Cross-Border Urban Planning as Assemblage? Unpacking the “Borderless” Narratives of the Nova Gorica–Gorizia European Capital of Culture 2025

Abstract

By employing a polycrisis–borderscapes theoretical and operational lens, the article aims to situate Nova Gorica–Gorizia 2025 ECoC title (its premises, policy design, and current development) within the broader unfolding of the local borderscapes, considering both the recent and long-standing entanglements between re-/de-/cross-bordering processes, (poly)crises, and common urban imaginaries. The article underscores the role of local cross-border cooperation (CBC) in striving to transcend the manifold peripheralisation processes to which the territory is exposed, reframing vulnerabilities into testing grounds for joint resilience-building.

The article further delves into the ECoC’s aim to create “one cross-border European city” by addressing its spatial, ideational, and governance implications. By framing this narrative within a broader genealogy of borderless urban visions for the area, the article reflects on its underpinning, notably in terms of cross-border public space production.

Ultimately, the GO!2025 title offers a privileged viewpoint to reflect on the capacity of current CBC frameworks to curb marginalisation processes and narratives, and upscale grassroots forms of cross-border resilience-building and integration.