Spatial Regional Development Research Articles

The Stuttgart Region's Landscape Park – an efficient concept for the development of open spaces – an integrated approach to an attractive and resilient metropolitan landscape

This article focuses on the Stuttgart Region's Landscape Park concept, which is an instrument for the balanced development of open spaces within a densely populated region. The Stuttgart Region covers 5 counties and 179 independent municipalities over an area of 3650 square kilometres in the southwestern part of Germany. The competences of the Verband Region Stuttgart cover not only (mandatory) regional planning and spatial development, but also the construction and operation of the regional railway system, economic development and marketing. In this context, the Landscape Park has been introduced to enhance the ecological quality and recreational value of open spaces. By now, it has become a successful instrument which helps local institutions to develop green infrastructure as an important locational factor.

Role of the landscape in spatial and rural development

The study is going to reveal the role of landscape potential in spatial and rural development based on the analyses of scientific literature. The target area of the research is three micro regions in Hajdú-Bihar county. In addition to the analyses of scientific literature the study pays attention to the assay of local development concepts and programmes. The conclusion of the study is that the analyses of landscape changes on micro regional level are obstructed by the lack of micro regional spatial development and substantive landscape plans.

Governance Processes in Euregios. Evidence from Six Cases across the Austrian–German Border

Cross-border regions emerged as early as at the start of European Integration; once the European Commission initiated the Community Initiative ‘Interreg’, however, they flourished. This article presents the results of empirical studies on the six Austrian–German Euregios established within the frame of this financial incentive and the accession of Austria to the European Union (EU) in 1995. The main questions tackled focus on (a) the capability of these relatively new cross-border regions to govern their own regional spatial development matters and to establish a region and (b) the factors influencing the failure or success of these cross-border governance processes. These relatively new Euregios are thought to be capable of governing their own regional matters. This is generally possible if certain factors are clearly manifested. Such factors include the existence of a strong need for action in addition to Interreg, established social relationships and internal institutionalization. Evidence was derived from the criteria-based analysis of the data compiled; data that consisted of internal documents, secondary literature, websites, press articles and qualitative interviews conducted between 2004 and 2006.

Non-metropolitan Growth Potential of Western Cape Municipalities

This paper provides a brief overview of the relevant post-2000 South African policy for regional (provincial) spatial development within the context of the quantitative findings of a study conducted on the growth potential of non- metropolitan settlements in the Western Cape. The findings are presented at munic- ipal level. Five indices (social needs, economic, physical environment, infrastructure and institutional) and 69 indicators were used to determine development potential and social needs for the 24 local municipalities and three district management areas in the province. The potential indicators for each index were subjected to a factor analysis to select appropriate core indicators for inclusion in the composite indices. Based on their overall performance in the various indices, the municipalities were classified into three categories—high, medium and low. The study results prioritise areas according to their developmental potential and social needs at municipal level.

Integrated modelling for Sustainability Appraisal for Urban River Corridor (re)-development

Abstract Sustainability Appraisal (SA) is mandatory under the relevant legislation of UK (DCLG, 2008a) and applies to the preparation of Regional Spatial Strategies, Development Plans and Supplementary Planning documents. SA is a complex task that involves integration of social, environmental and economic considerations into formal plans and often requires trade-offs between multiple stakeholders that may not easily be brought to consensus. Classical assessment can facilitate discussion, but these can only partially inform decision makers as many important aspects of sustainability are abstract and not quantifiable. Such abstract criteria however can be modelled using a Bayesian Network (BN), combining expert opinions, empirical evidence and other information such as model simulation, survey etc. This paper discusses the work of the URSULA project at the University of Sheffield, in which a participative and integrative approach to urban river corridor development, incorporating the principal of sustainability was used. The project used a case study site in Sheffield, UK, and three alternative scenarios were developed, incorporating a number of possible riverside design features. Scenarios were fully designed and visualised using a variety of different media and a sustainability appraisal was undertaken using a broad range of environmental, social and economic indicators. Experts’ assessment logics were captured through mind mapping and further expert elicitation was used to develop an integrated model for SA. The BN approach allows model complexity to be reduced to a level appropriate for an assessment process, whilst still taking complex system interactions implicitly into account. The integrated SA model is being used to develop better design by optimising different design elements in order to deliver an optimum (re)-development plan.

The Competitiveness of Regions: A Comparison Between Belgian and German Regions

This paper uses firm level data to analyze the regional competitiveness of two federal Euro area countries, Belgium and Germany. Competitiveness is defined as the labor cost per unit of output and hence takes into account productivity differences. Analyzing regional competitiveness is important because of the regional concentration in economic activity, the unequal spatial development of regions within countries and the increased importance of regional policy both at the EU as at the national level. This paper makes first a methodological contribution. Rather than simply comparing labor costs and productivity across regions we propose an approach that takes into account differences across regions in terms of average firm size and sectoral composition. So any remaining difference in competitiveness can be attributed to other factors, such as the institutional setting related to product and labor market regulation, the impact of agglomeration economies, labor market tightness, etc. We analyze regional competitiveness of the 16 German Lander and the 3 Belgian regions, defined at the NUTS 1 level. In doing so, we use as a benchmark Flanders. We chose Flanders as a benchmark region as the regional innovation score board of the European Commission has ranked Flanders among the top innovators in Europe.

Exploring an integrated method for measuring the relative spatial equity in public facilities in the context of urban parks

This paper proposes a new integrated modeling framework that contributes to the evaluation of public facility distribution for spatial equity in urban development. The framework consists of two integrated models—accessibility and mobility—that, based on the gravity model, are integrated as a framework for measuring the relative spatial equities of urban public facilities. They are presented as geographic information system (GIS) and spatial analysis models. The models consider individual traffic behavioral abilities and simulate regional differences in the spatial equities of urban parks. The results show unequal regional spatial development that affects mismatches between urban park services. The accumulated travel time costs associated with different resident traffic mobility and urban park location types affect the access opportunities of residents. This integrated model could be a useful reference to help urban planners analyze, investigate, and adjust the distribution of public facilities in a more equitable manner.

The Relationship between City and Regional Development: A Multi-Dimension Research

China is now entering into a new phase in the development of industrialization and urbanization. Since 1979, the urbanization process has been more rapid than it had before, and the relationship between city and regional development is strengthened. The paper discusses the relationship between city and regional development from three main aspects: 1) research background; 2) how to enhance the study of the relationship between city and regional development; and 3) the regional spatial development in the urbanization process.

The Waste Strategy for England 2007: Is it Deliverable?

Following a Defra consultation from February to May 2006, the government published its new waste strategy in May 2007. This substantial publication runs to 123 pages, eight chapters and multiple appendices. The strategy constitutes part of the implementation of the Framework Directive on Waste (WFD)2 and is a waste management plan for the purposes of the Directive. A national waste strategy is also a requirement under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.3 The strategy forms part of a tiered system in which it represents the national level. There are also strategies for waste in Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Plan documents. The 2007 strategy builds upon the White Paper ‘ Waste Strategy, 2000’ and is supplemented by PPS10 ‘ Planning for Sustainable Waste Management’ . Its eight chapters are themed as follows: Chapter 1 introduces the new strategy. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on the use of pricing and the regulatory framework. Chapter 4 deals with targeting action on priority materials, products and sectors. Chapter 5 sets out the government's plans to promote investment and use public funding to stimulate change. Chapter 6 is concerned with strengthening governance arrangements at national and local levels in order to achieve a co-ordinated approach to increased investment. The engagement of individuals and organisations and stimulation of behaviour change is the focus of Chapter 7 and the final chapter identifies indicators and targets to monitor progress.

Multifunctional regional forestry planning – Good practices and lessons learnt in Bulgaria

The present experiences with multifunctional regional forestry planning in six pilot areas of Bulgaria clearly indicate how different interest groups can actively participate in long-term forestry planning. These processes can play a guiding role for the general democratisation of municipalities, for a constructive collaboration with civil society, the private sector and state institutions. One condition for the effective implementation of the plans is the political will to set clear priorities for the multifunctionality of forests in order to provide appropriate financial resources for implementation together with a consistent controlling mechanism. Bilateral development cooperation between Bulgaria and Switzerland seeks to promote awareness amongst the actors, develop appropriate methodologies and educate and train stakeholders. What is still lacking in Bulgaria is the formulation of appropriate forestry legislation and guidelines for the preparation and implementation of the plans, an efficient monitoring system as well as the carefully formulated coordination with regional spatial development planning.

Generating and evaluating alternative regional development plans

The generation of alternative spatial regional development plans is one of the two most important steps in a comprehensive rational planning process. The other step is the plan-evaluation process, which enables us to rank-order the alternative plans and, subsequently, to make a rational selection of the ‘best plan’. In order to generate the set of alternative spatial plans, it is necessary to identify and define adequately and clearly the goals and objectives that the plan is designed to serve. In this paper we report on an actual planning process in which development plans were generated and evaluated, and then the best plan was selected and prepared for the Northern (or Galilee) region of Israel. The Northern region is one of the most fascinating regions in Israel in terms of the composition of its residents, its settlements, and its landscape. The region is well endowed with breathtaking views and a wealth of natural resources. It is therefore necessary for the preferred spatial development plan both t...

Local Finance and Community Development

Abstract This paper analyzes certain implications of the system of local finance for local and regional planning and spatial development in the United States and Western Germany. To strengthen the local tax base, local governments often follow development policies that are contrary to the aims and ends of regional planning and incompatible with over-all regional and national interests. Financially motivated self-interest also prejudices co-operation in local planning and local administration. In both countries there are significant differentials in local tax capacity that are unrelated to fiscal needs and are only partially equalized through intergovernmental grants. Planning could be made more effective by a revision of the present system of local finance.