Public Infrastructure Services in the European Union: Challenges for Territorial Cohesion

Clifton J., Díaz-Fuentes D. and Fernández-Gutiérrez M. Public infrastructure services in the European Union: challenges for territorial cohesion, Regional Studies. Territorial cohesion has emerged as an important objective for European Union authorities, particularly since the Treaty of Lisbon. One important strand of territorial cohesion is citizen access to affordable public infrastructure services. While place of residence may influence use of services, insufficient evidence exists as to whether residence may constitute a disadvantage to citizens as regards service use. This paper assesses this by contrasting citizens' stated and revealed preferences for services in three large countries. Residence frequently conditions expenditure on public infrastructure services and satisfaction with service accessibility and affordability, disadvantaging residents in some territories, posing challenges for territorial cohesion.