Implementing Green Infrastructure in Spatial Planning in Europe

Elin Slätmo,Eeva Turunen,Kjell Nilsson

doi:10.3390/land8040062

Abstract

Interest in green infrastructure (GI) has grown in research, policy and planning in recent decades. The central idea behind GI is the understanding of the physical non-built-up environment as an infrastructure capable of delivering a wide variety of benefits to society, including the ability to preserve biodiversity; to provide food, feed, fuel and fibre; to adapt to and mitigate climate change and to contribute to enhanced human health and quality of life. The European Union (EU) has had a GI strategy since 2013, and member states are involved in several strategic and applied GI initiatives and projects. The aim of this study is to explore if and how the European strategy has been implemented. The study adds to the body of knowledge of current GI policies and measures in Europe via an online survey and insights into previous research. The survey reveals that GI is integrated into one or more policy sectors in all 32 countries covered. In 11 of the 32 countries, GI-specific policies are already in place or are being drawn up at a national level. In general, the respondents see the responsibility for GI policy and strategy as a matter of national governments and the implementation as a matter of local governments. They also see the LIFE+ and Horizon 2020 project funds, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), as the most important EU funding sources for the implementation of the GI strategy. The study also identifies availability of georeferenced information, zoning and biotope area factor as three of the spatial planning tools used to implement GI.

Highlights

Interest in green infrastructure (GI) has grown in research, policy and planning in recent decades [1,2,3]
The aim of this study is to explore if and how the European GI strategy has been implemented
Some countries had a an above-average per capita GDP and no GI specific policy (Finland, Austria, Ireland, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein). This suggests that political willingness is crucial for the development and implementation of a GI policy

Summary

Introduction

Interest in green infrastructure (GI) has grown in research, policy and planning in recent decades [1,2,3]. The European GI strategy seeks to balance “people, planet and profit” [6] It states that there is no need for legislation exclusively designed to enforce implementation, and calls instead for existing legislation, policy instruments and funding mechanisms to be used [16]. GI helps the preserve non-built-up land by highlighting the range of societal benefits (e.g., land uses) associated with green areas. Using this approach as a governing strategy can make spatial planning sustainable [21]. Any realistic assessment of the potential for implementing GI at an institutional level must take these conflicts about land use into consideration

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Conclusion