Abstract
In central and eastern European countries that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007, there are strong connections between transport development and sustainable regional development. The needs for transport development in post-socialist countries are so high that it is difficult to finance them, and most governments have to choose between immediate and less urgent needs. The aim of this study was to determine the role played by sustainable transport growth in the improvement of regional cohesion and sustainable regional development with a use of geographical information systems’ capabilities. The specific goals of the study were to: (i) determine the impact of EU subsidies on the regional transport development; (ii) identify threats to regional cohesion resulting from under-capitalised regions, (iii) examine geographical information systems’ capabilities in periodical regional transport development monitoring. The analyses include evaluation of the regions’ involvement in sustainable transport development as well as the presentation of direct and indirect results, such as road system improvement, with the use of GIS capabilities. It is particularly important to develop a system for monitoring the level of EU fund allocation with the use of GIS tools and the capabilities of geographic information systems. Such in-depth analysis would be useful for regional governments and decision-makers in creating and updating long term transport policies as well as monitoring long term regional development strategies. Both sustainable transport development and EU fund allocation can be monitored within the use of GIS tools, and such analyses should supplement the INSPIRE Geoportal scope.
Highlights
Regional cohesion and sustainable regional development are pivotal components of development strategies in the European Union countries, especially those which acceded to the community following transformations of their political systems, with their legacy as centrally controlled post-socialist countries
As we review previous studies made for different NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for statistics in European Union) classification levels, we may find accessibility to be an important sustainable development determinant for provinces, agglomerations and cities [9,10]
The specific goals of the study were to: (i) determine the impact of European Union (EU) subsidies on the regional transport development; (ii) identify threats to regional cohesion resulting from undercapitalised regions; and (iii) examine GIS tools and geographical information systems’ capabilities in periodical regional transport development monitoring
Summary
Regional cohesion and sustainable regional development are pivotal components of development strategies in the European Union countries, especially those which acceded to the community following transformations of their political systems, with their legacy as centrally controlled post-socialist countries. In central and eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, there are strong connections between transport development and sustainable regional development. This has been described by researchers from Hungary [1], the Slovak Republic [2,3], Romania [4] and Lithuania [5]. Intergenerational equity lies at the core of sustainability. Countries are improving their road network systems because, in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they are influencing the achievement of an adequate level of development. The topic of sustainable transport is included in particular in the following goals: 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), and 17 (Partnership for the goals)
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