The Accessibility of Cities in European Infrastructure Networks

The ongoing process of European integration causes an increasing competition among major urban agglomerations in Western Europe. The target of integration is the removal of all barriers to international trade, which includes among others, the harmonisation of fiscal policies. An implication is that several of the policy instruments which national governments could use in the past to promote development of their major urban agglomerations are no longer applicable. The development of urban infrastructure is seen as one of the final opportunities of the national government to advance their cities in the international competition. It is no surprise then, to see that in a number of recent studies, urban infrastructure plays a role as a determinant of competitiveness of urban regions (Biehl et al., 1986, DATAR, 1989, Cheshire, 1990, NEI, 1991, Healey & Baker, 1996). In most of these studies, attention is focused on the intra-metropolitan infrastructure. This includes the supply of transport infrastructure such as highways and (light) rail in metropolitan areas. In some studies a broader range of infrastructure types is also taken into account, so that education, culture and environmental amenities are also included.