Attractivity and Internationalisation of Major European Cities: The Example of Air Traffic

Abstract

Researchers, planners, politicians and journalists wonder about the possibilities of evaluating the international attractivity of European cities. Fashion effects or important issues in this end-of-century, the comparison, the ranking of cities have frequently been written about and have been the object of debate. Beyond the publicised aspect, what answers can be given to determine the international role of European cities? The volumes, the intensity and the degree of concentration of international air traffic, the degree of international air opening and the number of international air routes are the five measures proposed for the evaluation of the international role of 90 large European cities. It is, however, a more complex indicator 'the differential attractivity' that gives the most relevant image of the internationalisation of cities. The research of explanatory factors of the differential attractivity variation allows us to demonstrate that the European urban network remains largely dependent on national urban system configurations.