The Alpine settlement system: capturing relevance beyond size

The Alpine settlement system is of key relevance for sustainable development in the mountain region. However, maps on the European scale indicate almost no cities in the Alps but only a few small towns. We argue that a differentiated mapping approach should involve medium and small settlements in mountain regions, as they have a high functional importance for the surrounding area. We present an analytical mapping of the Alpine settlement system based on demographic and accessibility arguments and reflect on two research questions: How to put Alpine towns on the map of spatial development without taking a metropolitan bias? To what extent does this approach help to overcome the ‘size problem’ of the Alpine settlement system? Our ‘new’ map covers the rural area and ‘sees’ small towns, shows the relevance of efficient spatial organisation along valley axes and illustrates the cross-border dimension of towns in spatial proximity to national borders.