Networks of cities and dynamics of territories: the problematics of organization

The notion of a network of towns imposed itself in the vocabulary of territ ory organization and replaced the more classical one, for geographers, of u rban network. This notion belongs to a conceptual field that has a politica l and functional content. It refers to towns that are integrated within a c ommon territorial system, between which there are of course physical relati ons, but also and above all functional relations (e.g.: networked universit ies, common chambers of commerce, sharing of equipment,), and/or political relations (concerted policies, lobbying, development of common projects). T hrough its content, both territorial and political, this reading of spatial organization is different from that done through the prism of urban hierar chy: beyond the part played by the exchanges in spatial organization, the p olitical and functional content can be illustrated here by the example of t he Nord-Pas-de-Calais region.