional strategies

With macro-regional strategies, a new type of cooperation arose in the EU, with four macro-regions being implemented in the Baltic Sea Region (2009), Danube Region (2011), the Adriatic-Ionian Region (2014) and the Alpine Region (2015). Each macro-region is governed differently. Franziska’s first studies identified and described the governance structure, and in particular, she reflected on the different understandings and positions of the actors with the Danube Region.

Following these works, the macro-regional governance consists of a political decision-making level at which the overall strategy, its contents and implementation are negotiated and decided upon. This includes the European Council, the High-level Group, the European Commission and the National Contact Points. The EUDRS is organized in 11 Priority Areas (with PA 1 transport being separated into navigation and overland transport). The National Contact Points together with the European Commission responsible for monitoring identified binational coordinating teams for each of this thematic cooperation. Steering Groups and Working Groups support the coordinators. Together they link the diversity of activities with the funding programmes and the strategic goals. The Steering Groups are responsible to first, set the overall targets of the different thematic areas and second, seek the political commitment towards these activities in their national contexts. Since 2014 a Danube Region Strategy Point was set up at the representation of Baden-Württemberg to the EU in support of the work of the Coordinators, European Commission and National Contact Points.

Apart from providing an overview of the governance arrangements, the main findings show first that a wise steering of governance and timely adjustments are highly important to the dynamics of macro-regional cooperation. Second, the Priority Areas rely on a range of different policy fields, in which the tools, instruments, projects, funding schemes as well as the cooperating stakeholders differ. Hence, apart from many voices calling for harmonisation, Franziska more calls macro-regional cooperation to reflect these diversities without necessarily arguing for harmonisation. Only if macro-regions are able to adapt to the different needs, the cooperation is esteemed to be useful.

  1. Stakeholders perspectives towards the Danube regional cooperation and its implementation activities

The second strand of research questions the stakeholders’ perspectives towards the EUDRS, particularly focusing on the added values, the challenges and stakeholders’ considerations of a successful strategy. This work is closely intertwined with the above described governance arrangements. The two main contributions focusing on this are the diploma thesis (2012) and the analysis of a questionnaire focusing on stakeholders’ interests in cooperating in the Danube Region conducted at the Danube Annual Forum. The questionnaire was conducted jointly with Katja Vonhoff in the context of the Danube Strategy Research Network with kind permission of the Danube Region Strategy Point and the Land Baden-Württemberg. A policy briefing resulting from this questionnaire is in preparation and scheduled for 2016.

Franziska’s work has shown that in the initial years, stakeholders were mostly interested in network building.  The Priority Areas aimed at identifying common ground for cooperation. In the initial years, stakeholders were rather skeptical of the possible outcomes of the cooperation and more curious than filled with many expectations. The results of the questionnaires in 2015 show that the networking component is still a very high influence. However, the overall expectations now includes first, influencing political agendas and second, obtaining or better steering (EU funded) projects. Generally, the idea to either initiate, prioritize or support macro-regional projects is currently the main consideration of stakeholders in the Danube Region.

  1. The (future) role of macro-regional strategies in European territorial cooperation

The third strand reflects on the macro-regional strategies’ role within European territorial cooperation (ETC). In this context, macro-regional cooperation is seen as part of a place-based approach as introduced to ETC with the Barca-Report. Macro-regional strategies reflect this shift, and they are likely to influence policy-making in this direction. She analyses contemporary styles of ETC under the place-based narrative by identifying characteristics of macro-regional cooperation. Drawing on empirical studies in the Danube, Alpine and North Sea regions, Franziska shows that stakeholders’ primary rationale for getting involved is the opportunity for agenda-setting, and the intention to evoke changes in debates and in other stakeholders’ influence. The main argument is that macro-regional experiences reveal a crucial dependency on relatively strong stakeholders. With the introduction of the term ‘stakeholder-based’, the research wants to draw attention to the importance of stakeholder settings in these new forms of ETC. One conclusions is that approaches to regional policies would need to acknowledge the regional differences of stakeholder settings more explicitly, and highlights the need to better acknowledge the implications for political transparency and relative power in agenda-setting.

The changes macro-regional strategies are bringing to the regional-institutional settings are not yet fully visible and remain subject to investigation. One of the main developments in the Danube region was the adjustment of the South East Europe programme to the Danube region. Many organizations change the scope of their activities to the macro-regional aims. Another finding is that the sectoral communities are gaining importance.

  1. European integration, Europeanisation and rescaling – European policy-making

This fourth strand questions the processes of European integration that macro-regional cooperation represents. It does so firstly, by analysing macro-regions under the lens of the ‘big’ theories of European integration and interprets it with regard to Europeanisation. Secondly, the research questions what processes of rescaling occure due to this type of cooperation.

The research puts into question that macro-regional strategies could develop as a level with political competences, albeit the broader debate has discussed macro-regions as a potential new “state”-level in the early years. Despite some dynamic with regard to the diffusion of power, authority and legitimacy to other government levels and actors over recent decades in the areas where the macro-regional strategies have been developed, the role of the nation-state remains crucial. Nonetheless, the importance of international organisations and regimes on the one hand and transnational and subnational actors on the other hand has increased. At the backdrop of different conceptualisations of Europeanisation, Franziska’s research positions territorial cooperation initiatives mainly as a top-down influence. Europeanisation mostly has effects on shifts between different scales. This can include the rescaling of policy-making agendas, processes, networks or powers or it can include the rescaling of policy ideas, narratives, norms or justifications. These processes mostly have a territorial dimension.

The research concludes that processes of rescaling are different in each macro-region and in each thematic field. Most prominent alongside all thematic fields and macro-regions are however rescaling processes in terms of actor-setting involvement in policy-making processes (e.g. through the involvement of international organisations such as ICPDR, HELCOM or Via Donau). Governance and policy arrangements are complementing existing structures and elements rather than replacing institutions, and mandates. In another paper, Franziska Sielker contraposes macro-regional strategies in the light of European integration theories, highlighting that these developments consolidate intergovernmental European cooperations in contrast to a further supranationalisation.

  1. Macro-regions: new soft spaces of the EU

With the development of macro-regional strategies, a new type of territorial cooperation arose in the EU. The research reflected on macro-regions as ‘soft spaces’. These are in contemporary planning literature described as spaces where the ‘hard spaces’ of government overlap with various kinds of networks and impacting the spatial governance.

This research shows that macro-regions, initiated by Nation States and thus following mainly a political logic, shows important characteristics of the concept of soft spaces. It argues that the governance-structure is fuzzy in a vertical, horizontal and geographical dimension. Moreover, Franziska shows that there is a variety of possible gateways macro-regional cooperation can take, and that through macro-regions European cooperation increasingly draws upon ‘soft borders’. More broadly, the work done shows that the new spaces of European territoriality are characterized by, first, temporal dynamics, second, their parallel existence with ‘hard’ spaces, and, finally, they can be employed as a political tool.

 

Projekte

  • Power in Planning (ongoing)
  • ESPON ACTAREA Territorial Cooperation Alps (ongoing)
  • Städtebauliches Monitoring Erlangen (ongoing)
  • Integriertes Wohnraumentwicklungskonzept Eggenfelden – 2015/2016
  • Entwicklungsgutachten für den bayerisch-tschechischen Grenzraum mit Grontmij München u.a., i.A. des Bayerischen Heimatministeriums – 2015
  • Städtebauliches Monitoring – Scopingphase 2015
  • Städtebauliche Analyse Schnaittach – 2014
  • Makroregionale Strategien und Europäisierung – div. Unterstütztungen (BayFor, Internationalisierungsmittel Bayern, DAAD) (since 2012)

Preise und Awards

  • Danubius Young Scientist Award (for Germany, 2016)
  • Newton International Fellow, awarded by the British Academy and Royal Society (from March 2017 onwards for two years)

Netzwerke und Mitgliedschaften