Aménagement du territoire transfrontalier

This Territorial Science Echo highlights essential facets of governance that may prove relevant for the future development of the Greater Region. In particular, it shows how thematic cooperation and conflicts contribute to the establishment of governance structures. The paper deals with the topics of governance in general, participation and housing as well as the external relations of the Greater Region, formulates essential challenges and recommendations, and is thus to be understood as a suggestion in the professional discourse for the further design of the spatial development concept of the Greater Region.

The Greater Region belongs to the most important regions in the European Union in terms of cross-border cooperation. After a start in the 70ies the cooperation in the field of spatial planning arose to an important pillar of cooperation. However, concrete evidence on the high relevance of cross-border spatial planning is scarce. This issue is mostly picked up in relation to the legal and institutional framework. This strategic paper on hand calls for cross-border spatial planning resulting from planning practices that aim at sustainably take into account the societal needs in space besides law, plans and concepts. After a short presentation of the most decisive milestones of cooperation in the field of cross-border spatial planning in the Greater Region, the strategic paper presents the results of an experimental workshop (planning game) that was conducted in 2017 and involved researchers as well as planning practitioners. At the end, several recommendations are presented which are based on the analysis of the research material.