Monocentric administrative units, polycentric border areas? A look at the Bihor - Hajdú-Bihar Euro-region

Abstract

The Bihor and Hajdú-Bihar counties, from both sides of the Romanian – Hungarian border, are, in different degrees, monocentric administrative units, as it is shown in this paper. Each one has an administrative centre that is demographically and economically dominant. They were important urban centres in most of their history and have remained important during the communist era that has dominated Eastern Europe for almost half a century. In that period, polycentrism was a debated concept revolving around political autonomy and control (citation). In this century, Polycentricity is another debated concept, promoted by the European Union as a means of achieving territorial cohesion throughout the EU. In this paper, the main question revolves around how much the permeable borders of the EU, though sometimes confronted with the national interest, can pave the way to polycentric areas. After a look at the speciality literature to explain the concept and to identify ways to measure it, empirical research will provide an answer to the question of whether the Bihor - Hajdú-Bihar Euro-region is or can be a polycentric urban area.