Dallhammer et al. Spatial planning and governance
within EU policies and legislation an their relevance to
the New Urban Agenda
Introduction: competencies and policies
Providing an overview of legislation and policies on an EU level contributing to selected aspects of
those UN declarations in the field of spatial planning and governance.
Definition
Spatial planning is a term which has no general definition. But in the article they do give a broad
purpose of the definition:
- Spatial planning refers to the methods used largely by the public sector to influence the
future distribution of activities in space. It’s undertaken with the aims of creating a more
rational territorial organization of land uses and the linkages between them, to balance the
demands of development with the need to protect the environment, and to achieve social
economic objectives.
- Spatial planning embraces measures to co-ordinate the spatial impacts of other sectoral
policies, to achieve a more even distortion of economic development between regions than
would otherwise be created by market forces, and to regulate the conversion of land and
property uses.
The competences for spatial planning lie on a national- or even sub-national or local level. The EU
itself has no general competence assigned within this field.
Law-making and policy-making competences are usually concentrated in higher administrative levels.
Plan- and decision-making are mostly shared between all levels of government. However, the scopes
of the planning instruments available are to some extend connected to the administrative level,
though in many case the below remains more theory than practice
- At the national level: high amount of planning instruments
- At the sub-national (regional) level: strategic or framework-setting instruments are typical,
defining concrete policies and references for decision-making
- Local level: most planning instruments are regulative. Typically, preparation of instruments Is
done by local planning authority.
General ways of EU legislation and policies to influence spatial
development
Even if the EU has no explicit competence in spatial planning, it is by no means without influence in
regard to spatial planning and development. A major influence on spatial planning in the MS is driven
by existing sectoral competencies and activities that influence developments indirectly. These include
parts of EU legislation, incentives etc. The EU also has informal influence through dialogue on an
intergovernmental basis; it can influence on planning within MS without binging agreements.
Table below: overview on which policy measures at EU level have significant influence on spatial
planning in Europe.
, EU competences and activities
European legislation (directives and regulations) can affect planning processes
- Restrict
- Stimulate
The EU has wide range to incentives. These incentives also impact spatial developments (financial
support). The most prominent are
- Cohesion policy
- Rural development policies
- EAFRD, cinluding LEADER/CCLD
- Transport policies with major investments.
The EU also influences spatial planning through agenda and discourse setting.
Intergovernmental cooperation
Intergovernmental cooperation on spatial and urban policies describes initiatives, policies and papers
that were developed in a dialogue between the MS and Commission. Results are non-binding, but
they are the guiding documents for national and European Policies
- Territorial Agenda of the EU
- Leipzig Charter
- Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU)
within EU policies and legislation an their relevance to
the New Urban Agenda
Introduction: competencies and policies
Providing an overview of legislation and policies on an EU level contributing to selected aspects of
those UN declarations in the field of spatial planning and governance.
Definition
Spatial planning is a term which has no general definition. But in the article they do give a broad
purpose of the definition:
- Spatial planning refers to the methods used largely by the public sector to influence the
future distribution of activities in space. It’s undertaken with the aims of creating a more
rational territorial organization of land uses and the linkages between them, to balance the
demands of development with the need to protect the environment, and to achieve social
economic objectives.
- Spatial planning embraces measures to co-ordinate the spatial impacts of other sectoral
policies, to achieve a more even distortion of economic development between regions than
would otherwise be created by market forces, and to regulate the conversion of land and
property uses.
The competences for spatial planning lie on a national- or even sub-national or local level. The EU
itself has no general competence assigned within this field.
Law-making and policy-making competences are usually concentrated in higher administrative levels.
Plan- and decision-making are mostly shared between all levels of government. However, the scopes
of the planning instruments available are to some extend connected to the administrative level,
though in many case the below remains more theory than practice
- At the national level: high amount of planning instruments
- At the sub-national (regional) level: strategic or framework-setting instruments are typical,
defining concrete policies and references for decision-making
- Local level: most planning instruments are regulative. Typically, preparation of instruments Is
done by local planning authority.
General ways of EU legislation and policies to influence spatial
development
Even if the EU has no explicit competence in spatial planning, it is by no means without influence in
regard to spatial planning and development. A major influence on spatial planning in the MS is driven
by existing sectoral competencies and activities that influence developments indirectly. These include
parts of EU legislation, incentives etc. The EU also has informal influence through dialogue on an
intergovernmental basis; it can influence on planning within MS without binging agreements.
Table below: overview on which policy measures at EU level have significant influence on spatial
planning in Europe.
, EU competences and activities
European legislation (directives and regulations) can affect planning processes
- Restrict
- Stimulate
The EU has wide range to incentives. These incentives also impact spatial developments (financial
support). The most prominent are
- Cohesion policy
- Rural development policies
- EAFRD, cinluding LEADER/CCLD
- Transport policies with major investments.
The EU also influences spatial planning through agenda and discourse setting.
Intergovernmental cooperation
Intergovernmental cooperation on spatial and urban policies describes initiatives, policies and papers
that were developed in a dialogue between the MS and Commission. Results are non-binding, but
they are the guiding documents for national and European Policies
- Territorial Agenda of the EU
- Leipzig Charter
- Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU)
