Territorialising Resilience: Transforming Europe for an Age of Crisis (TERRES) Case studies Annex 1 of the Final Report

This report presents the case study annex of the ESPON project “Territorialising Resilience: Transforming Europe for an Age of Crisis (TERRES)”, examining how diverse European territories conceptualise, operationalise, and institutionalise territorial resilience in response to contemporary shocks and long-term stressors. Through a comparative analysis of six regions — Budapest Functional Urban Area (Hungary), Catalonia (Spain), the Central Italy Earthquake Crater, Latgale (Latvia), Teruel (Spain), and Upper Norrland (Sweden) — the study explores how multi-level governance arrangements, socio-economic dynamics, and spatial configurations shape adaptive, absorptive, and transformative capacities. Combining desk research, stakeholder interviews, and participatory Future Workshops, the case studies analyse the interaction between acute shocks (e.g. earthquakes, migration pressures, industrial transition, climate extremes) and structural stressors such as depopulation, governance fragmentation, and territorial inequalities. Particular attention is given to the role of Functional Urban Areas and cross-jurisdictional cooperation in strengthening territorial governance and crisis preparedness. The findings show that resilience extends beyond reactive responses: it is a systemic, place-based process requiring coordinated institutional frameworks, regulatory stability, and long-term strategic vision. The report advances the conceptual and operational understanding of territorial resilience in the European policy context, offering transferable insights for regional development and territorial cohesion.