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The Making of the European Spatial Development Perspective.
No Masperplan
By Andreas Faludi and Bas Waterhout
Routledge, 2002,
224 pp, 16 line figures, 4 b+w photos.
Foreword by: Sir Peter Hall
Web: http://www.routledge.com/
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Book review
by Luisa Pedrazzini
2 10 '02
Andreas Faludi and Bas Waterhout, the authors of The Making of
the European Spatial Development Perspective, assert that the target
group of this book is essentially identifying with who are implied
in European spatial planning.
Trying to define the target group in a better way, the authors say
that it might be thought of in terms of three concentric circles:
"Those immediately involved form the innermost circle. It is to
this group the book will, hopefully, be of most relevance. Professionals
engaged in the application of the ESDP, in one way or another, form
the second circle. Students entering the field of planning form
the third circle".
To state the true range of those interested in these issues is largest
compared with the elite defined by the authors: it is demonstrated
by the increased interest on European spatial policies, given the
awareness of their impact on European regions and by the relevance
of spatial development issues in the Community programmes.
It is recognised that the EU has an important influence on spatial
structure with its instruments and sectoral programmes such as R&D,
the European Investment Bank, the Common Agricultural Policy, the
European Regional Development Found, Trans European Network and
Environmental Policies.
Despite the fact that territorial and spatial planning are still
member states competence, as put forth in the Union Treaty, authors
highlight that these themes are becoming priority issues in recent
European policies. Art. 16 of the Amsterdam Treaty identifies the
theme of territorial cohesion and the importance of a sustainable
and balanced spatial development. The Commission also strengthens
its spatial development policies, by placing itself along side state
and region competencies.
Within this background the European Spatial Development Perspective
(ESDP) looked at studies analysed in the book of Andres Faludi and
Bas Waterhout is a little more clear. This is the first complete
document containing addresses and guidelines for European spatial
development; it was formally adopted on May 11, 1999 in Potsdam
by EU member states. The ESDP is published in eleven official EU
languages, issued in 40-50,000 copies and so it is considered the
most international planning policy document that exists. Despite
this fact it is one of the least known documents both among planners
and citizens, as is defined by Sir Peter Hall in the foreword "a
rather esoteric subject".
Its adoption substantially passed under silence in the world of
planners, as wrote in the foreword by Peter Hall: "Even those claiming
the title of professional planner may not know too much about it.
The same could probably have been said of the Treaty of Rome when
it was signed by six European countries in 1957, an event which
apparently went almost unreported in the British media. Ignorance
can sometimes have serious consequences. In fact the ESDP is likely
to have profound consequences for the lives of the 300 million people
of the European Union and the may others soon to join it".
The Making of the European Spatial Development Perspective,
is a very comprehensive account of the process of preparing, negotiating
and adopting the ESDP. It is a important book offering a snapshot
of contemporary European spatial planning. Moreover, considerable
attention has been given to the role of the European Commission
and CSD (Committee for Spatial Development), within are represented
Member states and experts of the Commission, constituting the 'European
vanguard' of Europe's spatial planning and territorial cohesion
process. In the book Community programmes and documents are reviewed,
the role carried out by DG Regio (former DG XVI) of the European
Commission, the main promoter of policies with spatial impact, is
analysed. DG Regio manages the second largest budget (after the
Common Agricultural Policy - CAP) amongst Community policies.
Reviewing the last ten years, probably the most active in the history
of European spatial planning and cohesion process, it could be inferred
the elitist character of that process (at least in the initial phase
of the making of the ESDP) performed substantially in a core area
within a 500 kilometres circle around Luxembourg, involving in a
relevant way three countries: France, The Netherlands and Germany.
It was based at first on the French centre-periphery model and then
integrated with the German federal-regional one.
Different approaches to spatial planning are explained in an effective
way in the book, on the basis of a ten year process of negotiation
between the member states for the construction of the ESDP, started
in Nantes (1989) and finished in Potsdam (1999). For example, highlighted
are the hesitations of some South Europe countries which feared
spatial planning and the creation of a Spatial planning observatory
as instruments used to potentially reduce its share on Structural
Founds. Also highlighted is the request of southern countries for
the need to put in evidence issues such as cultural landscape and
cultural heritage, missing in the early version of the ESDP, but
essential issues in a sustainable development policy concept.
Another theme illustrated by the authors is the difficulty of conceptualising
and visualising shared European feature, sometimes shaped on national
concepts and varying between the centre-periphery model ('blue Banana'
of DATAR) and federal-polycentric model ('European brunch of grapes'
of Kunzmann and Wegener). We are reminded that in the first official
version of the ESDP (Nordwijk 1977) one map was much criticised:
it was the map of the European distances, still reflecting a centre-periphery
model of Europe, considered very contradictory compared with the
polycentric feature stated in the ESDP. The rejected map was modified
in the final version approved in Potsdam.
There is another approach to the idea of spatial planning by the
Commission, due to the fact it is not a Community competency. If
spatial planning is about strategy, then competency is a non-issue.
In this case strategy is the overriding theme that guides policy
results.
The conclusion underlined that the process is still evolving, after
the adoption of the ESDP in Potsdam and the promotion of the Action
Programme of Tampere, aiming to give reality to the ESDP policy
options, many challenges are still ahead, tasks to do. Many are
the issues for reflections in a Europe still characterised by different
speeds toward a common idea of spatial planning. Studies, analysis
and scenarios make evident the heterogeneous situation on spatial
planning in Europe, as well as "no consensus on the meaning of the
terms 'metropolis', 'agglomeration', 'gateway' 'rural area' and
'urban network'". There is still much work to do to harmonise the
language and styles of communication before sharing spatial development
concepts.
Another theme reflected upon is the meaning of globalisation in
planning, related in particular to the large spatial impact of Community
policies. about this the authors affirm: "The world is becoming
more and more 'globalized'; cross-border, transnational and international
planning therefore pose many more challenges. The ESDP represents
the most sustained effort so far to confront these challenges, thus
making it worthy of study". Among these challenges; to face with
adequate and comprehensive instruments spatial issues, using structured
knowledge system and sharing themes and issues among regions to
face and solve them together.
Contents
VII .... Foreword by Sir Peter Hall
IX ..... Preface
XIII .. Acknowledgments
XV ... List of figures
XVI .. List of tables
XVII . Notes on contributors to the
research
1 ....... 01 Roots and context
17 ..... 02 A European primer
29 ..... 03 Nantes and Turin - the
single market casting its shadow
43 ..... 04 The Hague and Lisbon -
tooling up for inter-governasmental planning
63 ..... 05 Liège and Liepzig - David
and Goliath working in tandem
81 ..... 06 Strasbourg, Madrid, Venice
- in the doldrums
97 ..... 07 Noordwijk - a collective
effort
119 ... 08 Glasgow and the consultations
- two parallel tracks
139 ... 09 Potsdam - the crowning event
159 ... 10 "The show must go on"
177 ... Epilogue
181 ... References
194 ... Index
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