The Planners’ Forum project aims to address the significant challenges impacting spatial planning in the Baltic Sea region, driven by recent crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and geopolitical tensions.
These crises demand innovative, flexible approaches to planning and stronger cooperation across governance levels. Currently, the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) lacks a structured, informal platform for land-based spatial planners to exchange best practices, particularly at local and regional levels.
The Planners’ Forum seeks to create an inclusive, informal network for spatial planners across various governance levels to engage in dialogue and mutual learning. This forum will build capacities, foster collaboration, and promote sustainable growth for both cities and rural areas. It aims to enhance the coherence of land-based spatial planning across the BSR, in alignment with EU and regional strategies such as the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) and VASAB’s Long-term Perspective.
Through the forum, the project will identify the specific needs and challenges faced by local and regional planners, ensuring their voices are included in macro-regional policy discussions. By improving multi-level cooperation and integrating local challenges into regional strategies, the Planners’ Forum will contribute to more resilient and sustainable spatial planning across the BSR.
Work Packages:
- Work Package 1: Needs and Challenges of Stakeholders
Led by Nordregio, this package involves stakeholder mapping and surveys to identify the specific needs and challenges faced by local and regional spatial planners in the BSR.
- Work Package 2: Sharing Knowledge
VASAB leads this work package, focusing on the development of a comparative analysis of spatial planning systems across the region. Webinars will be organized to share results from the feasibility study and showcase best practices.
- Work Package 3: Building a Spatial Planners Community
Led by EASP, this work package will focus on establishing a strong community of spatial planners in the BSR. A key activity will be a stakeholder engagement event in Tallinn to develop proposals for future cooperation and a macro-regional working mechanism for land-based planners.
Partners:
The project is led by Nordregio, with key partners including VASAB (Vision and Strategies Around the Baltic Sea), Stockholm University, Academy for Spatial Research and Planning (ARL), and Estonian Association for Spatial Planners. These partners bring extensive expertise in spatial planning across various levels of governance and geographic areas. The partnership spans four countries within the BSR and ensures a balanced representation of both research institutions and practitioners, providing a comprehensive approach to addressing the region’s spatial planning challenges
