Dear Mrs. Trzaski

Third Plac

COHESION POLICY:METHODOLOGY AND INDICATORS TOWARDS COMMON APPROACH

The territorial cohesion is a focal object of the regional programming period 2007-2013. This paper aims to purpose a critical review of the cohesion conceptualisation and of its measure, starting from an exchange of experiences and from an initial institutional demand inspired to regional projects foreseen in 2013 programme (ESPON Seminar 2008; French Green paper on Cohesion 2008). Starting from a literature review and from the basic question of indicators, the paper aims to enhance territorial cohesion, measuring its different levels at local, national and European level. The author takes a methodological approach to analyse and to detect a set of territorial cohesion indicators and to evaluate effectiveness and efficiency of indicators’ systems, currently used to measure this territorial dimension (STeMA). This kind of approach is relevant to the programming period of new Structural Funds, looking at the French Green Paper 2008, implementing the 2007-13 Programme.territorial cohesion, model, system of indicators, efficiency

Versatile stochastic dot product circuits based on nonvolatile memories for high performance neurocomputing and neurooptimization.

The key operation in stochastic neural networks, which have become the state-of-the-art approach for solving problems in machine learning, information theory, and statistics, is a stochastic dot-product. While there have been many demonstrations of dot-product circuits and, separately, of stochastic neurons, the efficient hardware implementation combining both functionalities is still missing. Here we report compact, fast, energy-efficient, and scalable stochastic dot-product circuits based on either passively integrated metal-oxide memristors or embedded floating-gate memories. The circuit's high performance is due to mixed-signal implementation, while the efficient stochastic operation is achieved by utilizing circuit's noise, intrinsic and/or extrinsic to the memory cell array. The dynamic scaling of weights, enabled by analog memory devices, allows for efficient realization of different annealing approaches to improve functionality. The proposed approach is experimentally verified for two representative applications, namely by implementing neural network for solving a four-node graph-partitioning problem, and a Boltzmann machine with 10-input and 8-hidden neurons

A lending scheme for a system of interconnected banks with probabilistic constraints of failure

We derive a closed form solution for an optimal control problem related to an interbank lending schemes subject to terminal probability constraints on the failure of banks which are interconnected through a financial network. The derived solution applies to a real banks network by obtaining a general solution when the aforementioned probability constraints are assumed for all the banks. We also present a direct method to compute the systemic relevance parameter for each bank within the network

Short-term territorial investment for Europe’s long-term future

A huge number of geographical and economic theories and applied researches’ experiences inspire the adopting of common (semi-standardised) processes for sustaining long term territorial development (employment, inclusion, GPD growth). It appears like a urgent European Union need in order to stabilise appropriate territorial integrated strategic investments overcoming shock and sectorial measures of austerity (Junker plan). At the same time, it seems the unique solution for having to react to a pseudo global financial and economic war (geoeconomic and geopolitical play at no summa zero), focusing resources to maintaining the status quo. Starting from a critical review of literature positions, the paper discusses what modelling the European policy action should follow in order to not invalidate the efforts implemented by austerity measures. Multilevel experiences (benchmarking at different geographical scales) from several 2013 programs (mainly ESPON, URBACT, ENPICiBMED) are resumed to demonstrate this thesis. In order to assess and to measure this aim, territorial cohesive capability is considerate the main vehicle for transforming European challenges in common geopolitical goals. So the paper considers the Europe 2020 pillars and flags as a first turning point to be related to the territorial regional capability of transforming its diversity in cohesive and competitive development. Some words will be spent about the real compliance between Structural Funds objectives, declared priorities of investment, territorial regional capability, including complex and multidisciplinary variables as cohesion, sustainability and subsidiarity confidence in this evaluation. Example of place evidence and economic-social trends from countries, regions and cities are mentioned and compared for fixing the distance among symbolic expected priorities and real potentials at the short time. At this scope the 2020 political addresses by government declarations and obligations, the regional potential attractive capital, the city potential public and private investments are illustrate with particular regard to the Italy position in the Southern of Europe future. The dissertation in the whole pays particular attention to relate the significant of European territorial evidence with the European policy and funds (e.g. the programming for internal areas distinguished respect to the inner areas ones). This permits to better clarify the different impacts and effects produced from European addresses when the national/regional interpretation does not take in account the relationship between territorial evidence and programming obligations that should increase employment and income. Finally, a set of feasible recommendations are launched on the short time providing viable, flexible, proper, effective and resilient answers to existing needs of territorial investments. These are due because expectations of citizens in front of the current period of economic stagnation. The strategic investment, in principle, should help territories (mainly cities) in having major perspective to realise a territorial regeneration accessing to mainstreaming financing linked to the new Structural Funds, which define the perspective horizon of long term European challenges. They imply joint capitalization, which means not just a(nother) prêt-a-portrait concept, and triggers a multifaceted approach ("quick & dirty" ideas / solutions). Drawbacks so far relate to fragmented territorial intelligence and the need for a certain critical mass willing to get involved. We mean the creating models for strategic integrated sustainable planning by addressing the efficiency of technology across various sectors (energy, climate change, public services, accessibility and transport, etc.) in different typologies and dimension of territory. It means supporting territories with the development of ambitious and innovative challenges embedded in comprehensive territorial agenda

Come sviluppare e valutare le politiche di coesione territoriale nella prospettiva 2020

Ricercare una comune metodologia quali-quantitativa coerente con le necessità espresse dal Consiglio UE nel 2011 per la stima della coesione territoriale è un impegno fondamentale della ricerca geografico-economica, al fine di individuare le misure concrete da adottare per rendere efficace la Strategia Europe 2020 in Italia utilizzando i potenziali territoriali regionali. Coerentemente con le ricerche in corso (la coesione è sempre localizzata; è dunque possibile misurarne la dimensione territoriale che la lega al comportamento dei sistemi socio-economici regionali: Prezioso, 2008), il paper svilupperà l’obiettivo trattando la coesione come mezzo, strumento e fine della politica territoriale regionale per misurare gli squilibri economico-sociali, ambientali e culturali (variabili strutturali del capitale territoriale regionale e locale) rispetto ai target europei fissati per rilanciare la crescita sulla base delle diversità territoriali. Questo carattere, già presente in Brunhes e Vallaux (1921), Jaia (1938), Schumpeter (1954), Sombart (1967), George (1967), Lo Monaco (1983), ne ha fatto, insieme a quello del capitale territoriale attuale e potenziale (Martin in Lennert 2006; Lennert 2010; Camagni 2010; Prezioso 2011), il tema centrale della ricerca geografico-economica europea più recente in materia di new regionalisation, superando le tradizionali interpretazioni (Porter, 1990; Storper, 1997) di capacità regionale. Per questo la coesione territoriale, già principale obiettivo della programmazione regionale europea 2013, è stata rilanciata nel 2011 (Cohesion Policy Programme of Polish Precidency of the Council of European Union) come necessaria all’attuazione della Strategia Europe 2020 (Barca Report, 2009; V Cohesion Report, 2010; Territorial Agenda, 2011), considerandola il mezzo e lo strumento con cui affrontare l’attuale periodo di stagnazione e crisi e generare diversi e originali modelli geografico-economico competitivi, policentrici, sostenibili (ESPON 2013). In molte regioni la Strategia 2020 deve rispondere ad una scarsa resilienza e all’aumento della vulnerabilità agli effetti prodotti dalle grandi “questioni”: Climate Change, Energy, Demography Change, Globalisation. La rinnovata Agenda Territoriale 2011 rilancia questi target evidenziando la necessità di sviluppare indicatori territoriali comparabili delle risorse reali e potenziali a scala regionale all’interno di una metodologia condivisa per rendere immediatamente efficaci ed efficiente le azioni di sviluppo. Alcuni metodi (Prezioso, 2006, 2008; Capello, 2008; Radej, 2008; Evers, 2009, Camagni, 2010), dopo un’iniziale sperimentazione, sembrano oggi in grado di misurare più di altri la coesione attraverso la valutazione d'impatto ex ante, stimando le relazioni di interdipendenza tra variabili socioeconomiche e ambientali, sommandole ai tradizionale indicatori del benessere regionale (PIL, occupazione, produttività) (Faludi, 2010)

Introduzione alla lettura

ESPON accompagna, dal 2002, l’analisi dei temi e degli indirizzi che informano l’agenda europea degli ultimi 15 anni, rappresentando un punto di riferimento sostanziale per chi si occupa di territorio seguendo un approccio interdisciplinare. Spaziando dalla geografia all’economia, dalla pianificazione alle politiche, ESPON ha sviluppato, ad oggi, una robusta base di informazione quantitativa e geografica e appropriati strumenti di rappresentazione dello stato dell’Unione, accumulati e aggiornati nel tempo alla ricerca di una sempre più stretta aderenza tra indirizzi “dello spazio europeo” e il “territorio reale” . Inizialmente lontani da quella concezione pienamente territoriale propria dell’approccio geografico europeo che si è manifestata dopo il 2007 , i contributi prodotti nell’ambito del Programma rappresentano un forte incentivo a rinnovare l’atteggiamento politico, economico, culturale nei confronti del valore che il territorio e la sua identità (intesa come capitale territoriale) hanno per lo sviluppo. Non è dunque un caso che le parole chiave dei diversi periodi di programmazione (sostenibilità, competitività, coesione) costituiscano, seppure diversamente declinati, il comune riferimento di tutti i progetti. Di fronte alle sollecitazioni dell’ultimo quinquennio (crisi, spread, austerità, rigore), il campo dei progetti ESPON, sempre transnazionali, si è aperto alla revisione e condivisione di paradigmi e contenuti operativi, affrontando e sviluppando temi quali: i cambiamenti strutturali e le grandi tendenze del territorio europeo tra il 2007 e il 2013 (la sostenibilità, il policentrismo, l’urbano-rurale, la dimensione competitiva e smart delle città anche medio-piccole, il comportamento sociale delle istituzioni, la governance, ecc.), ed i conseguenti scenari; l’integrazione tra i principi della ricerca e della pianificazione attraverso la creazione di modelli multidisciplinari applicabili a differenti scale - NUTS 2, 3, 4, 5 - per l’individuazione delle capacità coesive e competitive endogene entro i limiti di sostenibilità; le procedure e gli strumenti di valutazione comuni per la scelta di politiche e direttive europee (Territorial Impact Assessment -TIA) e di piani/programmi (Valutazione Ambientale Strategica - VAS); lo sviluppo massivo di DataBase, GIS e manuali dedicati alla georeferenziazione, al benchmarking urbano e alla gestione di processi trasparenti, sussidiari, integrati; la definizione e l’applicazione di un protocollo di indicatori statistico-economico-geografici (anche sotto forma di serie storiche) condivisi e accreditati a sostegno dei processi analitici e decisionali. In Italia, molti cambiamenti nella ricerca applicata e nello sviluppo di piani regionali e locali, tematici e strategici, sono stati introdotti e sperimentati attraverso i risultati delle Priorità ESPON, confermando il potenziale valore di nuovi orientamenti transnazionali per la pianificazione e la programmazione anche per il nostro Paese.Since 2002, ESPON has accompanied the analysis of the issues and guidelines that have informed the European agenda over the last 15 years, representing a significant point of reference for anyone involved in “territory issues”, following an interdisciplinary approach. Ranging from geography to economics, from planning to policies, ESPON has developed, to date, a strong base of quantitative and geographic information and appropriate tools representing the state of the Union, which have been accumulated and updated in time, always in search of a closer adhesion between addresses of the " European space " and of the " real territory " . Initially far from a fully territorial understanding typical of the geographical European approach appeared after the 2007 , the contributions produced by the programme are a strong incentive to renew the political, economic, cultural attitude in the respect to the value that the territory and its identity (meant as the territorial capital ) have for the development. It is therefore no coincidence that the keywords of the different programming periods (sustainability, competitiveness, cohesion ) constitute, albeit differently declined, the common reference for all projects. To cope with all the requests of the last five years ( the crisis, spreads, austerity, rigour), the field of ESPON projects, always transnational, opened to revision and sharing of contents and operational paradigms, by addressing and developing topics such as: • the structural changes and trends in the European territory between 2007 and 2013 (sustainability, polycentricity, the urban-rural, size, the competitive dimension of both smart and small-medium cities, the social behaviour of institutions, governance , etc..), and the resulting scenarios; • the integration of the principles of research and planning through the creation of multidisciplinary models applicable to different scales - NUTS 2, 3, 4, 5 - for the detection of endogenous cohesive and competitive capacity within the limits of sustainability; • the procedures and assessment tools common to the choice of policies and European directives (Territorial Impact Assessment-TIA) and of plans/programmes (Strategic Environmental Assessment - SEA); • the massive development of Data Base, GIS and manuals dedicated to geotagging, urban benchmarking and management of transparent, subsidiaries, integrated processes; • the definition and implementation of a protocol of statistical, economic and geographic indicators (also in the form of time series) shared and credited to the support of analytical and decision-making processes. In Italy, many changes in applied research and development of regional and local, thematic and strategic plans, have been introduced and tested through the results of the ESPON Priorities confirming the potential value of new trans-national guidelines for planning and programming also for our country