Development effectiveness at the local and regional level

Posted on: 14 March 2013
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PLATFORMA promotes the attributes of international development activities of local and regional governments in the European Union, compared to those of international donors or of civil society, while underlining their complementary nature This new publication on local and regional development cooperation considers the opportunities that exist to improve synergies between development-related actions led by local and regional governments and EU strategies promoting decentralisation and local governance. It also examines the accessibility of information on EU support to decentralisation and local governance. The report also includes a number of examples of development cooperation initiatives undertaken by a number of European municipalities and regions.

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50 Good practices in urban development supported by the European Regional Development Fund during the 2007-2013 programming period

Posted on: 28 February 2013
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The 50 case studies featured in this report demonstrate the broad range of activities that can be carried out with the support of the EU’s structural funds. They are focused around eight key themes: smart growth; sustainable growth; inclusive growth; integrated area-based approaches; housing for marginalised groups; financial engineering; public participation and empowerment; and cooperation, networking and learning. The case studies were prepared in 2012 and cover projects that have recently been completed or, in a few cases, are still underway.

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ADES: Airports as Drivers of Economic Success in Peripheral Regions

Posted on: 27 February 2013
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The project aims at providing a better understanding of the opportunities and perspectives of regional airport investments in peripheral areas from a European and National perspective, as well as its contribution to regional economic development. The main aim is to provide inputs to policymakers on future options for infrastructure investment in peripheral regions in Europe. Outputs from the project, which ran from February 2011 until January 2013, are available online.

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Greening European regions: biodiversity as a boost for regional and local economy. Oisterwijk, the Netherlands 12 December 2012

Posted on: 27 February 2013
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The report of the conference provides a summary of the presentations and discussions, as well as the outcomes of the workshops reported by its facilitators and finally the conclusions and recommendations, as summarised by the conference chair. The central theme of the conference was the role of regions and municipalities in greening economy, with emphasis on the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services in boosting the greening of the economy.

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REAL CORP 2013

Posted on: 18 February 2013
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REAL CORP conferences have been held annually since 1996. About 500 experts from around the world from the fields of urban planning, transport planning, information and communication technologies, architecture, social and environmental sciences, real estate, GIS, surveying, remote sensing and more meet to discuss current tasks and topics on urban planning, regional development and information society in an international and extremely interdisciplinary conference. The 2013 conference, to be held in Rome on 20-23 May 20123 will explore the relationship between time and space, and how the planning practise and theory relates itself to this complex synergy. Time and space work on different scales, dimensions and topics. Over 200 papers have been selected for presentation and are listed here.

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EU funds and local growth

Posted on: 29 January 2013
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This report, commissioned by the Local Government Association, makes the case for giving local partnerships sufficient freedoms and flexibility to maximise local growth through the use of EU structural funds during 2014-2020. It makes a series of recommendations which would ensure decisions are devolved, and grounded in the arguments for a genuinely local approach to growth.

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Competitiveness of Port-Cities: The Case of Marseille-Fos – France

Posted on: 17 January 2013
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This working paper offers an evaluation of the performance of the port of Marseille-Fos, an analysis of the impact of the port on its territory and an assessment of policies and governance in this field. It examines declining port performance over the last decades and identifies the principal factors that have contributed to it. The effect of the ports on economic and environmental questions is studied and quantified where possible. The value added of the port cluster of Marseille-Fos is calculated and its inter-linkages with other economic sectors and other regions in France delineated. The paper outlines the impact of the port’s operations, and shows how their activities spill over into other regions than the one in which the port of Marseille-Fos is located. The major policies governing the ports are assessed, along with policies governing transport and economic development, the environment and spatial planning. These include measures instituted by the port authorities, as well as by local, regional and national governments. Governance mechanisms at these different levels are described and analysed. Based on the report’s findings, recommendations are proposed with a view to improving port performance and increasing the positive effects of the port of Marseille-Fos on its territory.

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Planning for less: The impact of abolishing regional planning

Posted on: 2 January 2013
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New research from Policy Exchange shows that councils are planning to build 272,720 fewer new homes since the abolition of regional planning. The figures, produced by planning consultancy Tetlow King, show that since the revocation of Regional Spatial Strategies in 2010, local authorities have used their beefed up planning powers to reduce housing targets.  The largest reductions are in the South East (-57,049) and South West (-108,380), areas with the greatest housing shortage. The report says lowering housing targets will eventually lead to fewer homes being built. Although the targets are seldom hit, they govern the release of land for housing, meaning less land will be made available. Without significant changes to the planning system, housing numbers will continue to fall over time. The report proposes increasing the power and number of neighbourhood plans and directly channelling funds from the Community Infrastructure Levy to households affected by new development, and converting more brownfield sites into housing.

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Northern prosperity is national prosperity: A strategy for revitalising the UK economy

Posted on: 30 November 2012
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This final report of the Northern Economic Futures Commission sets out a new economic agenda for the north of England, one which seeks to place the region at the heart of the UK’s ‘rebalancing’ towards business investment and export performance.

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Borderland: Assessing the implications of a more autonomous Scotland for the north of England

Posted on: 16 November 2012
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This report, published by the Institute for Public Policy Research aims to illuminate a neglected aspect of the Scottish devolution debate by assessing the implications of either an independent Scotland or a fiscally stronger Scottish parliament for the north of England.

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