The two-year (2010-2012) ESPON Applied Research Project GEOSPECS (Geographic Specificities and Development Potentials in Europe) aims to provide a solid assessment of the current situation, trends and perspectives of areas with geographic specificities, i.e. mountains, islands, sparsely populated areas, coastal zones, outermost regions, border areas and inner peripheries. In the context of the project, "geographic specificities" are understood to create both challenges and opportunities, thus departing from the previous perception of "natural handicaps". On this basis, policy options and new opportunities will be identified for EU cohesion policy and territorial development.

The research project not only analyses the geographic specificities themselves but also includes transversal themes such as economic development conditions, social processes, and natural resources and risks, in order to quantify and qualify state and trends in the regions. The aim is not to merely run parallel studies on different geographic specificities, but to construct a coherent discourse on specific types of territories. A key ambition of the project is to strengthen the dialogue and knowledge exchange between the different types of geographic specificities. This implies that connections must be established between fields of research that have, until now, been envisaged in relatively isolated ways.