- Strategic Spatial Planning and Strategic Projects. A transformative activity   95 kb by    Van den Broeck, Jef | jef.vandenbroeck@asro.kuleuven.be    Short Outline The paper and the presentation deals with strategic plannig as a transformative practice, with the role of strategic projects, with the way suatainabilty and quality and all kind of actors can be included in planning processes. Abstract The whole world, as well developed as developing countries are confronted with challenges, threats and opportunities which have an important influence upon cities, regions and spatial developments in general. We have to cope with social polarisation, migration, diversity, globalisation,environmental problems and climate change, energy shortage, and changes in the mobility patterns. We need, also a spatial, answer to these issues. We know that the traditional planning approaches and instruments as master- and land use planning, based upon controle and legal security, cannot give an answer. We presume that a more strategic approach based upon real social- spatial transformation and innovation is a perspective.Traditional approaches deal with the creation of frames for development such as land use plans, prescriptions and bylaws.But if we want a sustainable and qualitative world we need a pro-active, action oriented spatial planning taking into account human resources and means and political reality.The focus of planning should be placed upon what is necessary and what is possible and not only upon what is acceptable.We define strategic planning as the proces oriented towards the development and the implementation of strategies in order to reach a specific objective with the suitable and feasable means. We plead for a four, interrelated, track or multiplaner approach, a proces based upon innovative visioning, action and coproductive decisionmaking and participation.A difference should be made, also in planning organisations, between a generic, an area focussed an a project oriented policy and the appropriate approaches and instruments. A generic policy develops frames for developments. The other policies focus on transformation, on action.Strategic projects can, under certain circumstances, be a lever for effective transformation because they intervene in a concrete way in space and in a social, economic, cultural and politic context. There is no general format for the development and realisation of strategic projects. Such projects should be 'processes' with an open character, in fact collective learning processes on the one hand, in order to create social transformation. On the other hand they should aim at the realisation of concrete projects aiming at spatial sustainability and quality in a specific situation.In such processes 'spatial design' will be an essential tool and medium to discover 'another kind' of knowledge different from analitic, technical and financial knowledge. It deals with the discovering of spatial qualities, the bearing capacity of space, potentials for possible programmes,...'Spatial design' is a medium for negotiation and agreements between different actors and can help to introduce 'local' knowledge and values into coproductive planning and decisionmaking processes. A spatial design process finally is a way to define 'shared terms'for spatial sustainability and quality.Sustainability and quality are seen as the result of a learning and negotiation proces in a specific context.In the paper and the presentation these elements will be argumented using different cases also in Kenia (Nakuru and Nairobi). Keywords Strategic planning, strategic projects, sustainability, coproduction Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2010: Sustainable City - Developing World   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper