DISCUSSION - TERRITORIAL APPROACHES TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT (TALD) - Exploring relevant EU responses in a rapidly changing international environment

What do we mean by a territorial approach to local development?

The May 2013 Communication "Empowering Local Authorities in Partner Countries for enhanced governace and more effective development outcomes" recognizes the comparative advantages of local authorities (LAs) to act as catalysts of a ‘territorial approach to development’.

Both the concepts of ‘territorial development’ and the contours of a ‘territorial approach to local development’ are not new. In the past decades, there have been many initiatives across development regions that sought to unlock the potential of territories, mobilizing different actors and using a variety of labels and implementation approaches (top-down or bottom-up). Within the EU integration process, territorial development approaches have been stimulated through the instrument of structural funds for regional development or in the form of European territorial cooperation schemes. European municipalities engaging in decentralized cooperation often adopt territorial approaches in providing support. Processes of rapid urbanization across the globe further emphasize the critical importance of territorial approaches.