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Handbook of Sustainable Urban Development Strategies
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The Handbook of Sustainable Urban Development Strategies provides methodological support to cities, managing authorities and other stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of urban strategies under Cohesion Policy. In particular, it refers to Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) as supported by the European Regional Development Fund during the current programming period (2014-2020) and the upcoming one (2021-2027).
The Handbook is a policy learning tool, adaptable to the needs arising from different territorial and administrative contexts. It considers urban strategies as bridges between Cohesion Policy and local territorial governance systems.
The Handbook does not provide a ‘quick fix’, but rather provides suggestions - giving concrete examples and referring to existing tools and guidelines - on how to tackle key challenges during the process of strategy-making.
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... Se trata de un ejercicio necesario dada la poca atención prestada a esta noción por parte de la ciencia política en España a pesar de que ha sido el país precursor de la PEC en Europa y donde su aplicación ha sido más extendida en términos comparados. A ello se añade su especial conexión con la lógica de elaboración de políticas públicas promovida en el ámbito comunitario, que fomenta la introducción de enfoques estratégicos y de gobernanza multinivel en el marco de la dimensión urbana de la Política de Cohesión de la Unión Europea (González Medina y Fedeli, 2015;Comisión Europea, 2019;Fioretti et al., 2020;Carpenter et al., 2020;New Leipzig Charter, 2020) Este trabajo se estructura como sigue. En primer lugar, se aborda el origen y la evolución de la PEC. ...
... Por lo que se refiere a su estudio, la producción de literatura sobre PEC se nutre fundamentalmente de manuales metodológicos para la elaboración de un plan estratégico o de estrategias integradas de ciudad (Fernández Güell, 1997;Tanese et al., 2006;ONU-Hábitat, 2007;Pascual Esteve, 2007;Pascual Esteve y Tarragona Gorgorió, 2009;Martín y Merinero, 2010;Merinero, 2010;Fioretti et al., 2020). Desde un punto de vista académico, la PEC ha sido objeto de interés específico para disciplinas como la planificación urbana (Healey, 2003;Albrechts, 2004;Fernández Güell, 2006), la geografía (Farinós, 2010), la economía (Echevarría, 1993;Mella, 1999) o la sociología (Navarro Yáñez, 2010;Merinero, 2010;Pinson, 2011), resultando llamativo que apenas haya recabado la atención de la ciencia política a pesar su consideración como instrumento de gobernanza territorial (González Medina, 2013a, 2013b) y de su carácter eminentemente político: «Urban strategic planning is a specific instrument of management which encourages citizen participation in local policy decisions» (UCLG, s.f.). ...
... A tal fin, se ha profundizado en su origen como herramienta de gestión, en su evolución como instrumento de gobernanza dirigido a la construcción de coaliciones de actores, y su relación con el denominado «soft law». También se han enumerado los factores que han motivado su progresiva adopción como enfoque de elaboración de políticas urbanas frente a la planificación tradicional, así como la activa promoción de la PEC por parte de Naciones Unidas, la UE y la OCDE a través de la publicación de diversos «policy papers» y manuales (ONU-Hábitat, 2007;UCLG, 2010;Urbact, 2013;Fioretti et al., 2020), la formación a agentes locales o incluso su establecimiento como criterio para acceder a la financiación. Todos estos elementos han sido decisivos para su difusión en diversos países. ...
El presente trabajo arroja luz sobre el concepto de planificación estratégica de ciudades, sus principales rasgos metodológicos y su relevancia para las políticas urbanas, dada su estrecha relación con los marcos de desarrollo sostenible impulsados por Naciones Unidas, la UE y la OCDE. A tal fin, se profundiza en su origen como herramienta de gestión y en su evolución como instrumento de gobernanza dirigido a la construcción de coaliciones de actores para favorecer el enfoque integrado de las políticas de desarrollo urbano. También se aborda su relación con la planificación urbana tradicional y con el soft law, su promoción a través de guías metodológicas para el desarrollo de proyectos y su establecimiento como criterio para acceder a financiación pública. Todos estos elementos han sido decisivos para su difusión en un contexto donde la política urbana ha ido adquiriendo un carácter cada vez más ‹‹estratégico››, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional.
... As a result, a wealth of information is emerging that can assist policymakers and planning practitioners to guide urbanisation in their countries and regions towards more sustainable ends. Examples include work by the European Environment Agency (EEA and FOEN, 2016), the European Commission Joint Research Centre (Fioretti, 2020), various European Union institutions (Prokop, 2011) and international planning organisations (ECTP-CEU, 2002). More specifically, EU-funded research such as Interreg Central Europe SURFACE (Bovet et al., 2019) and ESPON SUPER (Evers et al., 2020) have studied how European planners and policymakers can promote sustainable urbanisation. ...
Planning researchers often engage in international comparative research oriented to improving domestic planning practices. However, policy transfer is seldom sucsessful because the identified 'best practices' are insufficiently applicable or transferable. To address this, we employed a reflexive action-oriented methodology valorise the results of an ESPON project on sustainable urbanisation in two specific contexts: Lithuania's national strategic plan and Croatia's post-earthquake reconstruction. In collaboration with sta-keholders, we assessed the local context and then used the European knowledge as a means for reflection. The results are encouraging, suggesting that this method could improve the impact of planning research.
The purpose of this article is to draw attention to a potential environmental effect of the Constanta Metropolitan Area's growth. In order to accomplish this goal, the proposed objectives were as follows: measuring the concentration of several environmental variables in three different locations in the Constanta Metropolitan Area as well as assessing the air quality; comparing the measurement results with the hourly records of pollutant concentrations in various locations within the area of interest; and assessing the impact of human activity on the environment. In order to conduct this research, measurements were made with an Air Quality Monitor model JSM-131 and data recorded and provided by the National Air Quality Network and uRad Monitor on hourly concentrations of some environmental parameters in the area of interest were used. Metropolitan areas, which are defined by dense populations and activity centres, can preserve environmental quality by implementing local policies that are tailored to the specific demands of the community. This necessitates identifying and continually maintaining monitoring on local environmental hazards.
I territori sono sempre più chiamati ad affrontare sfide ed esigenze contemporanee con investimenti mirati e approcci integrati allo sviluppo territoriale. Tra i vari strumenti europei di attuazione messi a disposizione, l'approccio leader/clld è quello più presente sui territori rurali e che offre delle potenzialità inespresse su cui è necessario porre l'attenzione. Il contributo offre una riflessione sulle principali operazioni legate allo sviluppo locale e rurale nel territorio italiano, ponendo la questione su come queste vengano trattate solo dal punto di vista delle agende di lavoro e di come vengano invece trascurate, o poco indagate, le implicazioni politiche e istituzionali che queste apportano. In questo senso, i gal sembrano attuare una rivoluzione silenziosa (e incompleta).
Nel ciclo di programmazione 2021-2027, il carattere place-based della politica di coesione è stato rafforzato con l'introduzione del nuovo obiettivo di policy ‘un'Europa più vicina ai cittadini', attuato attraverso strategie territoriali. In Emilia-Romagna questa possibilità si inserisce in una tradizione di politiche volte a contrastare l'acuirsi degli squilibri territoriali e a rispondere alle diverse vocazioni infra-regionali, coinvolgendo gli enti locali nella programmazione. L'articolo propone una lettura delle due tipologie di strategie territoriali – le Agende trasformative urbane per lo sviluppo sostenibile (atuss) e le Strategie territoriali per le aree montane e interne (stami) – attivate dalla Regione Emilia-Romagna alla luce del disegno delineato dalla Commissione europea.
At the core of the EU’s complex agenda stands the Cohesion Policy, which has been renewed for the following stage, namely 2021-2027. The new cohesion policy places great focus on territorial sustainable development, particularly for cities, by introducing a supplementary objective titled “Europe Closer to Citizens”. The present article offers an analysis of the main elements of this renewed agenda on sustainable development of the cities and the instruments to reinforce convergence of its implementation, across European local communities.
Cities across the globe perceive their opportunities for digital transition pathways. This paper presents a project and strategy-based assessment of smart city ambitions in the light of sustainable urban development pathways in the European Union capitals considering the programming period 2014-2020. The purpose of the research is to understand better the smart city trends in Europe and identify any correlation between smart city and sustainability ambitions through the European capitals. The basis of the research was the official project result platforms of European funds with priorities related to smart cities. The collected best practices of transnational smart city projects provide statistics from the previous programming period and draw attention to the developing trends of smart city functions and the activity level of European capitals in the digital transition. Results show that between 2014 and 2020 nearly half of the capitals owned a specific smart city strategic document. Evaluating the smart urban performance of the capitals, it can be stated that most smart solutions were implemented related to mobility and environment in the previous period. Furthermore, it was also considered whether smart city projects could facilitate the shift toward sustainability. Based on the assessment of their planning strategies, a complex image of the European capitals has been revealed in their smart city development concepts; their strategic-level planning can be understood better, which is essential for policymaking in the era of digitalisation, identifying synergies with sustainable urban development ambitions, and monitoring the reached targets at the city level.
This chapter examines the implementation of the 2030 Agenda through urban policies in Spain at both the national and local levels, with a focus on Seville as a case study. The analysis is structured around various dimensions of policy content and management model, and considers the political will and institutional framework needed for the Agenda's territorialisation. The Spanish case is characterised by the development of institutional arrangements and policy instruments aimed at facilitating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, both in general terms and in relation to urban policies. The chapter focuses on the integrated nature of these policies, with attention paid to the prioritisation of different policy areas at the national and local levels. However, the biggest challenge in Spain is the governance model, which is limited in terms of the diversity of actors involved, mainly public or business sector, and its ability to influence decision-making, given its segmented presence in the policy implementation process. Concludes that while the Spanish Government has demonstrated a clear will to align its policies with the 2030 Agenda, further efforts are needed to strengthen the governance network and promote greater involvement of diverse actors in decision-making processes to fully realise the Agenda's potential for sustainable urban development.Keywords2030 AgendaUrban AgendaGovernancePublic policyPolicy instrumentsSeville
Cities have a growing role to play in ensuring environmental transition while addressing issues of social inclusion and social sustainability. The aim of this study was to evaluate a multi‐ dimensional policy of the city of Messina, in southern Italy, aimed at experimenting a sustainable model of urban regeneration to overcome its shantytowns after the 1908 earthquake. The impact in‐ dicators of a pilot program of urban generation were collected in terms of environmental, social, and economic criteria, while the real experiment focused on the mechanisms of choice related to the hous‐ ing of extremely marginalized people. In the end, two slums were demolished, and 205 households had a home without additional land consumption. Attitudes toward social cohesion were measured through 29 interviews and the administration of a pre–post structured test. According to the indi‐ vidual payoffs over time, it is possible to correlate housing choice mechanisms with components not related to short‐term economic rationality. The development of a positive attitude toward the future and trust in others are associated with the development of the riskiest option, which is also the one that can have the highest payoff. The program strategy reduced reliance on social welfare measures and enforced institutional capacity building and skills for sustainable urban development.
This report is an initiative of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the science and knowledge service of the European Commission (EC), supported by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). It highlights drivers shaping the urban future, identifying both the key challenges cities will have to address and the strengths they can capitalise on to proactively build their desired futures. The main aim of this report is to raise open questions
and steer discussions on what the future of cities can, and should be, both within the scientific and policymaker communities. While addressing mainly European cities, examples from other world regions are also given since many challenges and solutions have a global relevance.
In the 2014-20 Cohesion Policy programming period, the Member States and regions are requested to address their specific territorial challenges and needs through targeted investments using an integrated approach to territorial development. Among the new delivery tools to support the implementation of this approach is Community-led Local Development (CLLD), which was introduced in the context of Cohesion Policy extending the already existing LEADER approach for rural development and fishery policy. Two relevant financial innovations characterise CLLD in comparison to LEADER: a wider financial support, including ERDF and ESF; and the possibility to integrate the available Funds in support of a Local Development Strategy. The paper addresses this innovative dimension of the CLLD initiative, sketching an overview of its implementation using ERDF and ESF across the EU. It reflects on the adoption of the various options, and on its national and regional patterns. The investigation highlights the positive response across the EU, even if the potential innovation that the CLLD initiative could have unleashed in terms of integrated local development strategies does not appear to be fully exploited. Resistance towards innovation, technical and administrative aspects related to the rules, and specific national and regional attitudes are presented as main factors for the mixed adoption.
Smart specialisation is the most ambitious regional innovation programme ever to be launched in the European Union and it affords a unique opportunity to explore the interplay between institutions, innovation and development. The article argues that smart specialisation makes unprecedented demands on public sector bodies to nurture more collaborative forms of economic search and craft more inclusive forms of regional governance. To explore these issues with the granularity they deserve, the article offers detailed case studies of two regional innovation policy repertoires in Wales and the Basque Country, where it is argued that the ‘old industrial region’ moniker conceals as much as it reveals because, for all their apparent similarities, they have pursued very different repertoires. The article concludes on a more general note by suggesting how regional innovation studies could be enriched by engaging with theoretical perspectives from other fields.
The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the debate on existing planning approaches—more specifically, strategic spatial planning—and the search for new ideas. Therefore, after briefly dealing with the history, logic, aims of strategic planning, and some critiques the paper sketches the contours of a more radical strategic planning, introduces coproduction as a corner stone of this approach, and opts for working with conflicts and legitimacy as additional building blocks. The paper relies on a selective review of critical planning literature and the authors’ experience in practice.
The
Territorial Cohesion
goal was only included in the EU Treaty by 2009, with a view to promote a more balanced and harmonious European territory. One year earlier (2008), the European Commission
(EC) published the ‘Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion
—Turning territorial diversity into strength’. Neither one, nor the other, clearly defines the meaning of the Territorial Cohesion
concept. The later, however, proposes three main policy responses towards more balanced and harmonious development: (i) Concentration
: overcoming differences in density; (ii) Connecting territories: overcoming distance; and (iii) Cooperation: overcoming division. Although not explicitly, this document identifies several ‘urban questions’ to be dealt when promoting territorial cohesive policies: avoiding diseconomies of very large agglomerations and urban sprawl processes, combating urban decay and social exclusion, avoiding excessive concentrations of growth, promoting access to integrated transport systems and creating metropolitan bodies. In this light, this chapter proposes to debate the importance of the urban dimension
to achieve the goal of territorial cohesion
at several territorial levels.KeywordsTerritorial cohesionUrban dimensionPolycentrismFunctional regionsEU cohesion policy
This article reviews how Poland is implementing Integrated Territorial Investments (ITIs) and sustainable urban development (SUD) strategies. Enhancing integrated, partnership based approaches to the governance of urban development initiatives is seen by policy-makers as an important added value in these initiatives in Poland, as traditions of inter-municipal cooperation are weak and there are few instruments that provide incentives to Polish local authorities to coordinate their investments. The article provides an overview of the current status of these instruments in Poland and how they are being implemented. It compares the cases of two SUD strategies in Katowice and Lublin that have adopted different implementation models, providing detailed examples at local level of the operationalisation of SUD, along with policy recommendations gathered from implementation experience so far.
Access to the article: https://estif.lexxion.eu/article/ESTIF/2018/1/7
Recently, the emphasis on the strategic dimension of spatial and land use planning has brought along new instruments of “soft” and informal planning. While these instruments may enhance the strategic quality of planning, more attention needs to be paid to how they relate to the existing statutory land use planning instruments. In the regulatory planning systems of continental Europe, the statutory planning instruments manifest non-strategic features, yet they cannot be ignored in strategic spatial planning. Therein lies the paradox of strategic spatial planning. The theoretical argument of the article is developed by drawing on Wilden's distinction theory that builds on the notion of logical paradox. With a view on the Finnish planning system, the article explores practical implications by utilizing Schwarz's and Healey's ideas of scenario planning and strategic framing, respectively. In so doing, the article reflects on a few cases of strategic spatial planning in Finnish city-regions, and the Finnish government's aim to develop the strategic character of statutory local master plans.
Cohesion policy is by far the largest development policy of the EU. The present paper examines the debates regarding place-neutral versus place-based policies for economic development. Many of the previously accepted arguments have been called into question by the impacts of globalisation and a new response to these issues has emerged, a response both to these global changes and also to non-spatial development approaches. The study unveils that the serious limitations in the availability of evidence on cohesion policy results have certainly played a relevant role in discouraging public debate, as have the limitations of the reporting system.
Situated Practices of Strategic Planning. An international perspective
- L Albrechts
- A Balducci
- J Hillier
Albrechts, L., Balducci, A. and Hillier J. (eds), Situated Practices of Strategic Planning. An international perspective, Routledge, London, 2016.