Transport Without Borders: Interreg and the Role of Transport Planning in a Cross-Border Region

Abstract: The availability of transportation has a great impact on how we move in our everyday lives and on the larger flows of people and goods. Transport planning, then, has the potential to greatly alter levels of mobility and accessibility. Looking at transportation in a cross-border context highlights this potential even further, but also brings additional barriers and points to consider. Examining this, this thesis looks at how transport planning is perceived as a catalyst for regional development and integration in a cross-border context under the framework of the EU programme Interreg Øresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak (Interreg ØKS). This is done through a threefold theoretical framework, combining three relevant areas of study. The study is a qualitative study, and the material is collected through six semi-structured interviews with project officials under Interreg ØKS. The results indicate that transport planning is a tool to achieve regional development and integration, and that much of what the regions wish to achieve it outward oriented, towards the larger EU continent. In many ways, cross-border transportation planning in the context of Interreg ØKS facilitates for, and is a platform for, international recognition, integration and relevance as regions, individually and as the larger ØKS region.