The document compares strategic spatial planning processes in Nordic and UK urban regions. It finds that plan making and implementation involve governance arrangements, funding mechanisms, and power configurations. For plan making, common components are negotiations, interest group involvement, and multi-level cooperation. For implementation, pivotal arrangements are negotiations, funding to support specific projects, and increasingly influential private interests. Nordic regions emphasize multi-level cooperation over regional interests, while UK regions focus on area-specific private projects through negotiations. Lessons highlight the importance of negotiation, interest group participation balanced with the public good, clearly established funding, and transparency in balancing public and private power dynamics.

1. Eduardo Oliveira, Anna M. Hersperger
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
July 11, 2018
WhatitTakestoMakeandImplementStrategicSpatialPlans?
AESOP Annual Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden
Track 5. Governance 4A – Strategic Spatial Planning
A Cross-Case Comparison between Nordic and UK Urban Regions
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2. The aim: strategic spatial planning in European urban regions
The aim of this presentation
is to highlight what the
preparation and implementation
of strategic spatial plans at the
urban-regional level involve.
Hamburg, CC0 licensing

3. Strategic spatial planning processes:
 Plan-making phase i.e. the
preparation or designing phase
of strategic spatial plans
 Plan-implementation phase i.e.
the translation of the principles
and intentions of a plan into
tangible actions at the ground
e.g.
 housing settlements
 new commercial facilities
 reinforcing transportation
 maintaining green
infrastructure
What do we know: strategic spatial planning in European urban regions
(Hersperger et al. 2018; Oliveira and Hersperger, 2018;
Gradinaru and Hersperger, 2018; Healey 2009; Albrechts,
Balducci and Hillier 2017).Lyon, CC0 licensing

4. What do we know: strategic spatial planning in European urban regions
Plan-making phase Plan-implementation phase
“Investigated 21 urban regions seem to converge in terms of components,
interactions and planning themes, and vary mainly in terms of the importance
of the components (…).” (Hersperger et al. underreview)

5.  In-depth interviewing with
regional planning experts e.g.
practitioners and academics
 3 interviews per case;
 90 minutes per interview;
 +5500 minutes of discussions;
How do we get there: strategic spatial planning in European urban regions
 Macro-objective:
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 identifying and characterizing
the prime configurations,
components and interactions in
current processes of strategic
spatial plan-making and plan-
implementation.

6. Commonalities: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
 Strategic planning processes are characterized
 governance arrangements
 funding mechanisms, and
 power configurations
 Pivotal governance arrangements
 Negotiations
 interest groups involvement and
 multi-level government cooperation
 Private interest groups as developers and retail
representatives have been increasingly
involved in negotiations during planning
processes.
 Strategic spatial planning processes and
governance arrangements within are
increasingly being co-opted into the dominant
neoliberal agendas.
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(Oliveira and Hersperger, 2018)

7. Commonalities: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
Identifies the common
ground in which a
strategic spatial planning
processes unfolds Power
configurations
Funding
mechanisms
Governance
arrangements
(Oliveira and Hersperger, 2018)
Negotiations
Interest
groups
involvement
Multi-level
cooperation

8. More specifically: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
What it Takes to
Make and Implement
Strategic Spatial Plans
Edinburgh Cardiff
Oslo-
Akershus
Helsinki-
Uusimaa
Plan
Making
Plan
Implementation

9. Who and what: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
 Cardiff City Council: Strategic Development
Plan for the Cardiff City Region 2016
 The Strategic Development Planning
Authority for Edinburgh and South East
Scotland: Strategic Development Plan 2016
 Danish Business Authority: The Finger Plan
2015
 Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council:
Regional Land use Planning for Helsinki-
Uusimaa Region forthcoming
 Akershus County Council: Regional Plan for
Land Use and Transport in Oslo and
Akershus 2015
 Stockholm County Council: Regional
development plan for the Stockholm region
RUFS 2010CC0 licensing

10. Governance
arrangements
Power configurations
Funding mechanisms
Edinburgh Cardiff
Oslo-
Akershus
Helsinki-
Uusimaa
Plan
Making
More specifically: what it takes to make and implement the following…
Plan
Implementation

11. Governance arrangements: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
Nordic urban
regions
Main governance
arrangement
Roles of the main
governance arrangement
Main planning theme
object of discussion
Copenhagen
Multi-level
government
cooperation and
consensus building.
Safeguarding meaningfulness
and the common good during
plan making and
plan implementation.
Intra-regional railway
transport system,
housing developments
and employment land.
Helsinki-
Uusimaa
Negotiations
involving
municipalities in the
urban region.
Supporting the achievement
of joint decision-making and
collectively thinking regional
challenges within sustainability
principles.
Intra-regional
transportation network
and green infrastructures
Oslo-Akershus
Cooperation
involving
municipalities and
consensus building.
Facilitating mutual agreements
between municipal political
leaders.
Expanding the
transportation network.
Brownfield regeneration
for housing and jobs
Stockholm
Negotiations
involving private
interest groups and
municipalities
in the region.
Setting up plan
implementation priorities and
supporting collective
decision-making on specific
urban functions.
Housing developments
Expanding the
intra-regional
transportation network.

12. Governance arrangements: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
UK
urban regions
Main governance
arrangement
Roles of the main
governance arrangement
Main planning theme
object of discussion
Edinburgh
Negotiations
involving private
interest groups.
Securing infrastructure
provision as compensation for
being granted a planning
permit or a specific land
allocation for housing
development.
Housing and employment
land, including the
location of retail facilities
Cardiff
Negotiations
involving private
interest groups.
Supporting the execution of
area-specific projects on
transportation, housing, retail,
green infrastructures and
leisure facilities.
Reinforcement of
transportation network.
Housing allocation.
(Oliveira and Hersperger, 2018; Oliveira and Hersperger, underreview )

13. Governance arrangements: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
Nordic urban regions
In contrast, in the UK urban regions
 Multi-level government
cooperation and consensus
building over regional interests
 Transportation network;
 Housing developments
 Brownfield redevelopment.
 Negotiations involving private
interest groups on area-specific
projects
 Infrastructure provision
 New housing developments
 Location of retail facilities
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14. Funding mechanisms: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
Urban region The role of funding mechanisms in strategic spatial planning processes
Copenhagen Supporting the extension of the public transport system as well as maintenance of
green infrastructures and public spaces and leisure facilities.
Helsinki-
Uusimaa
Effectively aligning plan implementation to the real needs at the ground level
within a specific timeframe.
Oslo-Akershus Supporting plan implementation and moving it forward.
Stockholm Supporting the implementation of local development plans which meet the
guidelines of the strategic plan.
Edinburgh Supporting the implementation of large infrastructures projects.
Cardiff Supporting the implementation of infrastructures, reinforcement of public
transportation and housing development.

15. Funding mechanisms : what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
Nordic urban regions
In contrast, in the UK urban regions
 Municipalities have stronger financial and
decision-making capacity when compared to UK.
 Municipalities try to be proactive in setting up
partnerships with other municipalities and private
interest groups to find ways of funding specific
planned interventions.
 Scarce financial resources mean that strategic
spatial planning processes are highly dominated
by private actors and thus plans tend to be
implemented through area-specific strategic
projects.
 Supporting enterprise and business growth also
infrastructure provision e.g. primary schools
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16.  Private interest groups such as housing
builders play a chief role throughout the
strategic planning process
 Environmental NGOs; grassroots movements
- put more pressure on the regional
authorities charged with strategic planning
tasks to
 Reducing commuting times/better transp.;
 Maintaining public spaces/recreational
areas;
 Securing sustainable ways of development.
Power configurations: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
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UK urban regions
In contrast, in the Nordic urban regions
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17. Take home message: what it takes to make and implement strategic spatial plans
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 Negotiation-based strategic
spatial planning processes;
 Increasingly persuasive power
of businesses interests in
strategic planning practice.
(finding in line with Daly, 2016; Olesen, 2014; Van Assche,
Duineveld and Beunen, 2014; Olesen and Richardson, 2011)
Concur with recent critical reflections on the
neoliberalization of strategic spatial planning.

18. Transferability of the findings: making and implementing strategic spatial plans
Lesson on governance arrangements:
negotiation
 Negotiation is the one process able to set
up priorities for plan making and plan
implementation by balancing public and
private interests.
How to better negotiate during SSP processes
 Preparing a set of realistic expectations and
a range of possible outcomes;
 Behaving with honesty and transparency;
 Communicating openly all issues at stake;
 Being willing to compromise and adapt to
circumstances.
The way negotiations in Helsinki-Uusimaa
unfold could be given as an example.CC0 licensing

19. Lesson on governance arrangements:
interest group involvement
 Interest groups are those pursuing
the interests they represent by
avoiding conflict with the public good
and following the principles
established in the strategic plan.
The way interest groups take part in the
process of plan implementation in
Oslo-Akershus as an example.
Transferability of the findings: making and implementing strategic spatial plans
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20. Lesson on funding mechanisms
 Funding mechanisms when clearly
established, meaning they have clear
goals and planning themes they will
contribute to the effectiveness of
strategic spatial planning processes.
Transferability of the findings: making and implementing strategic spatial plans
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Nordic urban regions as example

21. Lesson on power configurations
 Power configurations must be
critically considered in plan
implementation.
 It is necessary to secure transparency
and legitimacy of the negotiation
process.
 This can be done by documenting
every discussion during negotiations.
The cases of Oslo-Akershus and
Helsinki-Uusimaa could also be given as
positive examples of how to
balancing public vs private interests.
Transferability of the findings: making and implementing strategic spatial plans
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22. Thank you
Eduardo Oliveira*
Land Change Science Research Unit** ¦ CONCUR Project***
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
***https://www.wsl.ch/en/projects/concur.html
*https://www.wsl.ch/en/employees/oliveira.html
**https://www.wsl.ch/en/about-wsl/research-units/land-change-science.html
AESOP Annual Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden
Track 5. Governance 4A – Strategic Spatial Planning