Loris Servillo | Politecnico di Torino (original) (raw)

Articles in international journals (peer reviewed) by Loris Servillo

The paper provides a theoretical contribution to the multi-level governance debate, discussing th... more The paper provides a theoretical contribution to the multi-level governance debate, discussing the role of the policy instruments in tailoring polities for local development strategies. To this purpose, it examines the Community-Led Local Development (CLLD), a policy tool of the EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020, which has generated more than 3000 local initiatives across the EU. An institutionalist perspective enables a reflection on the multi-level normative dimensions of these local initiatives. A combination of the post-functionalist governance theory, the soft space debate, state-theory and strategic-relational approach provides an interpretative framework to be deployed for a dedicated research agenda. The interpretative challenge is about whether the CLLD enables spatial-temporal fixes in which a deliberative polity pursues a spatial imaginary for an ad-hoc territory. The consequent analytical dimensions can be found in (a) the relationship between attendant ad-hoc polity, policy agenda, territorial design and societal processes; and (b) the meta-governance dimensions that locate the bottom-up constituency of this institutional technology in the shadow of state's hierarchy. An overview of the CLLD implementation across the EU provides evidence on the latter.

European Planning Studies, 2019

The paper provides a theoretical contribution to the multi-level governance debate, discussing th... more The paper provides a theoretical contribution to the multi-level governance debate, discussing the role of the policy instruments in tailoring polities for local development strategies. To this purpose, it examines the Community-Led Local Development (CLLD), a policy tool of the EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020, which has generated more than 3.000 local initiatives across the EU. An institutionalist perspective enables a reflection on the multi-level normative dimensions of these local initiatives. A combination of the post-functionalist governance theory, the soft space debate, state-theory and strategic-relational approach provides an interpretative framework to be deployed for a dedicated research agenda. The interpretative challenge is about whether the CLLD enables spatial-temporal fixes in which a deliberative polity pursues a spatial imaginary for an ad-hoc territory. The consequent analytical dimensions can be found in: a) the relationship between attendant ad-hoc polity, policy agenda, territorial design and societal processes; and b) the meta-governance dimensions that locate the bottom-up constituency of this institutional technology in the shadow of state’s hierarchy. An overview of the CLLD implementation across the EU provides evidences on the latter.

In the 2014-20 Cohesion Policy programming period, the Member States and regions are requested to... more In the 2014-20 Cohesion Policy programming period, the Member States and regions are requested to address their specific territorial challenges and needs through targeted investments using an integrated approach to territorial development. Among the new delivery tools to support the implementation of this approach is Community-led Local Development (CLLD), which was introduced in the context of Cohesion Policy extending the already existing LEADER approach for rural development and fishery policy. Two relevant financial innovations characterise CLLD in comparison to LEADER: a wider financial support, including ERDF and ESF; and the possibility to integrate the available Funds in support of a Local Development Strategy. The paper addresses this innovative dimension of the CLLD initiative, sketching an overview of its implementation using ERDF and ESF across the EU. It reflects on the adoption of the various options, and on its national and regional patterns. The investigation highlights the positive response across the EU, even if the potential innovation that the CLLD initiative could have unleashed in terms of integrated local development strategies does not appear to be fully exploited. Resistance towards innovation, technical and administrative aspects related to the rules, and specific national and regional attitudes are presented as main factors for the mixed adoption.

Despite that small and medium-sized towns (SMSTs) have been, and continue to be, a central part o... more Despite that small and medium-sized towns (SMSTs) have been, and continue to be, a central part of the history of Europe, these places have largely been neglected by urban research. The ESPON TOWN project, on which this Special Issue builds, sought to redress this neglect performing a comparative analysis of their position and role across Europe. In this introductory paper we discuss some of the theoretical and methodological challenges when it came to identifying, studying and analysing SMSTs and the theoretical framework developed to inform our understanding of SMSTs. In particular, three themes are discussed. The first one is about the ontological problem of defining a town. Administrative, morphological and functional perspectives are considered. The second one reflects on a wide array of interpretative approaches about the relationship between towns and their regional context. The third one is about the thematic and multi-scalar perspectives that can characterise the policy approach to towns.

The paper contributes to the understanding of socio-spatial trends and urban systems in Europe, w... more The paper contributes to the understanding of socio-spatial trends and urban systems in Europe, with a specific focus on smaller settlements. Firstly, a morphological delimitation of urban settlements as geographical base is used to identify the different settlement structures that characterise regions across Europe. Secondly, an analysis of population and GDP performances of NUTS3 regions for the 29 countries of the European space (growth rates in 2001-2011) provides evidence of the variety of territorial phenomena that characterise smaller-settlement regions across Europe. Finally, the paper highlights the diversity and complexity of urbanisation structures in Europe and how general trends observed at larger scale are articulated locally according to prevailing structures of urbanisation. It shows the character of 'embeddedness' of smaller settlements within urban systems and territorial structures and how the socioeconomic performances of smaller-settlement regions are defined by a combination of macro trends, national contextualisation, local dynamics and regional path dependency.

The main goal of this paper is to propose a sound interpretative and policy framework for ‘Inner ... more The main goal of this paper is to propose a sound interpretative and policy framework for ‘Inner Peripheries’ at the EU level. Its ambition is to bridge conceptual approaches to peripherality with the policy objectives set by key documents such as the Territorial Agenda 2020 and other recent reports on economic, social and territorial cohesion. An integrated multi-scalar approach, grounded on the notion of spatial disparity, is therefore connected with a ‘place-based’ approach to policy design. The breakthrough experience of the Italian programme on Inner Areas is an opportunity to broaden the reflection on inner peripheries and policies that are most apt to reconnect them. A more comprehensive analytical framework is proposed here, which looks at the foundational economy, spatial justice and territorial cohesion. The framework deals with both the ‘condition’ of peripherality and the ‘process’ by which endogenous and exogenous drivers determine the marginalisation of specific territories. Such tenets are fleshed out in the development of an original approach bridging theory and practice, analysis and policy, crucially assuming multi-scale governance design as the enabling framework for greater coherence between top-down and community-led initiatives.

New sources of geotagged information derived from social media like Twitter show great promise fo... more New sources of geotagged information derived from social media like Twitter show great promise for geographic research in tourism. This paper describes an approach to analyze geotagged social media data from Twitter to characterize spatial, temporal and demographic features of tourist flows in Cilento-a regional tourist attraction in southern Italy. It demonstrates how the analysis of geotagged social media data yields more detailed spatial, temporal and demographic information of tourist movements, in comparison to the current understanding of tourist flows in the region. The insights obtained from our case study illustrate the potential of the proposed methodology yet attention should be paid to biases in the data as well as methodological limitations when drawing conclusions from analytical results.

The paper aims at investigating the changes in the Italian planning system that took place in the... more The paper aims at investigating the changes in the Italian planning system that took place in the last two decades. It is of interest because different directions of changes and combination of modes, tools and approaches have been developed and experimented. Such a plethora of changes however has been developed without a sound national reform capable to provide a legislative, disciplinary and cultural framework. At the same time, though, the condition of legislative immobility at the national level has characterized an unexpected experimenting ground for different actors and approaches at different administrative levels. In order to present its arguments, the paper combines an institutionalist approach with a strategicrelational perspective as starting point for the identification of the main interpretative categories for the processes of change. The modernization of the planning system can be investigated through its actors and the achieved innovations, its institutional path dependencies, as well as its cultural planning divergences. As a concluding consideration, we wonder if in occasion of the challenges that the ongoing socio-economic and institutional crisis has brought, the accumulated planning cultural capital can be the base ground for a new possible reforming season that would put order to a rich but scattered situation. concluded or suspended, waiting for new socio-political conditions in which to re-address the deficits that the professional and academic debates are indicating. This situation allows an evaluation of the processes, interpreting the benefits, the missed opportunities and the misleading directions taken in the last two decades.

Planning Practice & Research, Jan 1, 2010

This article reflects on a theoretical framework for the analysis of planning systems based on an... more This article reflects on a theoretical framework for the analysis of planning systems based on an institutionalist planning theory broadened with Jessop's strategic-relational approach. The aim is to explore the concept of the planning system with an actor—structure perspective so as to underline possible research consequences for analyses and comparisons of planning systems. The article highlights the interactions of actors and social institutional elements, clarifying the strategic-relational nature of a planning system and the dialectical process at the basis of its changes and evolutions.

European Urban and …, Jan 1, 2011

The paper introduces the concept of territorial assets and discusses their role for regional deve... more The paper introduces the concept of territorial assets and discusses their role for regional development. Focusing on European societies and taking into account different strands of the literature on place and territorial capital, we argue that the endowment with – and mobilization of – such territorial assets could be seen as a key aspect of regional policy, producing changes in the attraction (and/or retention) of specific segments of population and, in a longer-term perspective, influencing sustainable development strategies. In this light, ‘territorial attractiveness’ – characterized in this paper in both conceptual and operational terms – is presented as a powerful element in European spatial policy, allowing regional development strategies to be more systematically integrated under an overall objective of territorial cohesion, while taking into account their implications in terms of human mobility.

Planning Theory & Practice, Jan 1, 2010

This paper addresses the post-communist history of Romania’s spatial planning system with the two... more This paper addresses the post-communist history of Romania’s spatial planning system with the two-fold aim of describing its evolution and identifying the role played by the EU in this process. Taking as a starting point the contradiction between the formal goals of Romanian spatial planning and the actual spatial development patterns, the paper proposes a contextualized analysis of the system’s changes. It complements the focus on the formal technical dimension with a look at the broader socio-political context, driving forces and path dependencies. It identifies five episodes within this time frame and argues that they were catalysed by factors outside the immediate technical dimension of spatial planning, such as the changes in the Romanian political scene, the dynamics in the governance and planning culture, the evolution of the economy, the actual development patterns and most notably, by the process of Europeanization. While often the role of the EU is taken for granted as a general positive force for Romania, the paper makes instead the distinction between the use of Europeanization as a rhetorical external driving force and the real changes brought about by the process.

International Planning Studies, 2013

ABSTRACT This article reflects on the methodological capacity of the field of knowledge and exper... more ABSTRACT This article reflects on the methodological capacity of the field of knowledge and expertise called spatial design in pursuing spatial quality. The aim is to analyse the methodological aspects of the field and its heuristic processes understood as research-by-design. Research-by-design has an encompassing attention to space through two related and complementary vocations: interpretation and transformation of our environment. The article argues that a research-by-design process is characterized by creative-abductive reasoning. Abduction fits the analytical logic of pragmatism, which is understood as a social philosophy of collective action and knowledge-building. Because of its focus on co-production and social learning, and its use of abductive reasoning, research-by-design offers a powerful inter- and transdisciplinary methodology for exploring transformative capacities and achieving spatial quality, the article argues.

Book chapters - international scientific publisher by Loris Servillo

The chapter focuses on the (potential) institutional changes introduced by strategic spatial plan... more The chapter focuses on the (potential) institutional changes introduced by strategic spatial planning (SSP) episodes, and on the procedural and institutional aspects that occur in different planning systems. The contribution of the chapter lies in the explication of four key categories through which changes in ‘institutional frames’ can be understood and explored: technical, cognitive, discursive and socio-economic. These are presented as a means of exploring a metaphor of innovation being similar to the passage of water through Karst areas. The capacity to shape innovation is then analysed using the lens of cultural political economy and the strategic-relational approach to explore how coalitions of actors may induce various forms of transformation.

The Re-creation of the European City, Jan 1, 2008

Territorial policy across Europe, and related EU initiatives, is a controversial theme. The assoc... more Territorial policy across Europe, and related EU initiatives, is a controversial theme. The associated debate concerning the objectives of territorial cohesion brings together a range of divergent national interpretations and political approaches that every nation and every administrative level. One of the main foci of this chapter is the potential impacts of urban policy within this European framework can be investigated by considering the ongoing process that defines the political aspects of the aims of territorial cohesion. Furthermore, the chapter aims to reconsider the possible relationship between urban policy and territorial cohesion in the Italian context.

status: published, 2007

Taakbalk. taskbar; subnavigation; contents. Contact; Who's who; Organisational chart; Librar... more Taakbalk. taskbar; subnavigation; contents. Contact; Who's who; Organisational chart; Libraries; Toledo; Intranet; KU Leuven Nederlands. logo zoekterm: Navigation. Education: International programmes; Faculties; ECTS; Vision and policy. Research: Research at KU Leuven; Support and funding; Industry and society; PhD; Postdoc researchers; Output and impact; Networking; Vision and policy. Admissions: How to apply; Scholarships; Degree-seeking students; ...

status: published, 2005

European Planning Studies, 2019

The paper provides a theoretical contribution to the multi-level governance debate, discussing th... more The paper provides a theoretical contribution to the multi-level governance debate, discussing the role of the policy instruments in tailoring polities for local development strategies. To this purpose, it examines the Community-Led Local Development (CLLD), a policy tool of the EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020, which has generated more than 3.000 local initiatives across the EU. An institutionalist perspective enables a reflection on the multi-level normative dimensions of these local initiatives. A combination of the post-functionalist governance theory, the soft space debate, state-theory and strategic-relational approach provides an interpretative framework to be deployed for a dedicated research agenda. The interpretative challenge is about whether the CLLD enables spatial-temporal fixes in which a deliberative polity pursues a spatial imaginary for an ad-hoc territory. The consequent analytical dimensions can be found in: a) the relationship between attendant ad-hoc polity, policy agenda, territorial design and societal processes; and b) the meta-governance dimensions that locate the bottom-up constituency of this institutional technology in the shadow of state’s hierarchy. An overview of the CLLD implementation across the EU provides evidences on the latter.

Planning Practice & Research, Jan 1, 2010

European Urban and …, Jan 1, 2011

Planning Theory & Practice, Jan 1, 2010

International Planning Studies, 2013

The Re-creation of the European City, Jan 1, 2008

status: published, 2007

status: published, 2005

… .developpement-durable.gouv.fr

Executive Summary This report presents policy recommendations for mainstreaming the urban dime... more Executive Summary

This report presents policy recommendations for mainstreaming the urban dimension of EuropeanCohesion Policy [ECP] as an input for its future reform. They are unfolded through the Exploring UrbanFutures project [EUF]. The objective of the project was to develop a common methodological framework for EUF in European cities and unfolding options for future urban [cohesion] policy in Europe. Thecommon methodological framework is developed through shared problematizing of urban futures,which lead to a Social Cohesion Based Approach [SCBA]. Behind the gradual evolution of SCBA as acommon European methodology presented in this report, the premise formulated for the EUF and twomain hypotheses have been at work. The premise for the EUF project argues that the analyses of themulti-dimensional effects of the ongoing global financial crisis and a multi-scalar rethinking of the localare crucial for imagining alternative urban futures. The two main hypotheses are:
i]
A dynamic interaction between EUF and observing and analyzing trends of urban development is the key for unfolding alternative policy options;
ii]
A common methodological framework for mainstreaming the urban dimension of European cohesion policy can be developed through shared problematizing of urban social cohesion.

TPM Territorial Performance Monitoring: Targeted Analysis 2013/02/13, 2011

The concept of attractiveness refers to how a place is perceived and what types of assets it has ... more The concept of attractiveness refers to how a place is perceived and what types of assets it has to offer to (different types of) residents and visitors. The growing importance of these issues has coincided with an increasing emphasis on spatial issues, in particular concerning European development policy. Over the last two decades, an emerging message in the EU policy debate has been that territory matters (ESPON, 2006b). Yet the extent to which this has actually been absorbed into and structured sectorial policies is debatable.

The paper is drawn on the ESPON project ATTREG (Attractiveness of European cities and regions for... more The paper is drawn on the ESPON project ATTREG (Attractiveness of European cities and regions for visitors and residents) and some if its outcomes. In particular, the paper reflects on the notion of territorial capital and endogenous growth with a specific focus on the role of mobilisation processes.

status: accepted, 2012

This book examines some of the challenges faced by spatial planning in Europe in the last decade,... more This book examines some of the challenges faced by spatial planning in Europe in the last decade, in particular those related to the eastward shift of the European Union's (EU) geographical and political barycentre after the EU enlargement.

Planum, 2012

The EU's ever-tightening focus on the urban agenda has led, in recent years, to a clear recogniti... more The EU's ever-tightening focus on the urban agenda has led, in recent years, to a clear recognition of cities as motors of regional, national and European development. Cities appears as crucial nodes, as centres of excellence of European territory, that can drive economic competitiveness and, at the same time, can forge territorial cohesion -itself an essential condition for the growth of long-term competitiveness. The opportunity to pursue the territorial dimension of cohesion will take substance with the forthcoming programming period. As cities seem to be crucial for the aim of a more coherent spatial framework of European development, urban policies will be one of the pillar of the European strategy. There are two major topics that have gained in importance to cities over the last decade: first, the evolving relationship between cities and the European Union, with a wide production of guidelines and EU raccomandations, and second, the rise of new forms of 'governance', be it at the local level or in the multi-level context of the European Union. The paper faces the role of EU cities in relation to the EU territorial cohesion objective and tries to highlight the various topics, emerging from the EU praxis that seems relevant about urban policies. Reletad, to understand how future urban policies might support territorial cohesion, it is worth considering how key measures have been implemented and what kind of tipologies it is possible to identify.

status: accepted, 2009

status: accepted, 2006

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2015

Urbanistica Dossier, 2006

Planum, 2009

Associatie KULeuven. ...

Planum, 2009

Associatie KULeuven. ...

Descrizione del piano Intervista a Francesco Escalona, p. 37 Aperture Dalla disciplina edilizia a... more Descrizione del piano Intervista a Francesco Escalona, p. 37 Aperture Dalla disciplina edilizia a un nuovo governo del territorio Simone Ombuen, p. 2

status: accepted, 2005

status: published, 2004

status: published, 2002

… et de cohérence concernant la planification …, 2007

KULeuven. ...

status: published, 2010

The ESDP was drafted as a policy framework for European Member States, their regions and local au... more The ESDP was drafted as a policy framework for European Member States, their regions and local authorities and the European Commission. This part of the Second Interim Report focuses on the application of the ESDP at the highest of these levels: the pan-European scale. 2 It is structured around four main areas of application:

A first evaluation of existing monitoring tools has shown that they all might be too exclusively ... more A first evaluation of existing monitoring tools has shown that they all might be too exclusively quantitative in nature. In this sense, not only should quantitative data gaps be filled in by qualitative research, but also qualitative research in itself is intended to give a better insight in how the regions are dealing with global challenges.

International Planning Studies, Nov 1, 2013

Planning Theory & Practice, Sep 1, 2010

The paper 1 reflects on the EU objective of territorial cohesion, exploring its role as a catalyt... more The paper 1 reflects on the EU objective of territorial cohesion, exploring its role as a catalytic concept around which several (spatial and non-spatial) discourses and policy practices have been generated in European Spatial Planning. The assumption is that these discourses act as cultural constructions which define the strategic selectivity of EU institutions and strategically orientate the selective calculation of stakeholders&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27; behaviour and their policy-making activities. The paper further explores the contents of spatial ...

Urban Research & Practice, Nov 1, 2011

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or s... more This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Dec 1, 2021

Territorial development at the regional level is becoming increasingly important to address local... more Territorial development at the regional level is becoming increasingly important to address local and regional transformations as well as challenges at the European level. This manifests itself in a planning and policy context which encompasses different geographical scales, from EU-wide directives towards national/regional implementation of policy measures. European polycentric regions face different global challenges with specific regional consequences: climate change, energy supply, demographic development and ...

Taakbalk. taskbar; subnavigation; contents. Contact; Who&#x27;s who; Organisational chart... more Taakbalk. taskbar; subnavigation; contents. Contact; Who&#x27;s who; Organisational chart; Libraries; Toledo; Intranet; KU Leuven Nederlands. logo zoekterm: Navigation. Education: International programmes; Faculties; ECTS; Vision and policy. Research: Research at KU Leuven; Support and funding; Industry and society; PhD; Postdoc researchers; Output and impact; Networking; Vision and policy. Admissions: How to apply; Scholarships; Degree-seeking students; ...

Rivista economica del Mezzogiorno, 2019