Veneto: a polycentric region facing the sustainability challenge

Substantial pressures for political-institutional changes were focused in 2000 and 2001 to define a new approach to the development of territorial economy. In Italy, hypotheses of European strategic action deriving from the «Declarations» of Lisbon 2000 (revised in 2003 and 2005, 2007, 2009) and Gothenburg 2001, were added to the administrative structure changes due to the reforms of the 90ies, summarised in the Testo Unico delle Leggi sull’Ordinamento degli Enti Locali (D.lgs. 267/2000 - Consolidated Law on Local Governments legal system). Results of the trans-national research projects promoted between 2000 and 2006 by the European Spatial Program Observatory Network (ESPON) - and specifically by the one titled The territorial dimension of Lisbon/Gothenburg strategies - gave substance to this assumption and defined common policies and criteria by which to develop (within 2010, and now 2020) an economy based on competitive (Lisbon) and sustainable (Gothenburg) knowledge in EU countries, regions and sub-regions, elaborating a new methodology and applying new measure indicators. The international and national debates arising from this experience led to apply new criteria to the analysis of Italian Provinces, in order to face the theme of Competitiveness in sustainability: the territorial dimension in the implementation of Lisbon/Gothenburg processes in Italian Regions and Provinces, by use of an international scientific approach that is innovative in terms of geographical “practice”. Such system was adopted by the workgroup promoted by the Italian Geographers Association (A.Ge.I.). The contibution apply the approach to the Veneto region.