6.3.2 Conceptualising the European Diagonal The Diagonal experiment assumes that cities are the p rotagonists o f p rogress, d rivers o f t he knowledge based economy, cradles of innovation and c reativity, c ustodians o f c ulture. In a globalising world cities are likely to benefit from networking with each other.The most prosperous cities and polycentric mega city regions in the European Union (EU) are located in the 'Pentagon' area. Together, t hey a re able t o compete w ith world cities and global city regions. However, EU membership f ostered g rowth a lso i n m ore peripheral regions. Until the financial crisis, the economic and demographic growth rate of cities in southern Europe was twice that of the north, albeit from a lower starting point. When the far less prosperous new member states in eastern Europe became next in line for preferential EU treatment, time had come for the south to stand on its own feet. The shift of Europe's enlargement to the east has exacerbated t he p otential m arginality o f t he
European Diagonal. With increasing globalisation this threat is real, despite the spatial framework for e conomic c ompetitiveness a nd s ocial cohesion (ESDP) 35 which provides t he policy context for balanced development across the EU. Polycent ricit y i s c onsidered a m eans o f squaring the circle between the imperative of concentration, imposed by global competition and t he Eu ropean v alues o f s ocial c ohesion, cultural diversity and care for the environment. EU structural funds foster gateway cities outside the 'Pentagon' and networks of smaller cities to provide the setting for more equitable resource allocation across administrative boundaries.This presents an opportunity for southern cities to intensify their 'spaces of flows'36 across national borders. However, counter-balancing the concentration of wealth and resources in the 'Pentagon' requires action a t a m acro s cale. Thus t he Eu ropean Diagonal is exploring innovative alternatives at the meta-regional level to improve its economic position b y h arnessing i ts e nvironmental a nd cultural a ssets t owards a c ommon goal. Such
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