This article examines the relevance and the dimensions of the concept of Territorial Cohesion and suggests its definition based on those dimensions. Additionally, it proposes a methodology which can be used to measure the Territorial Cohesion in a given territory and applies it to three case studies: Iberian Peninsula, Scandinavian Peninsula and European Union at the NUTS II level. Furthermore, the article also highlights the importance of the territorial dimension as a key issue in the EU political agenda and, at the same time, gives a contribution to answer some questions for debate expressed in the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion. The concept of Territorial Cohesion is not new to us. In fact, we started to work around this concept since 2003, by identifying its dimensions and by creating and aggregated index which could measure its evolution in a given territory. Since then, a chain of events led to an increasing discussion around this concept with two highlights: the launch of the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion (2008) and its inclusion in the Lisbon Treaty, in 2009, as one of the three main pillars of the EU Cohesion Policy. In the meantime, several authors brought new insights to this academic debate, in an attempt to shed some light in its clarification, thus enriching the knowledge base surrounding this crucial and comprehensive concept. Yet, in our point of view, the available studies concerning the Territorial Cohesion concept lack either a clear methodology to measure it on a given territory, or/and fail to identify some key dimensions of this concept, as they neglect some of the main findings of the European Spatial Development Perspective . In this context, this article attempts to provide an updated overview of the concept of Territorial Cohesion and its relevance to the EU objective of a more balanced and harmonious territory, by polishing our previous analysis on this subject, both in the conceptual and the methodological approach. Consequently, this research integrates new valuable insights, mainly from several EU related reports and ESPON studies, since the available academic literature concerning the Territorial Cohesion concept either disperses its analysis on its historical background or only brings to the fore its political implications. Hence, in order to gather a more holistic perspective of the concept of Territorial Cohesion this paper is organized in two main parts. In the first part, it begins by revealing the main findings of the available literature on this concept, namely its relevance and main dimensions. Afterwards, the second part embarks on a more empirical discussion by proposing a methodological approach to measure the Territorial Cohesion and by constructing and applying an aggregated Territorial Cohesion index in the Iberian Peninsula, the Scandinavian Peninsula (trends) and the EU NUTS II (snapshot).

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Territorial Cohesion,Territorial Development,Polycentrism,Social Cohesion,Economic Cohesion,European Union