Overview of the relevant energy and spatial planning instruments
The amount of energy demand and the possibilities of energy supply are strongly interrelated with settlement structures. Therefore, spatial planning instruments can have a distinct influence on the clean energy transition, especially on local level. As a matter of fact, it is crucial to know one’s opportunities to act towards a sustainable future.
Planning on different levels
Although spatial planning frameworks are considerably different throughout European countries, in most of the countries planning occurs on different levels which interact with each other. While the legal framework is set on national or provincial level, the local level, i.e. the municipality, is considered to be the crucial one in order to determine settlement structures and specific developments. In designing a liveable town with energy efficient structures, municipalities can contribute to the clean energy transition considerably.
Energy planning on the other hand, does not follow this hierarchically structured framework as applied in spatial planning framework. Nevertheless, there are goals on national level (refer to NECP) which needs to be broken down to regions and municipalities. Out of these localised targets, energy strategies with specific measures on municipal level can be derived.
From (inter-)national targets to local strategies
Beginning with the Paris Agreement and the Agenda 2030 on global level via the European Green Deal and other directives and programmes on EU-level to the National Energy and Climate Plans, there is a widely ramified framework of targets towards the Clean Energy Transition. The national – or if available the regional – targets work as an underlying initial point to set up your own local strategy. For getting to know the potentials to raise, the existing spatial structures like settlements or transport systems as well as the planned development are crucial, as they determine both, the energy demand and the potential for providing local renewable energies.
Goals, targets and strategies – from European to local level
Platzhaltergrafik
National frameworks
Out of the Plenty Life project, the national frameworks of four countries have been analysed in detail, below you can find more information on it.
- Austria
- Italy
- Portugal
- Romania
Planning system Austria
Austria is a federal state with nine autonomous provinces and about 2,000 municipalities.
The provinces are accountable for spatial planning in the narrower sense, which includes legislation and all planning on provincial and regional level. The local level, however, is in own responsibility of the respective municipality.
Some sectoral planning tasks like railways, federal roads or forestry is settled on the federal level.
Four basic rules are of central importance for the functioning of the spatial planning system.
(1) The planning of a subspace must fit into the planning of the overall space (planning hierarchy).
(2) Analogously, there is also a plan hierarchy, which expresses that a superior plan in the planning hierarchy represents the decision-making framework for the subordinate plans.
(3) There are also obligations for vertical planning coordination. Co-ordination of the decisions of several planning authorities is ensured by the right of the subordinate planning authority to be heard, by the obligation of the provinces (“Bundesländer”) to provide administrative assistance and by the exercise of supervisory rights with regard to plans of the municipalities.
(4) Horizontal planning coordination, i.e. the coordination of planning intentions at the same planning level with the neighbouring spatial unit (e.g. between neighbouring municipalities) is guaranteed by information obligations and consultation rights.
Local spatial planning
The municipalities are responsible for the implementation of local spatial planning in their own sphere of competence. In doing so, they have to consider both federal and provincial laws.
The instruments of local spatial planning include (1) the local development concept, (2) the zoning plan and (3) the development plan. These build on each other in the order mentioned and have an increasing level of detail. While the local development concept has a strategic character, the zoning plan represents the central regulatory instrument. The development plan determines the concrete structures.