News
- Annual Conference of ESPON Contact Point Luxembourg 10 November 2021
Within the framework of the activities of the ESPON Contact Point (ECP) in Luxembourg, the Ministry of Energy and Spatial Planning of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg invites you to attend our annual conference on 10 November 2021 from 9:00 to 12:30. The theme of this year’s conference is “Spatial planning for a better quality of life: How can the quality of life in urban and rural areas be strengthened?” You can find further information about the conference and register directly via this link.
- ESPON Week
The ESPON Week, under the theme of “A Green and Just Recovery for all European Territories”, took place in a hybrid format from June 14 to 18 2021. Two high-level debates, several workshops and a number of official meetings were organized during the week. Claude Turmes, Minister for Spatial Planning of Luxembourg, contributed via a video message to the high-level political debate on the topic of “Recovery for Europe and the role of Cohesion Policy”. In his speech, Minister Turmes underlined that ESPON's experience is even more valuable in the post-Covid period. According to the Minister, there are now two emergencies: The first one is to rebuild the parts of the economy that have been negatively affected by the pandemic. The second emergency is climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the scarcity of resources, as well as the need to promote the circular economy, investment in renewable energies and energy efficiency. The Minister also briefly provided information on how Luxembourg will benefit from the European funding in the framework of REACT-EU (Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe), the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Just Transition Fund. Finally, the Minister stressed that ESPON can again be a centre of excellence in identifying how spatial planning can be a catalyst for the lifestyle changes that we need now.
- ESPON CIRCTER (Circular Economy and Territorial Consequences) SPIN-OFF Luxembourg Case Study
In the context of the Circular Economy and Territorial Consequences (CIRCTER) project, a case study report on Luxembourg was published in March 2021. It covers historical trends for material and waste patterns with higher granularity in Luxembourg, the country’s territorial implications for transitioning towards a circular economy configuration and the CIRCTER key messages adapted to Luxembourg. According to the CIRCTER results, Luxembourg, with its circular business models already installed, is one of the cutting-edge European regions. The case study can be found here.
- New ESPON 2030 Programme
In June 2021, the Joint Working Group (JWG), which is in charge of drawing up the ESPON 2030 Programme, discussed a final draft version of the new Cooperation Programme. The JWG plans to conclude the discussion on the programming documents and reach an agreement on the themes of the first Thematic Action Plans soon. The JWG intends to start the implementation of the new programme around June 2022, depending on how the approval process is progressing. For further details about the process, you can read the article “Setting up the ESPON 2030 Programme: heading towards the finish line” in the third issue of the TerritoriALL magazine.
ESPON Publications
- The ESPON Magazine TerritoriALL Issue 3
The third issue of the ESPON TerritoriALL magazine was published in June 2021 and focused on rural areas, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our communication, the challenges facing European lake areas, climate change, the role of eco-clusters as a tool of governance, the priorities of the next Slovenian Presidency, and much more. The third issue can be read interactively on the new website of TerrritoriALL.
- The Ageing Revolution: Towards a European Silver Deal?
This policy brief informs European, national, regional and urban authorities about accomplishment elements for age-friendly territories. It includes evidence of successful policies and good practices, which contribute to healthy and inclusive ageing in cities. The policy brief can be read here.
- Territorial Evidence and Policy Advice for the Prosperous Future of Rural Areas
By providing the territorial evidence (data collected) and knowledge (analysis of long-term trends), this policy paper has the goal of contributing to the design of a prosperous future for rural areas. It also advises on appropriate policy measures structured in accordance with the six cross-cutting areas of the Territorial Agenda 2030. The paper can be accessed here.
- The Energy Transition and Climate Change Resilience: ESPON Evidence
This topic paper covers consequences of sustainability and climate change in regard to urbanisation processes. It also addresses risks of territorial disparities because of climate policy that drives the restructuring of European regions and cities. By raising some policy questions on territorial disparities, the paper intends to inform the discussion among researchers, policymakers and stakeholders, help them set their priorities, implement better policies, and assure the long-term future of Europe. You can read the paper here.
Spatial Planning in Luxembourg
- The Planning Manual – A Guide for better urban quality
The Planning Manual for the sustainable and inclusive development of cities and villages includes nine overarching chapters that address a number of issues regarding urban planning: urban development, functional mix, building layout, public infrastructure, mobility, parking, layout of public spaces, nature protection and quality of housing. The Manual offers concrete design ideas and suggestions to planners, architects, technicians, decision-makers and citizens in an illustrative way. More information on the Manual can be found here.
Box „Did you know?“
- The findings from the ESPON CPS (Cross-border Public Services) Project indicate that Luxembourg has the highest density of CPS provision throughout the entire European Union. As the table below shows that in relation to the country area and also border length Luxembourg is ranked first with 15.35 CPS per 1,000 km2 and 182 CPS per 1,000 km border length.
Table : CPS density by country, area and border lengths
