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photo: DB AG/Axel Hartmann

2nd Newsletter | May 2011 Understanding urban sprawl

Catch-MR (Cooperative approaches to trans- and identifying new planning port challenges in Metropolitan Regions) is an INTERREG IVC projekt running from solutions – The second work- January 2010 until December 2012 with a total budget of approximately Euro 2 million. shop in ,

In the context of the first phase of the Catch-MR project, experts from seven Workshop from European metropolitan regions were given an opportunity to meet for an 29 September to intensive thematic exchange and to discuss issues of transport and regional 1 October 2010 in Vienna. planning. Traffic and land use planning – Understanding urban sprawl The Vienna workshop was jointly organised by the Lower Austrian and Viennese project partners as part of a series of seven Catch-MR events addressing three thematic areas. In the course of the workshop held in the Contacts: Austrian capital, the phenomenon of urban sprawl was analysed in depth while various co-operative structures to simplify the collaboration of planning actors were likewise presented and discussed. Government of Lower Austria Norbert Ströbinger Regional development planner Phone: +43 (0)2742/9005 15573 [email protected]

Vienna City Administration Gregory Telepak Transportation planner Phone: +43 (0)1 4000/88833 [email protected] 2nd NEWSLETTER | May 2011

Page Contents What is Catch-MR?

Catch-MR (Cooperative Approaches to Transport 2 What is Catch-MR? Challenges in Metropolitan Regions) is an INTER- REG IVC project running from January 2010 until De- 3 Urban sprawl in metropolitan cember 2012 and mainly financed by the European regions Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

5 Spatial development strategies 12 partners representing seven European Metropoli- in the Austrian metropolitan tan Regions (MR) take part in this project focusing on region sustainable transport solutions. The partners explore and seek to adapt passenger transport solutions with 8 The project workshop in Vienna the aim of reducing transport needs without impairing mobility while increasing the share of environmentally friendly transport. An overall objective is to improve 10 Site visit SUM – Interview competitiveness and quality of life. The project follows an integrated approach encompassing three themes: 11 Co-operation in planning (1) reducing the need to travel within the regions by (Ilse Wollansky and co-ordinating transport and land use, (2) increasing Thomas Madreiter) the share of public transport, and (3) increasing the use of renewable energy in transport. The partners pursue these objectives by identifying and promoting good practice. At the end of the project, the partners will present a “Guide on efficient mobility and sustain- able growth in Metropolitan Regions”, thus contribut- ing a joint approach applicable to Metropolitan Re- gions in general.

(For more information visit: http://www.catch-mr.eu)

May 2011 Photos: Vienna City Administration, MA 18 – Urban Development and Planning Source: http://www.geographypages.co.uk/carturbansprawl P. 1 + P. 11 – Government of Lower Austria P. 5 – R. Zuckerstätter P.11 – Schaub-Walzer Layout: bzw.co.at

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Urban sprawl in metropolitan regions

Catch-MR aims at improving the quality of life and competitiveness of metropolitan regions by exploring comprise two federal states in their entirety. Since the good models of sustainable land use and transport dismantling of the Iron Curtain, sprawl phenomena development in the participating metropolitan regions are increasing and have led to numerous residential and investigating their transferability to other loca- developments in suburban areas. By now, numerous tions. The phenomenon of urban sprawl is a key issue “commuter towns” with 4,000-12,000 inhabitants each in this context. Suburbanisation is hardly a novelty, as have sprung up around Berlin’s condensed urban cities have been forced to deal with this trend since the core. industrial revolution. However, the problem has inten- sified over the past 50 years and about two decades The Budapest MR covers roughly the same area as ago began to afflict the originally much more compact the metropolitan regions of Vienna or Oslo. Due to cities of Southern and Eastern Europe as well. lower building land prices, many families have moved to the urban periphery. This development was accel- Urban sprawl is a continuous process of change. The erated by the upgrading of highways and motorways. increasing consumption of energy, water and fuel per Seven “commuter centres” emerged, initially to the capita or settlement unit markedly curtails spatial ef- north-west of the core city but now encircling it. The ficiency. But social diversity, too, is deteriorating: seg- older communities resulting from these sprawl tenden- regation in residential areas is on the rise while social cies were classic-style housing-only developments, interaction is decreasing. Thus the different planning while more recent communities present a mixed-use sectors are called upon to identify and implement so- pattern composed of residential units, R&D, industry lutions. and trade.

How can urban sprawl be quantified? In the second half of the 20th century, the Vienna MR expanded mainly towards the south. Since the dis- Catch-MR conducted a questionnaire-based survey mantling of the Iron Curtain, the city and its environs in the partner regions in order to evaluate the extent have resumed growth. Urban sprawl accretes along and significance of key factors of urban sprawl in the the northern axis and in the south-eastern periphery seven metropolitan regions. The experience of the of the city. However, the Aspern airfield project (“Vi- partner regions indicates that the following seven as- enna’s Urban Lakeside”), for example, is a venture pects are crucial for the emergence of urban sprawl: aimed at planned urban expansion within the confines – macroeconomics: globalisation and of the municipal territory. economic growth – microeconomics: standard of life and land prices The Oslo MR is characterised by numerous settle- – demographics: population development ment cores developed as early as in the 1970s. Many and household size of these areas are far away from the city centre. How- – preferred housing types and lifestyles ever, development projects were also initiated in the – inner-city problems: environmental quality core city to revitalise a few rather isolated zones. Cur- and social factors rent plans envisage developing future urban expan- – mobility: public transport and individual traffic sion areas along efficient public transport axes. – planning culture and legal frame conditions Compared to the other regions, the Rome MR is of a Facts and figures small size and very densely populated. Urban sprawl is concentrated along radial highways and motorways; The key drivers of urban sprawl are transport develop- transportation is mostly limited to car traffic. ment in the regions, land prices and individual hous- ing preferences. Yet the situation is highly differenti- Urban sprawl in the Gothenburg MR covers a very ated in all Catch-MR metropolitan regions. large area. Many settlement cores are situated far away from the city centre. Some areas formerly char- The Berlin-Brandenburg MR is by far the biggest acterised by scattered summer cottages are now be- participating metropolitan region and the only one to ing condensed and urbanised.

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The suburbanisation of the Ljubljana MR began in – Stepped-up investments in public transport the 1970s. Today, some sub-centres even have de- can render the traffic volume caused by veloped their own “hinterland” in its turn affected by urban sprawl at least slightly more sustainable. sprawl phenomena. Most of the growth is evolving in – More condensed suburban areas are endowed formerly rural settlements, which are being gradually with more pronounced central functions. turned into a part of suburbia. Attempts to decentralise – Metropolitan condensation in the form of centres key economic functions were unsuccessful; a mono- and sub-centres is combined with the centric structure with roughly 150,000 daily commut- development and protection of green spaces. ers to Ljubljana – most of whom use the car – has – Effective planning can develop infrastructure, remained in place. manage changes in land use and influence land prices. Urban sprawl “at a glance” All these steps contribute towards preventing further The below illustration shows the degree to which the urban sprawl. Moreover, the past two decades have six most important factors of urban sprawl are present seen a growing awareness of the necessity for differ- in the seven regions and is based on the evaluation ent interest groups and stakeholders to co-operate. of the questionnaires, which called for a joint assess- Different forms of co-operation were analysed and ment regarding each factor for every city and region. discussed in detail in the context of Catch-MR. While If this proved impossible, “no common understanding” it has become evident that systems cannot be trans- could be ticked off as an answer. ferred from one metropolitan region to another with- out modification, an active exchange of experience How to deal with urban sprawl? certainly imparts an understanding of, and the pos- sibility to, discuss the pros and cons of instruments Experts from all metropolitan regions represented in employed and tested in individual regions. Obvious- Catch-MR agree that planning interventions are nec- ly, all practical work and fields of application must essary to avoid the negative impact of urban sprawl. reflect the individual frame conditions. The approaches proposed are as diverse as the re- gions’ individual situations. – A polycentric public transport network supplies the different functional zones of the metropolitan regions.

Budapest Rome Gothenburg

Berlin Vienna Ljubljana Oslo

Source: Catch-MR, prepared by mecca-consulting

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Spatial development strategies in the Austrian metropolitan region smaller-scale neighbourhood) hubs. In keeping with Starting in the 1960s and 1970s and spanning sev- the principle of decentralised concentration, urban de- eral decades, a largely unstructured suburbanisation velopment was to occur mainly in specially designated process has taken place in the metropolitan region of regional development centres. In retrospect, it must Vienna and in particular in its southern environs. Re- be said that this strategy was not always successful. gional and traffic planners often were forced to merely react instead of act. The attractiveness of Vienna’s Planning experience has shown that, taken by itself, metropolitan region continues unabated, and the sub- the designation of such hubs and axes by means of urbanisation process is increasingly spilling over to concepts is not a sufficiently effective strategy to bring the northern periphery as well. about the desired spatial structure. In particular, there is a lack of instru- This process is inter ments to create ac- alia the outcome of tive and attraction- a dramatic mobility generating impulses increase of the pop- for settlement and ulation. However, location develop- many people associ- ment. ate mobility primarily with the freedom to In 2007, Planungs- drive their own car, gemeinschaft Ost which in the long (Eastern Austrian run entails massive Planning Asso- environmental and ciation, PGO) was transport problems tasked with devel- due to growing traffic oping new spatial intensity. Moreover, development strate- the freedom to move is nowadays often transmuted gies. The purpose of this initiative does not only lie into enforced mobility, e.g. when people are margin- in juxtaposing potential development scenarios and alised because they do not own a vehicle or have no formulating priority objectives, but above all in high- possibility of using public transport for a lack of stops lighting concrete implementation options. Intensified in their vicinity. The development of new settlements co-operation between federal provinces and munici- that make use of novel, alternative and much more palities is to safeguard that the predicted growth can ecological types of mobility thus constitutes a burn- be handled in economically and ecologically sustain- ing challenge for regional and traffic planners. This is able fashion and that the resulting development op- particularly true of metropolises and their environs. portunities for the entire metropolitan region will be While cities with their compact architectural structure made optimum use of. dispose of attractive catchment areas and potentials for the creation of public transport facilities, their envi- The metropolitan region with the federal capital Vien- rons are much more sparsely populated, thus render- na as its centre continues to grow. At the moment, the ing it enormously difficult to develop public transport region has approx. 2.6 million inhabitants, 1.7 million in these areas. in Vienna proper and roughly 900,000 in the environs. By 2031, the population of Vienna alone is expect- In 1993, the federal provinces in the eastern part of ed to grow by 250,000 persons, while the surround- Austria thus tried for the first time to counteract the ing municipalities in Lower Austria will increase their prevailing trends with their own settlement policy con- population by another 130,000 inhabitants. If these cept in order to steer future development in a focused demographic forecasts prove correct, this will result in and planned fashion. By upgrading the system of a population of close to 3 million by 2030, which is a commuter and regional train lines, this concept pro- significant number even compared to other European vided for the creation of rapid connections between regions. The “shrinking cities” label is definitely not development centres at the periphery and urban (or applicable to the metropolitan region of Vienna.

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The driver of demographic growth of the metropoli- a consequence of labour market or training/education tan region in its entirety lies primarily in migration requirements. This is also – and especially – true for from abroad and from the rest of Austria, balancing Vienna-bound migration from abroad. an increasing deficit in births and creating a pool of potential mothers and fathers, as newcomers tend to Migration trends from the core city to the periphery be younger and hence still in the reproductive age are not so much labour market- or education-driven, group. but rather triggered by changes in the household

However, the dynamism of this development varies structure. Moving in with your partner often means across the metropolitan region. While international changing your lodgings as well; however, the birth of migration to Vienna proper outweighs the exodus children and the resulting bigger household provide a from the city to the environs, the rest of Austria and more frequent reason for moving. abroad, migration from the core city predominates in the environs. Above all younger households with Starting a family, the birth of children, training and the children – motivated by the desire to live in the coun- first steps towards a career are caesuras that moti- tryside, enjoy an intact environment and shape their vate people to think about where they want to live in living environment according to their personal needs the future. But what motivates persons or households and requirements – tend to move from condensed considering a move to choose a specific place? inner-city areas to the periphery where the facilities and advantages of the metropolis can be combined One decisive motivation cluster concerns the avail- with lower-cost housing and “suburban” lifestyles. able supply of housing space or building land. Inde- Transport infrastructure upgrading and universal car pendently of what is actually desired or required by ownership make for increasingly acceptable travel the individual, building land availability and land pric- times. Denizens of suburbia have access to both op- es as well as the supply and price levels of rented or tions – city life and country life. owner-occupied flats play a decisive role in selecting a specific place to live in. More affordable locations Who are the people who choose to live in the city, in in the city or its environs thus “score” higher in this its environs and in the metropolitan region? Gener- respect. ally, it may be said that migration trends still large- ly follow life cycles and mainly occur in the early to Even if long-term location assessments do not always middle life phases. Age-specific profiles of persons follow purely rational criteria, the accessibility of lo- moving to Vienna peak clearly in the 18- to 19-year- cations or facilities within the metropolitan region is old bracket. Thus education, the start of a university an important criterion for persons or households con- curriculum or first career stages obviously act as key sidering a move. The increasing tendency of recent triggers for changing one’s place of residence. Migra- years to settle in the “gaps” between traffic axes or in tion in this life phase is not family-oriented, but rather the environs of regional centres may be an indicator

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that these are spots where people look for a compro- significant. Here, infrastructure availability involves a mise between attractively priced building land supply wide spectrum ranging from workplaces and shop- and acceptable accessibility. Decisive factors regard- ping options to social infrastructure and medical care. ing accessibility are high-quality hook-ups to public Good availability of such facilities thus enhances the transport and motorised individual traffic, distances, attractiveness of a location. Purely monofunctional travel times and the cost of commuting between the residential communities (“dormitory suburbs“) were (future) place of residence and the (current) place of perceived as attractive neither in the past nor today. work. However, the acces- sibility of the nearest central hub and hence the availability of shops, schools and social infrastructure, etc. play an im- portant role as well.

While accessibility within the city proper is excellent to good, the perceived traffic vol- ume is viewed as a push factor by persons willing to migrate. In the urban context, “traffic” thus is often negatively con- noted (lack of parking space, noise, air pollution, potential hazards for children, etc.), to which objectively good acces- sibility takes a backseat. This aspect seems to be less Finally, the “image” heading may serve to summa- pronounced in the urban periphery. However, it is un- rise all those characteristics that might be defined as clear whether future suburbanites are actually factor- “soft” pull or push factors. These are characteristics ing in daily traffic congestions on their way to work or of a location that, contrary to the aspects mentioned the purchase of a second car and steadily rising fuel above, have no or little direct significance for practi- prices (in case public transport connections are per- cal everyday life. The vicinity of an attractive old city ceived as insufficient). centre and charming surrounding countryside as well as natural or cultural landmarks, but also the vague As another cluster of key factors determining the deci- desire to live in an area that is “greener”, “safer”, sion for or against a specific location, the provision of “more human-scale” may all be classified as coming the new residence with infrastructure facilities is also under this heading.

The metropolitan region of Vienna is certainly loaded with potential and very attractive. The environs of the city boast a varied landscape, good infrastruc- ture and excellent transport and traffic connections. An additional asset is the city of Vienna itself, whose fame – due to its demographic size, economic sig- nificance and historical-cultural image – extends far beyond metropolitan confines. Analyses show that the metropolitan region boasts good preconditions for coping successfully with its current growth. However, this calls for the efficient implementation of suitable regional development measures, most specifically for areas where growth is considered desirable based on considerations that take due account of both environ- ment and settlement structures.

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The project workshop in Vienna

The 2nd Catch-MR workshop addressing the issue of how to reduce traffic through spatial planning in met- ropolitan regions took place in Vienna from 29 Sep- tember to 1 October 2010. In addition to presentations and excursions, the extensive programme also wide space for discussions and the formulation of joint conclusions. Constant participant interaction was an aspect of this event that met with universally positive reactions and resulted in a very stimulating workshop.

The workshop was organised by the planning depart- ments of the Federal Provinces of Lower Austria and Vienna (project partners in Catch-MR) with the sup- port of external experts. After introductory words by the two heads of the planning departments (Ms. Ilse Wollansky und Mr. Thomas Madreiter), Mr. Michael A participant: Rosenberger acted as event moderator. “It was great to compare the different perspectives The first presentation was given by Mr. Hannes Schaf- of the workshop members fer, who provided an overview of the evaluation of and regions.” the questionnaires – the “Inventory” – submitted by all partners. Abstracts of this analysis and the subse- quent discussion are summarised in the contribution on urban sprawl contained in this newsletter. Three very intensive working sessions served to analyse various forms of co-operation in the field of regional and traffic planning in metropolitan regions, for which included two field trips. The first and longer trip across case studies from the metropolitan regions Gothen- the region to the northern municipal boundary of Vi- burg, Berlin-Brandenburg and Vienna-Lower Austria enna was guided by Ms. Zuckerstätter-Semela. In ad- provided a basis. This exchange of ideas was round- dition to the development potentials of the peripheral ed off by scientific conclusions and reflections provid- districts and municipalities bordering on Vienna, the ed by Mr. Alexander Hamedinger. contribution of fine-tuned planning to sustainable land use was the key topic of this excursion. The second To offer participants a more in-depth insight into the day of the workshop was enlivened by a visit to the metropolitan region of Vienna, the programme also construction site of the future Vienna Main Station, in

A participant: A participant: “I especially valued the “The site visits, summary of the inventory especially the first one, and the in-depth presenta- were very informative and tions.” very well connected with the workshop topic.”

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A participant: “Co-operation needs and intensity are related to a certain level of democracy, also to a proactive way of thinking.”

whose course the inner-city development potential of cating the workshop results to the competent author- the area was discussed as well. ities over the course of the project and in creating a smooth transition to the issues of transport and In retrospect, the importance of the topics and con- traffic planning mobility as well as energy supply in clusions formulated in the workshop for the further metropolitan regions. Finally, the organisers want to course of the project becomes evident. Appraisal for praise once more the commitment of all participants. the structured discussions both during the workshops Without the active role assumed by each and every and informally in the context of the field trips and the one of them, neither the workshop atmosphere nor joint dinner was voiced by the participants in numer- its results would have proved as positive as they in ous comments. Now the challenge lies in communi- fact did.

A participant: “Spatial planning and development shouldn’t A participant: “I valued be separated from the contributions of all transport development participants in the issues.” working groups.”

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Site visit SUM – Interview involvement of policy- Together with area manager Renate Zuckerstätter- makers necessitated Semela (R. Z.-S.), Catch-MR visited the northern part a firmly established of the Vienna MR. The core city of Vienna with its 1.7 co-operation frame- million inhabitants is surrounded by a few smaller work. From 1998 to towns, many (rural) villages, large green areas and 2006, regional man- farmland. The divides the Vienna MR with its http://www.stadt-umland.at agers were active for 2.6 million inhabitants into a northern and a southern the first time in co-or- region. dinating urban, regional and local stakeholders for the southern and northern environs of Vienna. Catch-MR: Renate, could you explain a bit about the daily work of an area manager? Catch-MR: How exactly is SUM organised today? R. Z.-S.: One of my core tasks is to mediate contro- R. Z.-S.: SUM is a joint initiative of the Federal Prov- versial cross-border issues. To give you an exam- inces of Vienna and Lower Austria and institutional- ple, we are involved in conferences of mayors and ised under the umbrella “Association of Lower Austria information platforms such as “Dialogue on Regional and Vienna – Common Development Areas“. Its mem- Spatial Development”. The harmonisation of the par- bers are the Federal Provinces of Vienna (political ticipating Lower Austrian municipalities and municipal leader: Deputy Mayor and Executive City Councillor districts of Vienna and the two federal provinces re- for Urban Planning, Traffic & Transport, Climate Pro- garding regional planning matters is another trigger tection, Energy and Public Participation) and Lower for co-ordination work. We organise an open and hon- Austria (political head: Executive Provincial Councillor est exchange of thoughts among stakeholders with for Education, Youth and Spatial Planning). The steer- a focus on establishing an all-inclusive vision for the ing committee consists of administrative and political area, e. g. the annual SUM conference or the annual representatives of Vienna and Lower Austria and the SUM forums “North” and “South”. SUM managers. The SUM budget is approx. € 200,000 We also set incentives and design solutions for cross- per year, jointly financed by the two federal provinces. border challenges together with stakeholders in order Co-operation partners include mayors of municipali- to create regional added value. My favourite examples ties, provincial legislators, provincial administrations are the cycling track maps, the on-call shared taxi for (charged with regional planning), PGO, regional man- the Marchfeld area and the joint flood prevention plan. agements, chairpersons, city councillors and city administrations (charged with urban planning). Catch-MR: What can you tell us about the tradition of co-operation in the region? Catch-MR: Renate, who is responsible for spatial R. Z.-S.: Institutionalised in 2006, SUM is a rather planning in the region? young joint initiative of the Federal Provinces of Vi- R. Z.-S.: The way rights and duties are allocated with- enna and Lower Austria on their way towards close in the Vienna MR entails an imbalance regarding ad- cross-border co-operation. Since 1974, the “Asso- ministrative structure and powers. Under the Austrian ciation of Lower Austria and Vienna – Common Lei- Constitution, the federal provinces are responsible for sure Areas” has been safeguarding leisure areas of spatial planning laws, while municipalities are respon- regional importance. The joint planning platform of sible for local spatial planning. In Vienna, the Vienna the Federal Provinces of Vienna, Lower Austria and City Council is responsible for spatial development, (Planungsgemeinschaft Ost, PGO) was which is implemented by the Vienna City Administra- established in 1978 to co-ordinate spatial planning in tion. The municipal districts have no spatial planning the region. With the Transport and Tariff Association authority. In Lower Austria, municipalities are respon- for the Eastern Region (Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region, sible for local spatial planning, with the Provincial VOR), another important regional player began its Government as supervisory authority. With regard to work. Since 1984, VOR has acted as a central plat- responsibility for regional development, the range of form linking the transport system in the eastern part of actors involved is obviously wider. Austria. Regional managers for the environs of Vien- na have proved necessary and successful as instru- Catch-MR: Given the manifold issues of regional ments of cross-border co-ordination. The continuous development, what is the main goal of an area man-

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ager? Can you put it in province-specific, political interests and thus calls for one sentence? a solid basis of trust and pronounced willingness to R. Z.-S.: The aim is to co-operate. come up with a joint regional strategy for While PGO in its early days served as a mere co-­ development, I would ordinating body of the individual administrations, it say. has by now evolved into a strategic unit for joint plan- ning work of the three federal provinces. By establish- Catch-MR: The project ing additional co-operation instruments in the federal Catch-MR focuses on provinces (e. g. Stadt-Umland-Management, Region- the challenges of sustainable mobility in metropolitan al Management), it has become possible to break regions. How is this topic related to your work? down the strategies developed (after prior agreement R. Z.-S.: Traffic and transport issues are character- with the politicians concerned) to a smaller regional ised by close collaboration with VOR. There are links and local scale and to expedite their implementation. regarding regional mobility management, public trans- port and sustainable mobility, the prevention of traffic However, those who expect that co-operation can jams through sustainable spatial planning and analy- take root and function overnight misjudge reality. The ses of high-level infrastructure and local border traf- crucial point to ensure the functioning of co-operation fic. SUM supplies smart regional solutions for each ventures lies in overcoming mental barriers on the transport mode. part of all actors – an aspect where Catch-MR is mak- ing an important contribution. Catch-MR: Thank you, Renate, for showing us a part of the Vienna metropolitan region and sharing infor- As experience has shown, co-operation cannot be mation about your activities at SUM. decreed from above. Collaborative behaviour and action must be part of day-to-day life and work proc- esses. Co-operation depends on the people acting within a system. As a result, it happens quite often Co-operation in planning that smoothly functioning joint activities suddenly (Ilse Wollansky and falter because of a change in Thomas Madreiter) the personnel involved. Irre- spective of the technical chal- lenges, this inevitably leads In 1954, regional planning was to novel situations that, how- defined as a competence of ever, can be mastered if all Austria’s federal provinces. Al- players have learned to think ready in 1978, the competent “regionally”. politicians in the eastern part of the country – i.e. the Feder- Yet the international financial al Provinces of Vienna, Lower Thomas Madreiter Ilse Wollansky crisis – whose effects are still Head of Municipal Head of the Department Austria and Burgenland – real- Department 18 – of Spatial Planning and palpable – has forced munici- ised that regional planning and Urban Development Regional Policy, palities, regions, the econo- transport do not stop at provin- and Planning, Vienna Lower Austria my, politicians and adminis- cial borders and hence decided trators to look for, and enter to set up a cross-border plan- into, co-operation projects to ning body called “Planungsgemeinschaft Ost” (PGO). ensure forms of location, settlement and transport This lean organisation with a staff of five was and still development that are sustainable, resource- and cli- is tasked with co-ordinating and fine-tuning space- mate-efficient. Given this background, we are happy impacting activities and plans of common interest for to make use of the partnership afforded by the Catch- all partners. MR project and look across national borders in order to share our know-how and experience with other Its scope of activities embraces sometimes conflicting metropolitan regions.

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Partners

Capital Region Berlin-Brandenburg Joint Spatial Planning Department Berlin-Brandenburg (Lead Partner) Frank Segebade [email protected]

Central Hungary of Budapest Veronika Szemere [email protected]

Budapest Transport Association Co Balázs Fejes [email protected]

Oslo Akershus City of Oslo Peter Austin [email protected]

Akershus County Council Tor Bysveen/Marit Langslet [email protected] [email protected]

Metropolitan Region Vienna City of Vienna Christian Michael Peer/Gregory Telepak [email protected] [email protected]

Provincial administration of Lower Austria Norbert Ströbinger [email protected]

Provincia di Roma Province of Rome Giovanni Pagliaro [email protected]

BIC Lazio spa – Business Innovation Centre Raffaella Labruna [email protected]

Gothenburg Region The Gothenburg Region Association of Local Authorities Georgia Larsson/Per Kristersson [email protected] [email protected]

Ljubljana Urban Region Regional development agency of Ljubljana urban region Katja Butina [email protected]

Anton Melik Geographical Institute of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Janez Nared [email protected]

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