News
- Transition from the University of Luxembourg to the Luxembourg European Research and Administration Support (GIE LERAS)
As of 1 January 2021, the Luxembourg European Research and Administration Support (GIE LERAS) has taken over from the University of Luxembourg the tasks of the ESPON Contact Point (ECP) for Luxembourg.
- New ECP for Luxembourg
Since 15 January 2021, Remziye Yilmaz-Bozkus of the GIE LERAS is working as the new ECP for Luxembourg at the Department of Spatial Planning of the Ministry of Energy and Spatial Planning. She is responsible for the communication and promotion of the ESPON programme in Luxembourg. Previously she completed an internship at the European Commission, and worked for six and half years at the Permanent Delegation of Turkey to the EU in Brussels. Remziye holds a PhD degree in political science from Ghent University.
- New ESPON 2030 Programme
The process of the preparation of the next programming period (2021-2027) is ongoing. The Joint Working Group (JWG), composed by all countries participating in ESPON, continues to work on finalising the programming documents before the summer break. Further details can be found here.
ESPON Projects
- ESPON SUPER (Sustainable Urbanization and Land Use Practices in European Regions)
This project tackles the questions of, on the one hand, how sustainable land use can be promoted and, on the other hand, how unsustainable urbanization (such as urban sprawl) can be avoided, reduced or compensated in European cities and regions. In this context, it analyses evidence on land-use developments in Europe over the period 2000-2018 at the NUTS 3 level and on the success and sustainability of a collection of policy interventions. Beyond this evidence, the project develops 11 case studies on land-use practices in various territorial contexts and presents three urbanization scenarios for 2050 (compact, polycentric and diffuse). The documents of the project can be accessed on the ESPON website.
- ESPON QoL (Quality of Life Measurements and Methodology)
The project provides evidence, knowledge and recommendations on how to measure QoL in Europe, with a special focus on regions and cities. It also aims at inspiring local, regional and national level policy makers for the integration of QoL in the development and implementation of territorial development strategies. The project promotes a citizen-centric approach. Besides Europe-wide analysis, 10 case studies inform about existing application of QoL concepts and test the newly proposed framework. In the project, the case study on Luxembourg underlines the importance of the cross-border dimension in defining and measuring QoL in the country. The documents of the project can be accessed on the ESPON website.
ESPON Publications
- The ESPON Magazine TERRITORIALL Issues 1&2
The first issue of this new digital magazine was dedicated to the issues of green infrastructure and the reuse of spaces. The Minister for Spatial Planning of Luxembourg, Claude Turmes, contributed with a video post about using ESPON in policymaking. The second issue covered the topics of the regional geography of COVID-19 and new European instruments to support Member States dealing with the pandemic. The two issues can be read in an interactive online version.
- Luxembourg Territorial Fiche: Territorial Patterns and Relations in Luxembourg and the Greater Region
The Luxembourg Territorial Fiche presents several maps from ESPON projects with the territorial focus of Luxembourg in the Greater Region in the areas of SMEs, employment and innovation, climate change and sustainable use of resources. The fiche can be accessed on the ESPON website.
Spatial Planning in Luxembourg
- Sectoral Master Plans
On 26 February 2021, the Minister for Spatial Planning, Claude Turmes, presented the four Sectoral Master Plans aimed at framing the country’s territorial development in a sustainable manner within four major fields of action: urban and rural development, economy, transport, as well as the environment and natural resources. As a tool for implementing the general policy defined in the Master Programme for Spatial Planning (PDAT), the Sectoral Master Plans for “Housing” (PSL), “Landscapes” (PSP), “Transport” (PST) and “Economic Activity Zones” (PSZAE) came into force on 1st of March 2021. The plans and interactive maps of the impacted areas are fully accessible to the public at www.dater.lu and www.geoportail.lu.
Box „Did you know?“
As the map below shows, the turnover of circular economy business models in Luxembourg (i.e. the turnover that the companies in Luxembourg generated by applying circular economy strategies) is high in absolute terms and higher than in the neighbouring regions.
Map: Turnover of companies associated with Circular Economy Business Models
Source: ESPON Project “Circular Economy and Territorial Consequences” (CIRCTER), p. 38