Spatial planning

The objectives and means defined by the Spatial Planning Act should ensure more coherent and sustainable spatial development and speed up the implementation of concrete state projects. To achieve this, the Government will use and apply all the means and advantages offered by spatial planning policy to ensure better management of public funds, faster procedures and, ultimately, the completion of projects. Spatial development should be coordinated in close cooperation with the relevant sectoral and municipal policies.

The active participation of citizens and civil society in the process of drawing up the new measures will be an essential lever for the Government in the field of spatial planning.

The Ministry responsible for spatial planning will act as coordinator of sectoral policies, facilitator and accelerator of state projects and mediator in the event of conflicts of interest between the state and local authorities. The policy of planning zones will be continued and developed. The Greater Region will be more involved in national planning in order to encourage economic cooperation and cross-border mobility.

The government will improve the availability of scientific data and monitor spatial planning every five years.

Even though it is positive that the “zones prioritaires d’habitation” are being further developed, there is otherwise a lack of implementation of these guidelines of the coalition agreement. Spatial planning does not play, contrary to what is stated here, an essential role in discussions on public finances or administrative simplification. Nor is there any discourse on the development of new measures in the field of spatial planning. Furthermore, spatial planning does not – at least not visibly to the public – assume a coordinating function between the different policy areas on issues related to spatial planning.

Accordingly, it is unfortunately not possible to speak of a first phase of implementation of this package of measures.