The Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning

Research Project: Implementing the Territorial Agenda 2030

Local pilot actions and transfer of results at national and European level

Results

Under the title, “A future for lagging regions”, three German regions and three regions from other European member states formed the pilot action’s partnership. A multilevel partnership was established involving multipliers at national and European level.

Since 2020, the six model regions in Germany, France, Portugal and Austria have developed innovative spatial planning solutions that improve the everyday lives of people in rural regions – in the areas of mobility, digitalisation, local supplies and health. They rely on long-term intercommunal cooperation, promote meeting places and pool skills.

The pilot action strengthened economic, social and cultural centres in structurally weak regions and contributed to maintaining the quality of life outside the metropolises. It thus supported spatially balanced development (“Balanced Europe”).

The European discourse supported the sensitisation of decision-makers at local, regional, national and European level to the issues of structurally weak areas and to improve consideration of them in political strategies and concepts.

The pilot action increased the regional effectiveness and visibility of the 2030 Territorial Agenda. It has repeatedly provided an opportunity to introduce the TA 2030 into national and European spatial development policy discourses.

Final publication “Together for rural areas – Impulses for cooperative regional development in Germany and Europe”

Rural regions in the pilot action and beyond act as proactive regions that achieve a great deal through expertise, cooperation and commitment despite limited resources. The pilot action shows the positive leverage effects that cooperative regional development can have locally. The final publication presents the results and lessons learned from the testing of innovative measures to safeguard services of general interest in the partner regions in the areas of digitalisation, mobility, health and local supply and makes recommendations for cooperative regional development:

  • Cooperative regional development activates and promotes cooperation and a sense of community among local citizens, offers space for new constellations of actors between public administration, business and civil society and requires close dovetailing of the specialised authorities.
  • Structural intermunicipal cooperation helps to utilise capacities more efficiently and develop cross-local solutions. This makes them an important pillar for safeguarding services of general interest.
  • With the help of a cross-municipal approach, many public tasks and services for citizens can be fulfilled more effectively.
  • Active interdisciplinary and interagency coordination in the administrations can significantly facilitate the work of local initiatives, from which new services of general interest can be developed.
  • Opening and experimentation clauses or pilot actions and experimental laboratories can also create scope for testing innovations at the level of planning systems.

The publication can be found at “Publications”.

Publication on resilience in rural areas

Concepts and approaches as to how the term resilience can be useful in the context of the development of structurally weak rural areas were discussed at the last partner meeting of the TA2030 pilot action “A future for Lagging Regions” on January 24, 2023:

  • The resilience approach can open up new and flexible discussion paths about systemic development processes in regions, for example in connection with shrinkage and the maintenance of redundant infrastructure.
  • The resilience approach should not be reduced to responding to acute crises and external shocks. The concept also offers a starting point for transformation processes towards long-term challenges such as demographic decline.
  • The resilience approach can offer local actors a basis to act beyond “business as usual”. It provides a basis for changing roles and responsibilities in local communities, establishing new constellations of actors and adapting governance processes.

The publication can be found at “Publications”.

Publication on mobility solutions in rural areas

Due to dispersed settlement structures and lower population density, the demand for local public transport is often low and it is difficult for the regions to provide economically viable and needs-oriented public mobility services. In order to ensure sustainable mobility in rural areas in future, mobility actors need to provide flexible types of services and solutions adapted to the regional needs. Partner regions are currently testing various approaches. Prioritising mobility rather than transport must be understood as a new paradigm. New “unusual” alliances and strong local cooperation are essential to deal with these tasks.

The publication “Main conclusions Fourth Partner Meeting on Mobility Solutions for Lagging Regions // 21. – 23.09.2022” presents practical examples from the regions involved in Europe and comes to the following conclusions:

  • Mobility planning needs to be based on people’s actual social needs.
  • Successful mobility services are demand-driven and digital.
  • Mobility planning and settlement development need to be tackled together.
  • Breaking up existing structures and promoting cooperation serves rural mobility.
  • Evidence on mobility patterns and user-statistics provide an important basis for argumentation.

The publication can be found at “Publications”.

Publication on digitalisation in rural areas

Digital transformation is a process that offers great opportunities for the development of structurally weak rural areas. It can help increase the attractiveness of places of settlement, work and life. The publication “Main conclusions Third Partner Meeting on Changes and Challenges of Digitalisation for Lagging Regions/25. – 26.04.2022” presents good examples from the regions involved in Europe and comes to the following conclusions:

  • Digital transformation promotes community development.
  • Digital transformation promotes organisational cooperation.
  • Digital transformation can promote equal access to public services.
  • Digitalisation is probably not a game changer, but it can help to maintain the attractiveness of rural regions.

The publication also highlights prerequisites for regional digital transformation. The differences between rural and urban digitalisation are examined and the role of regions and municipalities in defining the right strategy and managing digital transformation is differentiated.

The publication can be found at “Publications”.

Publication on strategy building processes in rural areas

Strategy development is a tool to define and to visualise common objectives for current and future challenges. This publication shows good examples from the regions involved and comes to the following conclusions:

  • Empowering local actors strengthens local structures.
  • Regional and national strategies need to support bottom-up structures locally.
  • Strategies should support intermunicipal partnerships and generate integrated working structures.
  • Experimental clauses are the prerequisite for innovations.

The publication can be found at “Publications”.

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