How urban planning anticipates major changes in European transport corridors
Abstract
Since the early 2000s the concept of "corridor" has been an architectonic element of European transport policies. The trans-European corridors, as continental scale infrastructures, are not yet operational. They already became, however, a category for network analysis at different scales, especially at urban level. The notion of "major axis" as it is now assumed, just as the quest for an increased role in the future, leads the cities towards a particular urban development, building out an idea of "corridor" based on economic and symbolic considerations rather than on the achievement of the railway infrastructure. The fact is that the "corridor" actually becomes an argument for increased attractiveness of the city and almost a sort of label. Therefore, the notion of corridor shifts from the infrastructure to the cities on its route. The affected territory has another scale, as if a European scale network were symbolised by a few places.