EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Coordination between Territorial and Urban Development

Coordination between Territorial and Urban Development

Introduction

The Territorial Agenda of the EU (Territorial Agenda; adopted at the ministerial meeting in Leipzig, May 2007) and the First Action Programme for the implementation of the Territorial Agenda of the EU (First Action Programme; adopted at the ministerial meeting in Azores, November 2007) both acknowledge that integrated urban development policy and territorial cohesion policy each make complementary contributions to implementing the aims of sustainable development. The Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities (Leipzig Charter; adopted at the ministerial meeting in Leipzig, May 2007) stresses an integrated approach to urban development also as key prerequisite for implementing EU Sustainable development Strategy, and as a tool for implementing the Leipzig Charter. These policies can interact with each other, but they do not necessarily create synergies.

Description

The key messages of the report include:

Coordination between territorial and urban development makes a key part of an integrated approach to development, which includes: - vertical coordination between different policymaking levels; - horizontal coordination between different policy areas; - territorial coordination between different administrative areas or types of territories; and - co-ordination to involve all stakeholders, including concerned public and stakeholders from business, research, and academic organizations and from the non-governmental sector.
Coordination between territorial and urban development is needed to achieve better results in policies and plans at all levels. It enables the creation of common understanding about visions and goals at all levels, and in effect it also enables more efficient use of resources for the implementation of policies and plans.
Coordination between territorial and urban development should start at a very early stage of policy or project development, and gain new momentum at all key steps in the process. It is a continuous process requiring sufficient time and resources, so it should be taken into account when designing the policy-making or policy implementation processes. Although such vertical coordination takes time and money, the final costs of coordination are likely to be much lower compared to the costs of non-coordinated implementation of policies at different levels.
Creating suitable framework conditions is necessary for enabling coordination between different administrative levels. The national level has a special role in this regard, because it is most often the policy-making level defining the framework conditions for coordination. In some cases, the strategic regional level can perform this coordination function where systems of national governance are decentralized. Adequate legislative framework, a clear definition of responsibilities between levels, complementary timetables for key strategies, and sufficient financing can make coordination a much easier task.
Coordination between territorial and urban planning in order to achieve balanced and efficient solutions is directly required while dealing with specific planning issues which tackle all levels of planning at the same time, such as planning and implementing trans-European networks.
There is a variety of tools available for fostering successful coordination between territorial and urban development. These primarily include diverse forms of platforms, working groups, and partnerships for facilitating coordination between different policy-making levels. Common or shared visions about key objectives and priorities for development between all relevant stakeholders are also very useful tools for successful coordination.

Publication date

26/03/2009

Click here for the report (PDF - Eng, 2859 kb)

Document type

policy

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords