Achim Ahrens (p), Seán Lyons

Ireland has experienced substantial loss of non-urban land over the last decades. The process of land-consuming outward growth of urban space is often referred to as sprawl. Despite the interest in the topic of urban sprawl across countries, there is still a lack of empirical evidence with regard to what causes sprawl. In this article, we first summarise trends of land use in Ireland since 1990, and formally test for the presence of sprawl. Sprawl is a multi-dimensional concept and various measures have been suggested in the literature. For the purpose of this study, we conceptualise the process of sprawl using three measures: growth in population density, growth in housing stock and growth in urban land area.
In the main part of the empirical analysis, we examine the underlying drivers of urban land expansion in Ireland with a focus on the role commuting times and rental prices. The monocentric city model suggests that individuals face, when making relocation decisions, a trade-off between lower rental prices and higher commuting costs in sub-urban areas relative to urban centres. Thus, from a theoretical perspective, urban sprawl is expected to be driven by the rental price differential between sub-urban and central areas. This mechanism is of special interests in Ireland where rental prices have risen dramatically. To test the predictions from the monocentric model empirically, we make use of commuting flows from the Place of Work, School or College - Census of Anonymised Records (POWSCAR), spatially disaggregate rental price data and socio-economic data from the Census Small Area Population Statistics. Preliminary results confirm the existence of sprawl and show that, as predicted by the monocentric model, high rental prices close to employment centres are associated with sprawl.

Lena Andersson-skog, Susanna Fellman, Laura Ekholm (p), Josefin Sabo (p)

In the 1950s' the textile and clothing industry was one of the largest in Sweden, but twenty years later it was almost eradicated, as employment fell from 100 000. To under 10 000. Today the industry has experienced a dramatic revival and expansion, and is highly competitive on international markets. In a parallel process, a new global ready-to-wear-clothing sector, focused on design, fashion, distribution and retailing slowly replaced the old local clothing production. Textile production changed track from traditional fabrics into technical textiles primarily used as input materials in other rapidly growing industries, for example hygiene and transport. We argue that the transformation processes not only depended on international market conditions, and new technology, but was to a great extent an outcome of domestic economic policies, transforming business strategies and changing government-business relations in certain regions.
The paper will first explore the de-industrialistaion and the re-inudstrialisation and discuss the changing regional patterns over time. The outcome is analysed in the framework in industrial and regional policies. We will analyse subsidies and other forms of political support to the sub-sectors, and scrutinise the effects on both the location decisions and strategies of individual companies in two cases: i) the active state involvement in locating and developing a new technology of rayon manufacturing due to contingency reasons 1940-1985; ii), the attempts to save the textile and clothing industry 1960-1990 by regional policy investments and industrial support.
The study will be based on both macro-level statistical material and qualitative analysis of public documents and company archival material. The paper will contribute with insights into how entrepreneurs and owners adapt and reorient during periods of swift technical development, profound changes in market opportunities and institutional transformations. By focusing on the relation between economic and regional policies and the changes in the regional industrial clusters, We will also provide a new understanding of different waves in the ongoing industrialisation process and its effect on regional relocation.

Maria Giovanna Brandano (p), Bianca Biagi , Raquel Ortega-Argilés

see extended abstract

Ksenia Budaeva (p), Vladimir Klimanov

In Russia there are more than 300 strategic planning documents which must correspond with each other. At subnational level regional strategy of economic and social development is the main document of strategic planning system. It determines priorities, goals and objectives of territory development.
The research reflects the current situation and trends in the field of regional strategizing. The strategies’ contents for their compliance with the formulated criteria in 2007 and 2017 were studied. We used our own methodology based on qualitative and quantitative documentary analysis. Several basic elements of regional strategies have been chosen: objectives, analysis of economic and social development, choice of strategic alternatives, its economic relations with neighboring regions, analysis of regional economy sectors, SWOT of a region, financial resources for strategy realization. Moreover, for studying the quality of strategic planning some planned and actual indicators of socio-economic development were compared.
At the present stage strategic planning in Russia is still based on the experience of Soviet planning and has a number of features related to the legislative framework, a federal system with the prevailing control of the federal government etc. In spite of this, the analysis indicates a positive progressive development of strategizing. Over the past decade, the strategies contents have been improved: in all documents there is a deep scan of economic and social situation, analysis of region's economic relations with other regions etc. However the content of other important components of strategies do not always meet the requirements of strategic planning principles and the current Russian legislation. In particular strategies mostly are not supported by financial resources necessary for its implementation which leads to ineffective implementation of documents.
To study the correspondence of strategic planning quality the ratio of actual and planned gross regional product and total unemployment was revealed in regional strategies. The analysis demonstrates differences in forecast correctness for social and economic indicators. Forecasting of economic indicators is more correct than in relation to labor market issues.
There is still a weak correlation between strategies and other documents in their implementation and role in regional development. Further development of regional planning is seen in a clear system of documents of strategic planning, spatial planning and state regional policy and the formalization of procedures and improvement of goal-setting.