The present European urban scene is a scene of turbulence and of changing potential. The future of Europe combines well known development issues with alternative scenarios and new policy actions. Large-scale investments in infrastructure are changing the geography of the continent and interact with potential new land-use patterns. Large-scale infrastructural investments alter the scene of urban growth by establishing new potential qualities and new characteristics. A series of airport cities, becoming the new gateways to Eastern Europe, are examples of such new characteristics. Change in Europe is further accelerated by the new political geography of east Europe where the Baltic Sea area is a good example.

The principal competitors on the North European urban scene are the four metropoles Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Stockholm. They also compete with other European metropoles, with the European center, with cities like Helsinki, Oslo and Gothenburg, and with centers of minor importance. Copenhagen-Malmö-Lund expects a period of high potential growth closely connected to a shift in role on the North European scene

The bridge in construction between Copenhagen (Denmark) and Malmö (Sweden) across the Sound (Oresund), combined with the recent Swedish entrance into the European Union, make development of the first cross-national integrated large-city region, the Oresund Region, in the history possible. A fusion of Greater Copenhagen and the Malmö-Lund agglomeration gives the two hitherto non-interdependent urban economies access to more specialization and opens up for co-operation as yet unforeseen. Synergy and further new specialization will be the obvious consequences.

To these changes in growth potential will be added the effects of optimism and of an increased world interest associated with the event itself. Large-scale engineering and construction projects are of international interest, and a fusion of two agglomerations, is a world-class event. In many respects Copenhagen together with the South Swedish centers are expected to experience increased economic growth. When the fixed links between Scandinavia and the European continent are in place, regional organization can be further integrated on a new level.

The construction of the 2.4 billion EUR bridge is a major event in itself, but using the event as a tool in strategic planning is a challenge. The development of the large cross-boundary infrastructure is going to alter the spatial organization of the territory, which again will encourage cross-border collaboration. This will activate creative and innovative new arrangements regards industries, institutions, procedures, management or any public action tool. Already the principal investment decision has been followed by a series of other investment decisions altogether adding up to 16.8 billion EUR. Most of them being public, e.g. the new mini-metro, intraurban motorways, railroads, an airport railroad station, a new university, and large scale urbanization.

A notable change in policies for the Copenhagen area has taken place over the past years, The shift represents transformations from politics to economics, from welfare orientation to market orientation, and from a spatial equalization policy to a focus on metropolitan competition. The policy change has mostly had its impact on national infrastructural investment policy in favor of Greater Copenhagen but has also meant large investments in cultural institutions and activities (European Cultural Capital 1996).

The shift was a consequence of the ongoing internationalization of the economy, 1989-91 expressed first and foremost by the establishment of the European Inner Market. With this background it is clear that Danish urban policy could only see one internationally known city with potentials in the international competition, Copenhagen. The ambition is to lift Copenhagen to a higher position in the European urban hierarchy by integrating the Danish and Swedish urban areas in the Oresund area, the instrument being the 12 km long bridge to open in year 2000.

The straits between the Baltic Sea and the oceans of the world delimit the Danish islands and the peninsulas of Jutland and Scandinavia. Seagoing traffic is intense and is expected to increase further as the East European nations catch up in international trade.

The construction of the bridge between metropolitan Copenhagen and the large Swedish urban agglomeration will open up for the integration of the two large urban units which today interact at a extremely low level although distance between city centers is only 18 km and ferries cross at very high frequencies. Commuting between Zealand and Scania totals for example 1950 persons out of a total number of commuters close to 1.2 mio., and personal contacts are at a very low level. Also international trade is at a low level. Only around 7% of the volume expected if no barriers excisted. These factors are reflected in contact patterns. For each personal contact within business between Zealand and Scania there is for example 16 between Scania and Stockholm 630 kilometers away. Geography actually plays no role for the interaction pattern.

On the European ranking lists Copenhagen is ranked as no. 35 by agglomeration population. Just by adding figures from the Swedish side of the Sound to the Copenhagen figures, the ranks shift notably. Altogether, the towns within a radius of 50 kilometers from Copenhagen Airport represent one of the major population concentrations in Northern Europe, no. 27 on the European list. To find larger neighbors you have to go outside the Nordic countries.

Copenhagen is no. 19 when size is measured as gross agglomeration product. In addition, Copenhagen, Malmö, and Lund are high-income cities compared with the European average and the new rank for the Danish-Swedish agglomeration measured as gross agglomeration product is 11.

Copenhagen is city no. 10 in Europe in international air-passenger traffic. When international passengers departing from the airport of Malmö are added to the Copenhagen figures, the total increases and lifts the rank to no. 9.

Measured by creativity the Copenhagen rank is 21. But when it comes to Copenhagen, Malmo and Lund together, the South Scandinavian center is the fifth largest European center of scientific output.

To these changes of ranks will come the increasing potentials of growth. Copenhagen is the center of Denmark (5 mio. inhb.). At the beginning of the 21^st century, the new Danish-Swedish agglomeration could be the center of South Scandinavia (8-9 mio. inhb.). The consequence will be large-scale change of dominance on the Copenhagen - Stockholm level, for example when it comes to the use of international airports, business services, retail facilities and cultural activities.

The fusion of Greater Copenhagen and the Malmö-Lund agglomeration gives the two hitherto non-interdependent urban economies access to more specialization and opens up for cooperation not even thought about yet. New specialization based on the new combined mass will increase the level of specialization compared to the present Copenhagen level.

To this change in growth potentials the effects of a new optimism and of rise in world interest will come about due to the event itself. Large-scale engineering and construction are of international interest, and a fusion of two agglomerations, which at present cooperate very limited, is a world class event. In many respects Copenhagen together with the South Swedish centers, are expected to further increase in economic growth when the transportation link between Scandinavia and the European continent becomes a reality.

The South Scandinavian scene represents an area outside the European center where the development towards a cross-border region is obvious. These trends comprehend a capital, which is also among the 25 metropolitan units of the continent. It is in many respects an interesting laboratory of integration and of changes of the major units in the urban system. What can be foreseen is a growth in competitive vitality.

Change in South Scandinavia is further accelerated by the new political geography of the Baltic Sea region, where east European nations suddenly have appeared as neighbors, and where European Union extensions already comprehend East Germany, Sweden and Finland, and entrance negotiations with Poland and Estonia are in progress. Improvement on the scene of metropolitan competition is the expected consequence for Copenhagen-plus.

These incidents provide opportunities rather than guarantee success. It is up to local governments and business to exploit these chances. The potential changes in roles on the North European urban scene are illustrated in figure 1 and 2.