European Spatial Planning Research Articles

European spatial planning design for accelerating the deployment of renewable energy

Resumen: Este trabajo analiza la regulación europea para acelerar el despliegue de la energía renovable. Especialmente, la regulación provisional, y el proceso público de toma de decisión, que diseña la Directiva (UE) 2023/2413, para la ordenación territorial de proyectos renovables. La mayor ambición climática para 2030, y el papel fundamental que juega la energía renovable para alcanzar los objetivos climáticos, condujeron a la aprobación inmediata de una normativa provisional para la aceleración del despliegue de los proyectos renovables y, después, a una directiva europea que, ya de manera estable, regula la planificación de sus ubicaciones y nuevos procedimientos para sus autorizaciones. Tarea nada sencilla ni exenta de problemas en su aplicación. Problemas que van desde la necesaria protección de los valores ambientales, hasta la conflictividad social que conlleva la implantación de las grandes centrales renovables, esencialmente eólicas y fotovoltaicas. Además de la complejidad que deriva de la concurrencia de competencias energéticas, ambientales y territoriales. No obstante, nada de esto debe obstaculizar la urgente incorporación, y aplicación, de este nuevo marco europeo de aceleración renovable. Abstract: This paper analyzes the European regulation to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy. In particular, the provisional regulation, and the public decision-making process that regulates the Directive (UE) 2023/2413 for territorial planning and authorization of renewable projects. The increased climate ambition for 2030, and the fundamental role that renewable energy plays in achieving climate objetives, led to the immediate approval of provisional regulations to accelerate the deployment of renewable projects and, later, to a European directive that, not provisionally, regulates the planning of its locations and new procedures for its authorizations. This is not a simple or problem-free task in its application. Issues range from the necessary protection of environmental values to social conflict in the installation of large renewable energy projects, mainly wind and photovoltaic solar energy. In addition to the complexity of the concurrence of energy, environmental and territorial powers. Nevertheless, nothing should hinder the urgent incorporation, and application, of this new European renewable acceleration framework. Palabras clave: Energía renovable. Ordenación territorial. Keywords: Renewable energy. Spatial planning. Índice: 1. Introducción 2. Regulación provisional para la aceleración del despliegue renovable. 2.1. Regulación europea 2.2. Aplicación a nuestro sistema 2.3. Valoración del procedimiento de determinación de afección ambiental de proyectos renovables 3. Ordenación estructural del territorio. Fases del proceso público de toma de decisión 3.1. Presunción de interés público superior 3.2. Fase de diagnóstico territorial previo 3.3. Fase de planificación. 3.3.1. Zonas de aceleración renovable 3.3.2. Áreas para la infraestructura de red y de almacenamiento 3.4. Fase de proyecto 3.4.1. Procedimiento sustantivo 3.4.2. Fase ambiental de proyectos 3.4.3. Fase territorial y urbanística 4. Conclusiones 5. Bibliografía Index: 1. Introduction 2. Interim regulation to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy 2.1. European regulation 2.2. Application to our system 2.3. Assessment of the procedure for determining the environmental impact of renewable projects 3. Structural spatial planning. Phases of the public decision-making process 3.1. Presumption of overriding public interest 3.2. Preliminary territorial diagnosis phase 3.3. Planning phase 3.3.1. Renewable acceleration zones 3.3.2. Areas for network and storage infrastructure 3.4. Project phase 3.4.1. Substantive procedure 3.4.2. Environmental phase of projects 3.4.3. Territorial and urban planning phase 4. Conclusions 5. Bibliography

Securing access to Services of General Interest in remote regions – ethical perspectives and practical implications for spatial planning

Services of General Interest (SGI) are basic services that society and economy vitally need to function and develop. Securing access to these services is a key concern in many European spatial planning systems. In remote regions across Europe, SGI provision is facing challenges due to demographic and economic transformation processes. Opposing political proposals on how to address these challenges are often rooted in opposing ethical convictions. This article sheds light on the perspectives that different ethical concepts offer on SGI provision and explores the practical repercussions they entail. It is shown that proponents of libertarianism will advocate for allowing people to move to or stay in remote regions without adequate access to SGI as long as this is their voluntary and conscious decision, whereas proponents of egalitarianism will consider it a matter of justice to ensure universal access to SGI in remote regions even if this presupposes major societal efforts. Proponents of utilitarianism, it is shown, will consider it reasonable to expand SGI in densely populated regions, where provision is cost-effective and many people benefit from it, and to reduce it in remote regions, where costs of provision are high and users are few. These positions are illustrated using the examples of school education and local public transport. The article puts forward the view that while a reflection of the different ethical positions cannot resolve the challenges that SGI provision in remote regions is facing, it is often possible to find solutions for SGI provision that reconcile the seemingly contradictory demands resulting from the different positions. The reflection of the different positions thus contributes to reasoned, informed decision-making on SGI provision in spatial planning and beyond.

Addressing transboundary challenges: Exploring the interactive relations between collaborative governance and transboundary marine spatial planning in Europe

Transboundary challenges or issues have become the main drivers of collaborative governance (CG) in coastal and marine waters, contributing more specifically to the initiatives of transboundary marine spatial planning (TMSP). The purpose of this article is to explore the interactive relations between CG and TMSP and consider how to combine them to solve transboundary problems. Based on literature review, the process of CG in a transboundary context is summarised to produce a theoretical framework for use in case study analysis of five European TMSP projects. These represent different regional seas and the study leads to a new model showing how the collaboration dimensions of TMSP have been established. The main findings are: (1) CG provided a theoretical and practical framework for the conceptual development of TMSP, especially in intergovernmental cooperation, cross-sectoral integration and multi-stakeholder engagement; (2) three existing CG dimensions, and an additional one of data harmonisation, constitute a four-dimensional assessment; (3) existing CG mechanisms or frameworks in any transboundary context, not just marine-related, can contribute to, and benefit from, TMSP; (4) TMSP has been proved to be an effective tool to promote marine CG, but requires higher collaboration performance and further capacity building to respond to transboundary challenges and ensure the sustainability of transboundary collaboration over time.

Do new brooms sweep clean? Striving for ‘A Just Europe’ in the Territorial Agenda 2030

ABSTRACT The Territorial Agenda 2030, adopted in December 2020, introduces a new policy frame: that of ‘A Just Europe’. This intergovernmental policy document is intended to guide territorial cohesion policy and strategic spatial planning in and across the EU member states. But what does the adjective ‘just’ mean and to what extent can it become operational? Drawing on text analysis and expert interviews, the paper investigates the rationales and expectations underpinning this policy frame. It firstly contextualizes the policy frame of ‘a Just Europe’ within the policy and academic debates on spatial justice and territorial cohesion, and positions the Territorial Agenda 2030 against the backdrop of its forerunners. The analysis demonstrates that instead of guiding measures, the Territorial Agenda 2030, like its forerunners, essentially has a diagnostic and to some extent also a motivational function to mobilize policy actions. We do however identify and discuss three rather novel conditions which, unlike those of its forerunners, may revitalize the European spatial planning discourse. This contribution demonstrates that spatial justice is an inspiring notion to critically reflect on the current and future character and potentials of European spatial planning in general and territorial cohesion policy in particular.

Post- Pandemic digital space integration in Lezha

This article aims to evaluate the potential for digital space integration in the Lezha region by taking into account Albanian urban planning practice and some Western experiences in the problematic context of the post-pandemic period as well. The digital hybridization of space is a key component of European spatial planning and is one possible way to deal with the criticalities raised by the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic has deeply changed the European approach to spatial planning, highlighting the necessity to rethink mobility systems, public spaces and the relationship between space and health. The paper proposes to adopt a context-based and small-scale approach to maximize the positive effects of the digitalization of some spaces related to agritourism, mobility and environmental conservation. This approach would allow a regional way to the digitalization of space connected with the local culture and in dialogue with the informal capacities of the territory.

Reviving strategic spatial planning for the challenges ahead

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the future challenges of strategic spatial planning in Europe in the coming decades. The paper argues that one of the core challenges for strategic spatial planning is to regain its political legitimacy. Strategic spatial planning has increasingly lost its political support after the global financial crisis in 2007–2008 and a decade of austerity policies. Strategic spatial planning must make itself relevant again by addressing the most prominent challenges for contemporary urban areas, such as the current energy crisis. The energy crisis has demonstrated the need for an even faster transition to renewable energy sources, which requires large areas for energy infrastructures on land. The paper argues that strategic spatial planning could play an important future role in supporting the sustainable energy transition by identifying appropriate spaces of production and building support for such production facilities among local communities.

One size does not fit all: A tale of polycentric development and land degradation in Italy

Polycentric development is one of the fundamental components of the European Spatial Planning and Development (ESPD) strategy and substantiates the legitimacy of a decentralized governance framework. Spatial planning in polycentric regions has often been found to be ineffective in achieving a truly sustainable development. Relatively few studies have explored the nature of the relationship between polycentric development and the increasing sensitivity of Mediterranean landscapes to desertification. This knowledge gap is somewhat surprising given that economic development has often been considered to be a driver of land degradation. Italian socioeconomic and territorial variables were investigated to determine if levels of land sensitivity to desertification (measured using a composite indicator) had increased more rapidly in mono-centric or polycentric systems. Distinctive settlement models have epitomized the spatio-temporal evolution of the composite indicator for the last 50 years. The first model, from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, reflects a spatially centralized and functionally mono-centric development with density, concentration, and agglomeration acting as key factors of change. Local systems with a purely mono-centric structure exhibited increasing levels of land sensitivity. The increase in land sensitivity from the early 1990s to the early 2010s, was spatially decentralized and mostly dependent on place-specific dynamics. Local systems reorganized themselves on the basis of individualized development models, attempting highly differentiated and poorly coordinated development paths. This study documents how the evolution toward spatially balanced polycentric models can mitigate the growth of land sensitivity in specific contexts. Managing transitions towards polycentric models with positive environmental implications calls for a proactive analysis of the background context, a clarification of socio-economic constraints and spatial limits to centralized and/or decentralized development processes.

Interactions between Key Factors that Influence Cross-Border Cooperation in Public Transport: The Case of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine

ABSTRACT Several factors that influence cross-border cooperation (CBC) in spatial planning in Europe – including technical, legal and cultural factors – have been observed empirically in recent years. However, the importance and interactions among these may vary significantly between the specific fields of spatial planning (e.g. mobility, economic clusters, energy networks or urban-regional partnerships). To determine the more specific implications these factors have on public transport where obstacles to CBC are particularly evident, the authors conducted nine interviews with public transport and mobility planners in the Belgian-Dutch-German borderland. These interviews revealed major interactions between key factors (e.g. technical, political and financial) that influence CBC in public transport. Thus, it is challenging to determine the individual importance of any of these factors. In this case study region, stakeholders have used different forms of institutionalization to mitigate obstacles and further promote cross-border public transport.

Transregional Europe

The book explores the transregional dimension of both the conception of European spatial planning as well as the activity and praxis of transnational collaboration in Europe. A particular emphasis is put on the EU’s ‘macro-regions’ which have been developed since 2009 in an attempt for forge functional collaboration across large-scale territories above the nation-states and going beyond mere cross-border cooperation.

Management of the metropolises in Europe. Concepts, planning and trends

The paper analyses concepts, planning and trends in European spatial planning network on the example of Rome (Italy), Berlin-Brandenburg (Germany) and Kristiansand (Norway) in order to formulate basic model for managerial innovations and conceptual framework consisting of key managerial innovations and approaches for spatial development of the metropolises. The article discusses the integrated diversity concept, the role of local actors in spatial development, spatial approach and spatially oriented policies, initiatives in strategic spatial planning and in regional development, innovative creative forces and regional identity.

Reenergizing European spatial planning

ABSTRACT This paper addresses the role of spatial planning as a means to promote territorial cohesion in Europe. We first present three key challenges for Europe’s future. Secondly, we explore (i) what European spatial planning would need to do to tackle the key challenges, (ii) the actual relationship between spatial planning and EU policies, and (iii) access points to increase the strategic fit between spatial planning and EU Cohesion Policy. Based on this, we derive some more general conclusions on the future perspectives of European spatial planning.

The enticement of the ESDP

The impact of European policies strongly depends on their interpretation and application by domestic actors. This is especially true in fields such as European spatial planning and development, which are characterised by informal agreements and fragmented competences. Consequently, EU policies only gain importance if domestic actors consider them relevant and establish links to their respective areas of influence. The European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) is often regarded as a success story in European spatial planning and is relatively well known among planners across Europe. The Territorial Agenda documents, often considered successors to the ESDP, have not been met with the same enthusiasm and interest. This contribution uses the concept of storytelling to explain why the ESDP was at least partly successful in appealing to planners. Moreover, it discusses the role and importance of planning education in fostering interest in European spatial development.

Coastal and marine spatial planning in Europe. Case studies for Greece and Bulgaria

Coastal and maritime areas have significant natural resources and are of great financial significance. However, the intense and reckless exploitation of natural resources has led to a degradation of the marine environment. This degradation has led countries worldwide to take into account International Agreements and Actions on the protection, conservation and sustainable management of the marine environment. One of the above Actions is the development of spatial planning in the coastal environment and the wider marine area.Initially, this survey refers to the importance of the coastal area and the marine environment and the policies that have been developed at International and European level for its protection. Furthermore, it focuses on efforts of coastal states to develop spatial plans for the determination of land uses and the development of human activities in the coastal area and in the wider marine area. As case studies the coastal countries of Greece and Bulgaria have been selected. These countries belong to different maritime areas (The Mediterranean Sea and The Black Sea).The survey shows that spatial planning, though necessary for land use and the marine environment, is complicated. This happens due to many stakeholders with different competencies and financial interests being involved and due to the particularities of each area. Finally, conclusions are drawn for better management and protection of coastal and wider marine space through spatial planning.

Research note: Spatial planning in Europe and Central Asia – Enhancing the consideration of biodiversity and ecosystem services

This research note explores opportunities for spatial planning to enhance the consideration of biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES) in Europe and Central Asia. We refer to and build on the regional assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We find that a targeted and integrated approach to spatial planning can substantially enhance the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ES. Spatial planning is a key instrument to explore spatial implications of combined policies on biodiversity and ES, and to design synergistic solution strategies. Together with other legal and regulatory instruments, spatial planning represents the backbone of policy mixes for biodiversity and ES delivery. Promising strategies for enhancing biodiversity and ES implementation in spatial planning include (i) mapping spatially explicit biodiversity and ES information in appropriate resolution, (ii) developing methods and tools for integrating this information in planning practice, and (iii) fostering delivery mechanisms.

Spatial planning and territorial governance in Southern Europe between economic crisis and austerity policies

ABSTRACTThis article examines how spatial planning systems have changed in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece in times of economic recession and austerity politics, in amid pressures of external actors, and local conditions and traditions. We analyse the round of reforms of spatial planning and territorial governance implemented by national governments under pressures by European institutions, as well as local responses to them. On the one hand, we highlight how European institutions have used the conditionalities attached to bailout packages and other instrument of pressure to frame what can be considered an implicit Southern European spatial planning policy developed by the European Union. On the other, we suggest that Southern European planning amid crisis and austerity should be understood, together, as field that problematizes the idea of Europeanization of planning; a space used as ‘prototype’ for new rounds of neoliberalization; and a political space that continuously develops through top-down/bottom-up dialectic conflicts.

Capitalising on the European Research Outcome for Improved Spatial Planning Practices and Territorial Governance

If distinguishing between spatial planning systems and practices, the latter reflect on the continuity and perspective of planning cultures and are concerned with the values, attitudes, mindsets and routines shared by those taking part in concrete planning processes. Some recent studies demonstrated comparative assessment of European spatial planning. Thus, the coexistence of continuity and change, as well as convergence and divergence concerning planning practices, was delineated. Moreover, the trends and directions in the evolution of spatial planning and territorial governance were explored when focusing on linkages between diverse national planning perspectives and EU policies. The relevant outcome of European projects met their visionary statements in general and are towards the inspiration of policymaking by territorial evidence. However, it showed a highly differential landscape for territorial governance and spatial planning across Europe in terms of terminology, concepts, tools and practices. Therefore, the paper focuses on how the most relevant outcome of European research may initiate a reasonable in-depth study of concrete planning practices and substantiate an effective planning approach. Mainly based on critical literature review and comparative analysis and synthesis techniques, the overviewed key research results led (1) to agenda-setting for comprehensive evidence gathering (CEG) if exploring spatial planning practices and territorial governance in selected European countries, and (2) to a set of objectives for a values-led planning (VLP) approach to be introduced for improvement of land use management.

Implementing Green Infrastructure in Spatial Planning in Europe

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.

European cross-scale spatial planning and territorial frames in the Italian Median Macroregion

ABSTRACTThis article describes the preliminary outcome of interdisciplinary research that arises from a study by the Italian Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport and the Abruzzo Region (IT) on local development processes in central Italy, and specifically in the Median Macroregion, whose results have been extended to European context. It concerns the European spatial planning, specifically the study of an original interpretative model of European space, called Territorial Frames – TFs, a particular multi-scale infrastructural mesh that connects the ‘local’ territories with ‘global’ ones and that can represent the activating element of processes and policies of spatial development of settlements, of processes of valorization of the productive, naturalistic and landscape sectors. This new model interfaces with the territorial reticular component through the concept of polycentrism, also projecting evolution, and with that of the governance of development projects, using the potential of European Macroregions. The main objective of the research is to feed the topic of spatial planning, oriented to the integration between territories through a cross-scale approach, and to the activation of new processes of sustainable territorial development, with reference to the economically disadvantaged inner areas in a context of Macroregional governance.

Trends in Maritime Spatial Planning in Europe: An Approach to Governance Models

Maritime spatial planning is considered a key instrument for the success of integrated maritime policy. MSP is therefore an integrated approach to address the conflicting and competing uses of ocean resources and spaces in order to achieve the sustainable development of seas. This paper aims to access how governance models have been evolving with the implementation of MSP in Europe. The study compares institutional and legal frameworks in a North-South context, based on the case studies of Norway, Netherlands, England, Germany and Portugal and concludes that, although there are similarities in the legal frameworks developed to implement MSP, more profound differences arise on marine governance models and institutional frameworks, reflecting different political approaches and regional contexts.

Identifying vulnerable farmland: An index to capture high urbanisation risk areas

Identifying and protecting vulnerable agricultural areas is a major priority, especially in Europe, in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and zero net land degradation target. Although it has generated serious public attention for its implications for rural development, bio-economy and land use development and change, the vulnerability of farmland in the face of competing land uses has been an issue that few studies have considered in a holistic way. On the one hand, effective planning tools are lacking, especially in terms of tools to identify urbanisation risk areas. On the other hand, in some cases, there are not even comprehensive government procedures to support the protection of vulnerable farmland and encourage sustainable development of farm activities. In this paper, the author shows how integrated planning tools and methods are probably the most promising solutions to protect farmland and strengthen its cultural and socio-ecological values. The paper focuses on an index to identify risk areas (particularly by using an Italian case study), in order to respond to the current operational gap, as well as to support the difficult decision process oriented to overcome land related conflicts. The index could be used at several decision-making levels and in many sectoral plans, especially in the frame of European spatial planning and rural policies.