English

In current times, the coronavirus is spreading and taking its toll all over the world. Inspite of having developed into a global pandemic, COVID-19 is oftentimes met with local national(ist) reactions. Many states pursue isolationist politics by closing and enforcing borders and by focusing entirely on their own functioning in this moment of crisis. This nationalist/nationally-oriented rebordering politics goes hand in hand with what might be termed ‘linguistic rebordering,’ i.e. the attempts of constructing the disease as something foreign-grown and by apportioning the blame to ‘the other.’ This paper aims at laying bare the interconnectedness of these geopolitical and linguistic/discursive rebordering politics. It questions their efficacy and makes a plea for cross-border solidarity.

The object of the current Thematic Issue is not to focus on the individuals (the cross-border commuters) but on the organization of the  cross-border labor markets. We move from a micro perspective to a macro perspective in order to underline the diversity of the cross-border labor markets (at the French borders, for example) and shed light on the many aspects that impact cross-border supply or demand. Trying to understand the whole system that goes beyond the cross-border flows, the question we address in this thematic issue is about the organization of the labor markets: is the system organized in a cross-border way? Or do the borders still prevent a genuinely integrated cross-border labor market?

The Greater Region belongs to the most important regions in the European Union in terms of cross-border cooperation. After a start in the 70ies the cooperation in the field of spatial planning arose to an important pillar of cooperation. However, concrete evidence on the high relevance of cross-border spatial planning is scarce. This issue is mostly picked up in relation to the legal and institutional framework. This strategic paper on hand calls for cross-border spatial planning resulting from planning practices that aim at sustainably take into account the societal needs in space besides law, plans and concepts. After a short presentation of the most decisive milestones of cooperation in the field of cross-border spatial planning in the Greater Region, the strategic paper presents the results of an experimental workshop (planning game) that was conducted in 2017 and involved researchers as well as planning practitioners. At the end, several recommendations are presented which are based on the analysis of the research material.

The spatial development of cities and regions is influenced by trends such as climate change, demographic shifts and structural change, which do not stop at administrative boundaries but shape the development of larger territories. Additionally, often functional and thematic interrelations exist across national borders that lead to frequent exchanges and interdependencies of territories and its citizens. Therefore, the coordination of the cross-border territorial development is crucial for a future-oriented and sustainable spatial development. Due to its great importance, this topic is examined from different perspectives by European scientists in the first issue of Borders in Perspective.