The Moselle Valley is one of the great river landscapes of Western Europe, with a unique natural and cultural heritage. The part of the valley that lies on the border between France, Luxembourg and Germany reflects the diversity of the Greater Region through its history and international links. For some years now, the Upper Moselle Valley has been facing the challenge of reconciling the current development dynamics with the preservation of its rural landscape.
In order to meet this challenge and to strengthen the functional cross-border connections between Luxembourg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, the ministries responsible for regional planning have developed the Upper Moselle Valley development concept in cooperation with regional and municipal actors on the basis of the guiding principles defined in the EOM concept.
In view of the multiple possible interpretations emerging in the public debate, the eminently cross-cutting but also sensitive nature of the topic covered, the publication endeavours first of all to explain the reasons why it would be a good idea to adopt a co-development policy. It attempts to define the objectives it should seek to achieve, the actors that might be involved as well as the possible content through a number of concrete proposals for implementation.
From the outset IBA Basel, the first cross-border IBA (International Architecture Exhibition) set the following goals for itself: to orient the growth and integration of the urban region from a cross-border and long-term perspective, to implement high-quality, significant cross-border projects, and provide concrete added value for the local authorities and sponsors of projects, to improve the effectiveness and visibility of cross-border commitments by using public relations and setting clear priorities, to improve the international renown and reach and the regional anchoring of the trinational urban region, to build an effective IBA organisation.
In the spatial planning field this involves the strengthening of the higher level central spaces as healthcare centres and interconnection points for public transport services, the reinforcement of basic centres to secure primary care provision to the population in neighbouring districts and to stabilise the comprehensive coverage of the population with public service facilities and equal opportunities for access. The basic principles on which the ROP is built are sustainability, equality and gender equality. The spatial planning instruments identified are central places (concentration of development potential and reinforcement of exchanges of services between different levels of central places and their spheres of influence), function identification, threshold values, functional networks, priority areas, regional green corridors, settlement breaks. In addition there are also statements on mobility and the environment (especially the protection of open spaces and climate protection).
The Rhineland-Palatinate sustainability strategy was first published in 2001. Since then it has been updated several times. The 2015 version of the Rhineland-Palatinate sustainability strategy brings together all the political strategies and approaches in favour of sustainable development and for the first time sets concrete goals for sustainable development in the state. These serve on the one hand to measure and evaluate the processes involved in moving towards sustainable development, and on the other hand, transparent represent the political will and can therefore contribute to orientation and better traceability for society. As well as presenting the challenges and goals in the different areas relevant to sustainable development, the sustainability strategy also a list of the advances achieved. These can be illustrated with statistical indicators on sustainable development. Areas where there is a need for action are also made clear in this way in the sustainability strategy.
Saarland's "Environment" regional development plan coordinates the supra-locally relevant land requirements. As a result of this coordination role, the plan defines priority areas for the protection of open countryside and natural resources, as well as for the spatial distribution of all the land uses and functions. The provisions on the spatial distribution of traffic and ad hoc infrastructure are also an integral part of the "Environment" regional development plan also . The provisions are defined in the form of binding goals and can be anchored both in writing and in graphic form in the regional development plan. The "Environment" regional development plan provides for balanced spatial development, planning for sustainable development of the environment whilst also factoring in the economic aspects.
The purpose of Saarland's "Settlements" regional development plan is to coordinate different land use claims. These claims on the land need to be weighed up against each other with regard to their supra-local relevance and certain specific land use functions need to be secured through regional planning. To fulfil this task, Saarland's "Settlements" regional development plan defines goals and principles that relate to or have a bearing on settlement structure development. In addition to the written provisions on this subject, a graphic map of the "Settlements" regional development plan also contains provisions in graphic form. Saarland's "Settlements" regional development plan represents a state-wide spatial development plan, which is aimed at ensuring the sustainability and environmental soundness of the state's future settlement development.
The working paper pertains to the thematic field “demography and migration” and highlights the challenges for territorial development in the Greater Region. Particular emphasis is placed on cross-border residential mobility at borders with the Grand Duchy, on population ageing and on the guarantee of general interest services in rural regions.
The Regionale Raumordnungsplan Region Trier (ROP) (regional spatial development plan for the region Trier) gives concrete form to the Landesentwicklungsprogramm Rheinland-Pfalz (LEP IV) (Rhineland-Palatinate Regional Development Program) for the Trier region. The ROP Trier 1985, with a partial update in 1995, contains the general planning objectives of the region. A reconfiguration is planned. The design for the reconfiguration originated in the year 2014.
The state development program is a cross-departmental and intersectoral spatial framework that underpins the development of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The State Development Program (LEP IV) is titled “Recognizing Challenges – Acting Sustainably – Shaping the Future.” The program, which came into force in 2008, deals with issues such as public services and the development of spaces. In particular, it deals with the challenges of demographic change and globalization.
