Abstract: Nearly two-thirds of the population in the European Alps (which totals 14.2 million) lives in towns or periurban municipalities. We state that strong towns in the Alps are necessary to prevent outmigration. But these towns must be internally integrated with their hinterlands and externally integrated in supraregional networks to maintain the quality of life and contribute to regional economic growth. This appears to be possible despite the differences that typify Alpine agglomerations, as both large and small towns have an internal and an external function; what differentiates them is the proportion between the two functions. Although these differences imply that possibilities for future development vary, some strategies may be generally valid for towns in the Alps.
