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Green growth and spatial planning in the Nordic city regions

Nordic cooperation on green growth is important if we are to improve common infrastructure for coping with shared economic and climate challenges, and we are to move research and innovation forward in order to create a more environmentally friendly Nordic region. This working paper has been compiled by a team of Nordregio researchers and aims to provide planners, relevant stakeholders and policy-makers with a useful reference document on the potential interactions between spatial planning and green growth in Nordic city regions. More specifically, the intention of this study is to reveal and provide a better understanding of the key concepts inherent to the spatial planning of green growth in a city regional context from a Nordic perspective. Green growth has been developed as a policy response to the economic crisis, energy challenges and climate change and it can be found in political discourses all around the world. The concept highlights the growth opportunities offered by a greener economy as a way to mobilise green investments in the hope that they pave the way for economic and environmental recovery, stimulating the green growth required by the economy and society. It offers a strategic approach to the promotion of economic growth by adding an environmental quality to existing economic processes, while creating new jobs with lower emissions. The necessity of a transition toward green growth has been acknowledged as key to unlocking sustainable development. It involves, at all levels of government, developing green public policy tools that stimulate investment in businesses and innovations with a reduced environmental impact. The Nordic Council of Ministers sees the role of the concept as that of a guiding vision for the collective utilisation of Nordic strengths in various areas including energy, waste treatment, housing, education, research, green technology and green investments in the public and private…

The Use of Integrated Urban Models in the Nordic Countries

This working paper presents the results of a survey on the use of Integrated Urban Models in the Nordic countries carried out by Nordregio’s researchers (with preparatory support from WSP Analysis and Strategy). It reveals that the use of models is limited in the Nordic countries and provides an account of the underlying reasons why, despite the potential benefits they offer, models aren’t more widely used. Integrated urban models (IUMs) can help us gain a better understanding of urban dynamics by creating simplified future scenarios that can be manipulated through simulation. They enable virtual experimentation, allowing the potential impact of new infrastructure, technologies or policies to be determined, which can support strategic planning. Models can also act as powerful tools for facilitating participatory, collaborative decision-making. The visual outputs provide a series of “what if” scenarios, dependant on the strategic policy decisions that are made. The aim of the survey was to learn more about the use of integrated urban modelling tools by Nordic authorities through the following questions: To what extent are integrated urban models being used by Nordic planning authorities? What are the basic technical details of the models being used? How are these models developed, implemented and used as planning support systems? The survey revealed that only six out of the 50 responding local and regional authorities use truly integrated models, by which we mean models that provide urban development forecasts dependent on chosen planning strategies integrating multiple environmental, social and economic variables. Simpler models focusing on single sets of data and GIS-based models are however used by the vast majority of respondents. The low number of users of integrated models appears to be due to a lack of awareness of their uses and benefits, which makes it important that new information be communicated to planners and policymakers…

Utvärderarnas rapport 2013 Landsbygdsutvecklingsprogram för landskapet Åland perioden 2007 – 2013

Rapporten är framtagen i samarbete mellan Nordregio och Ålands statistik- och utredningskontor (ÅSUB) på uppdrag av Landskapsregeringen på Åland. Syftet med rapporten är att fungera som stöd och underlag för de programansvariga för det åländska landsbygdsutvecklingsprogrammet i deras avrapportering till EU avseende utvecklingen inom programmet under 2013. Den offentliga finansieringsramen för Landsbygdsutvecklingsprogrammet på Åland uppgår till cirka 58 miljoner euro, exklusive 1,3 miljoner reserverade för tekniskt stöd för programgenomförandet. Den absolut dominerande delen av programmet utgörs av axel 2 Att förbättra miljön och landsbygden, som utgör cirka 81 procent av budgeten. Drygt 13 procent avser axel 1 Förbättra konkurrenskraften inom jord- och skogsbruket, medan axel 3 Livskvalitet och diversifierad ekonomi på landbygden och axel 4 Genomförande av LEADER-dimensionen, utgör cirka 3 procent vardera. Detta är den sista årsrapporten inom ramen för utvärderingsuppdraget som nu istället övergår mot en slutvärdering av hela programmet. Rapporten består av en nulägesbeskrivning av befolkning och ekonomiska förutsättningar, en kort presentation av det ekonomiska läget i programmet samt en fördjupning avseende frågor om kompetensutveckling och investeringsstöd inom ramen för axel 1. Liksom i tidigare årsrapporter har vi gjort detta genom ett insamlande av enkätdata/intervjudata från de som mottagit stödmedel. Detta år har två enkäter utvecklats med utgångspunkt i interventionslogiken för respektive stödform. Generellt för båda åtgärderna är att de påverkar många olika delar av verksamheterna, och att de har effekter som inte alltid går att kvantifiera på kort sikt. Trots detta finns en rad direkta effekter av både investeringar och kompetensutveckling som vi har fångat och beskriver i denna årsrapport.