Abstract
This contribution relates to the ENTER.HUB project implemented between 2012 and 2015 in the framework of the European URBACT II programme$. ENTER.HUB involved twelve medium-sized cities fitting into Trans-European Transport Networks (TENT-T) corridors, realizing or forecasting a High Speed Railway (HSR) Hub and planning multimodal interfaces of regional relevance. The ENTER.HUB project questioned the role of HSR Hubs in integrated urban development and in economic, social and cultural regeneration. The cities participating to ENTER.HUB network had in common to be in the process of redefining their territorial mobility systems, expecting that a Hub infrastructure would reinforce their links to other national and European cities, narrow their citizens and enterprises to diverse regional and interregional activities, and strength their connectivity from local to European level. The major objective of this project was to help these medium-sized cities to become more competitive and improve their mobility systems in connection with the HSR Hub to come. The twelve cities composing the ENTER HUB network are: Reggio Emilia (Italy), Lead Partner; IMPEFE - Ciudad Real (Spain); Creil Agglomeration (France); Gdynia (Poland); Girona (Spain); Łódź (Poland); Lugano (Switzerland); Örebro Region (Sweden); Porto (Portugal); Preston (UK); Rostock (Germany); Ulm (Germany).
Highlights
This contribution relates to the ENTER.HUB project implemented between 2012 and 2015 in the framework of the European URBACT II programme$
ENTER HUB partners had in common to believe that the change they are facing by hosting a Hub can have a positive impact on local mobility, and that a connection to High Speed Railway (HSR) may be beneficial to the attractiveness of their cities and the quality of life
ENTER HUB partners share similar intentions: struggling to limit land use; seeking to enlarge economic, job and eventually touristic performances of their catchment areas; taking advantage of the wide range of opportunities Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) provide; bringing residential areas closer in distance and time to economic and cultural activities; and last but not least, planning so called “human scale” new districts and public spaces based upon the attractiveness of the expected Hub
Summary
The “Hub and Spoke” concept represents the nodal and radial component of a complete urban transport network. The term of Hub was initially attached to multifunctional centres, especially large airports, concentrating different means of circulation including air, train and motorways, and mostly dedicated to major metropolitan areas Today, this concept applies to High Speed Railway (HSR) stations, as the latter connect optimally long distance travellers (business, tourism) with local networks and provides a new focus point between multimode of circulation and diverse layers of activity. HSR may carry a feeling of isolation for citizens living in medium-sized cities, even if located at the edge of large metropolitan areas Such situations increase the danger of a vast migration of residents, companies and services towards larger urban centres, developing the fear of transforming the smaller city into a dormitory town. For all these different reasons, probably among others, HSR may be suffered as a worrying improvement in medium-sized cities [7]
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