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Author
Alois Humer
ISBN code
9789491937231
Size
246 pages
DOI code
10.17418/PHD.2016.9789491937231
This German-language monograph was presented as a PhD thesis, focusing on Services of General Interest (SGI) in a European context as a shared object of welfare policy and spatial planning. The term 'SGI' refers to the manifold public services and infrastructure such as energy, transportation and communication networks, as well as healthcare and educational facilities, etc. SGI have become ever more politically relevant on a European scale since the 1990s; first in the course of single market and liberalisation issues, later in relation to social and territorial cohesion with regards to universal access. So far, the objectives of SGI have rarely been discussed in the context of spatially relevant issues, despite many EU communications, legal frameworks, white papers and charters speaking of 'fair access to SGI for every citizen'. The guiding research question is: "How should Services of General Interest be organised and provided in order to contribute to the objectives set out in European strategies?" Current megatrends – such as demographic ageing or economic crises – further necessitate adaptations to SGI provision approaches from a spatial perspective. This work takes a critical rational scientific approach, contributing a comparative study on the political forms of SGI organisation as well as regional standards of provision. Using case studies, conclusions are drawn about SGI provision and organisation in a better-integrated, European way.