Sustainable land use depends on both the socio-economic processes that trigger spatial development and the effectiveness of spatial governance tools that aim to regulate these processes. The ESPON Sustainable Urbanization and land-use Practices in European Regions (SUPER) research project aims to analyze the main land-use dynamics in Europe, looking at and comparing the interventions implemented in the various countries in order to promote sustainability. In particular, a sample of 227 interventions was chosen from a total of 39 European countries. This paper analyzes them on the basis of four different variables: (i) the scale at which the interventions are conceived; (ii) the type of territories subject to them; (iii) the type of interventions; (iv) the type of instruments behind these interventions. On this basis, it develops a number of considerations concerning the effectiveness of the interventions implemented in Europe to promote more sustainable use of land.Sustainability 2020, 12, 1257 2 of 21 these systems interact with and evolve in response to the contextual socio-economic conditions that characterizes each country [8][9][10][11], makes providing any systematic assessment difficult. Among the variety of comparative studies on the matter [3] (p. 5), it seems that no comprehensive study exists that investigates the interventions in Europe that aim at sustainable land use.Aiming at providing the first contribution in this direction, the authors analyze a wide and heterogeneous set of interventions put in place in European regions towards achieving a more sustainable urbanization and land use. More precisely, the scope of this contribution is to shed some light on what type of interventions are put in place in Europe to address the sustainable development of different types of territories, through what instruments are they implemented and at what scale. To do this, it builds on some of the results of the ESPON SUPER project -Sustainable Urbanization and Land-Use Practices in European Regions [12], which is set to analyze, on the one hand, the nature of urbanization processes and, on the other, to identify the more suitable instruments for sustainable land use management. In particular, the SUPER project seeks to analyze the degree of success of the interventions affecting urbanization, such as (spatial) strategies, instruments, and mechanisms (financial, fiscal, and economic), from the European to the local level. More specifically, the study aims to understand how the interventions affect development practices, and hence, land-use changes [13] (p. 1).After this brief introduction, the second section presents the theoretical framework of the SUPER project. The third section then focuses on the methodology adopted for the collection and classification of 227 interventions from 39 countries (28 member states of the European Union, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, the countries of the Western Balkan Region and Turkey). These interventions are evaluated in the fourth section in relation to...
This paper, prepared in conjunction with the European Union's Open Days 2015, examines current Cohesion Policy in terms of its place-based logic, a key aspect of the new Smart Specialisation strategy platform. After discussing changing notions of urbanization and governance, which seem to be shifting Cohesion Policy towards a more performance-oriented analysis of its outcomes, the paper focuses on the question of identifying an appropriate set of indicators and measuring framework. It suggests that measurements of Cohesion Policy performance should analyse the outcomes and indicators, as well as the European and national data sources and statistics, through the lens of effectiveness and well-being.
The incremental recognition of the importance of land as a finite resource has led to the adoption and implementation of an increasing number of sustainable land use practices in European cities and regions. This paper reflects on these experiences, building on the evidence collected in the framework of the ESPON SUPER pan-European research project. In particular, the authors look at the project’s database, which includes 235 examples of sustainable urbanization interventions gathered from all around Europe. In doing so, they reflect on the outcomes of these interventions, focusing on both their scope and objectives and the types of instruments that were adopted in their implementation. The objective of this contribution is to critically analyze the rich set of practices collected throughout the project and to provide guidance for decision and policy makers aiming at promoting a more sustainable use of land. In this light, it suggests a number of recommendations and warnings, bearing in mind that no “right instruments” or “right targets” exist that could prove successful for all European cities and regions.
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