IMAGINE

The Milan-Bologna urban region encompasses the metropolitan cities of Milan and Bologna and the provinces of Piacenza and Pavia, a strategic regional area covering two of the most economically developed regions in Italy. This area is undergoing important changes in terms of economic development. In fact, the whole area can be seen as a growth corridor within which traditional processes of economic development continue to follow the logic of agglomeration, but also as an increasingly differentiated regional space where unexpected economic processes are investing in unusual places and leaving behind or questioning historical models of centrality and competitiveness.

ESPON IMAGINE aimed at developing a common narrative and the basis for an integrated territorial strategy in the Milan-Bologna area, addressing the most recent economic trends and their territorial impacts. In the long term, the goal is to transform the informal coordination into a more formalized cooperation to define joint territorial scenarios and policies, eventually leading to an experimental proposal for an integrated territorial investment.

CALL’s team has been in charge of the scientific coordination of the project as well as of the delivery of:

• An overview and a mapping of existing cooperation / coordination / initiatives / functional complementarities within the Milan Bologna functional area;
• A case study on the Milan-Bologna high-speed rail providing an overview of main challenges and potentialities related to the transportation system within the functional area;
• A step-by-step strategy for implementing the relevant spatial integration scenario, following the priorities identified and including the use of the relevant tools.