Participating partners areas are in general sparsely populated. Average age of population will increase and young people move to find interesting jobs in big cities. However, the future for rural areas will also be dependent on what happens in urban areas. A more balanced structure in urban-rural relations, taking care of the capacity of both, will be a way to reach better conditions in the future.

In the Baltic Balance project, we want to show good examples of rural-urban cooperation as a method towards a balanced settlement. From the earlier Interreg II C-project "Villnet", we have experienced that it is possible to promote local development by actively mobilizing local resources.

To be successful at work from a bottom-up perspective, local “entrepreneurs” are a must. But local groups cannot with only their own efforts change everything. Municipalities and other public organisations must be involved. T

he local development has to be coordinated with the municipality planning both in spatial and economic terms. This mutual process will be tested in practice in Baltic Balance. The main objective will be to create a common strategy for a balanced settlement structure, built on integration between rural and urban areas. Partners will after tests introduce best practice examples to be used all over the Baltic region. The key issue will be to promote entrepreneurship and good service solutions as well as to give the planning prerequisites for good living conditions and to reach the results through a broad transnational network system.

Some platforms for the activities are fundamental:

Participating regions are:

Focus in the project will be to find a strategy for how the interdependence between rural and urban districts can be used to, with common resources, create a balanced structure for living, working and for access to services.

As we now are approaching the end of the project, we are able to register the results of our efforts. We are convinced of that a more balanced settlement structure can be achieved only with active cooperation from both the rural and urban side of a geographical area. We have concentrated on methods to create more income sources and a flexible service structure for the rural areas, as they are the weaker parts, and have registered examples of valuable solutions.

To get results you must also use the planning instrument and here an understanding from the political level in the municipality of the necessity to involve both rural and urban parts of the area. As to infrastructure investments for rural areas it is apparent that access to fresh water and solutions to take care of sewage water must be solved to permit new investments in houses and small industries on the countryside. Also good public communications and IT-capacity are important sectors to involve in the spatial planning process.

However, it is evident that Baltic Balance project has only been able to start the process in participating areas towards a more balanced settlement structure. Tests to start the planning from a bottom-up perspective will come to an end within the remaining time. We have experienced that a more distinct regulation of how to involve local groups from the beginning would give a prerequisite for better balance also in the planning process.

As to transnationality, partners have started cooperation in tourism, marketing each others offers. Other cooperation areas are business relations, exchange of experience from tested service solutions and methods to use in physical planning. The effects of transnationality are so established that cooperation will continue after project end.

Rural areas of the participating Baltic countries.

European Regional Development Fund: 917,708.00.

Approximate total project budget: 1,517,000.00.

Kalmar County - administrative Board
Malmbrogatan 6
SE-39186 Kalmar
Barbro Molinder, tel. 0046 480 82 000

04/09/2003

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Urban Policy

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