'.....As big cities continue to grow, smaller towns are increasingly absorbed or become dormitory suburbs for their larger neighbours.

Services, business and entertainment are often concentrated in the large city, attracting high skilled professionals and leading to imbalances of population and income. These towns therefore need to establish strong independent identities, improve their competitiveness (many have experienced the decline of major economic activities in recent years)and ensure good transport connections if they are to enjoy the same development opportunities.

Transnational cooperation offers the best chance to gather the expertise that will be required to address this complex pattern of major challenges. One key will be to ensure that such issues are considered in future planning but a wide range of practical actions will also be implemented and tested.

In this way, smaller towns will be able to develop effective strategies for offsetting the disadvantage of having such powerful neighbours.'

North Sea Project Portfolio

The VISP project is one of the key project swithin Interreg IIIB North Sea Program priority No. 6

1. New opportunities for rural and peripheral areas
2. Risk management along rivers and coasts
3. Improving transport
4. Using the environment responsibly
5. Making use of innovation and knowledge
6. Developing more competitive cities and towns

Other projects within the same priority: