PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

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upgrading and maintenance, often promise greater economic returns (World Bank 1996).
Especially in the mature economies of the European Union, it often makes much sense to
concentrate on even other aspects. For example, in order to attract the kind of highly
educated labor force that the new telecommunications and computer industries require,
place-factors such as cultural institutions may be more important than additional access
roads. However, regional interest may collide with national interests here. For example,
local residents may consider an upgrading of the local road or rail system much more
important and preferable than the construction of an additional long-distance freeway
routed through their region, especially if the project cuts though valuable nature reserves.
Yet, national priority projects are typically not based on the specific needs of the regions,
but rather on a more general national master plan. Large-scale links often receive priority
primarily not because they can be justified either through careful cost-benefit analysis or
production function calculations but simply for political reasons. This is even more true
at the Pan-European level.
The demand for new infrastructure or added capacity is of course typically highest
in regions with higher population densities, i.e. in core regions. Since cost-benefit
analyses continue to calculate the bulk of their benefits from time saving from the users,
investments in these more urbanized, higher density core regions will still show greater
benefits than in lower density regions. In other words, if investments were to simply
follow existing demand, then peripheral regions, which are typically more rural in
character, would be unlikely to receive priority investments. There is an obvious
dilemma here and it demonstrates that transport policy has to be developed in consistency
with spatial and regional policies. Despite efficiency arguments favoring investments in
the financing of the ring road has in fact been a crucial and contested issue. See Chapter 8 for details.