2014

The 10th European Urban and Regional Planning Awards
Call for Entries 2013-2014

ECTP-CEU is proud to organise the 10th European Urban and Regional Planning Awards with the support of the Committee of Regions and of the IEE funded SPECIAL project.

This edition of the Awards enhances the integration of sustainable energy and spatial planning.

The ECTP-CEU’s European Urban and Regional Planning Awards give recognition to planning strategies, schemes or developments which make an outstanding contribution to the quality of life in urban and rural regions of Europe.

This is also a particular opportunity now that we have refreshed the European Charter of Spatial Planning stressing the emergency for strategy, participation processes and sustainable development in all processes of spatial planning.

The Award will be open to spatial planners and municipalities from the 47 European Countries of the Council of Europe.

The Award ceremony is scheduled to take place on May 5th 2014, at the same time as the COTER (Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy) Assembly; permitting exchanges between participants.

Planning Awards: Sustainable Energy

1. The European Urban and Regional Planning Awards, presented by the ECTP-CEU (European Council of Spatial Planners), give recognition to planning strategies, schemes or developments which make an outstanding contribution to the quality of life in urban and rural regions of Europe.

2. The aim of the Awards Scheme is to:
• Demonstrate to the general public, and to the planning profession in particular, successful and innovative planning projects and developments through which the quality of life of European citizens is enhanced and improved, socially, economically and environmentally.
• Promote the views, ideas and Vision of the ECTP-CEU on the future of European cities and regions as expressed in the European Charter 2013 to create and enhance conditions favourable to the promotion of sustainable development.
• Illustrate the diversity and wide scope of planning activity today. For 2013-2014, the ECTP-CEU is working with the support from the IEE funded SPECIAL project on Spatial Planning and Energy and the Awards will focus exclusively on projects that show how planning can help to deliver sustainable energy solutions. Projects should demonstrate clearly the advantages of the participatory planning process, facilitated and enabled by professional planners, showing how the co-operation and participation of stakeholders, Local Authorities, energy providers, development agencies and interested citizens can have a synergistic effect of benefit to the whole planning process. Most contemporary Spatial Planning projects contain sustai- nable and efficient energy considerations. In many cases they will require a new and specific presentation to meet the requirement of focusing on sustainable energy to become eligible.
• The scope of the awards embraces published plans and studies, projects involving community participa- tion, and significant physical development, either at a trans-national, national, trans-regional, regional or at a local scale.

Key Issues

Key issue 1: challenges of climate change and sustainable energy supply - new development opportuni- ties for municipalities
Key issue 2: framework of spatial planning and sustainable energies
Key issue 3: strategies, tools and instruments for integration of spatial planning and sustainable energies
Key issue 4: detailed possibilities for implementation of sustainable energy supply and infrastructure in spatial planning at regional and local level
Key issue 5: stakeholder inclusion, participation processes and communication The judges will take into account these issues when assessing entries.

Assessment Criteria:

The jury will take into account the following criteria:

Content:
• demonstrates the role of spatial planning in proactively supporting the uptake/ deployment of re- newable/ sustainable energy solutions through embedding climate-change mitigation and adaptation in planning policies;
• application of the principles of sustainable development and the development and delivery of sustai- nable energy solutions, for the enhancement of the environment and any recognisable social and econo- mic benefit resulting from the achievement in terms of human well-being or greater efficiency;

Methods:
• the originality and innovation of the achievement or approach; new methods and approaches, planning funding, participation, in the integration of planning policies and delivery and sustainable energy solu- tions;
• applicants must make an impact study during the project process and describe the results; • the extent to which the scheme may serve as a transferable reference for other work elsewhere in the
same country or across Europe, or as a base for the development of further related schemes;
• demonstrable success of local authority planners working with energy providers to create low carbon solutions to new or existing settlements.

Skills:
• the quality of the professional work involved in design, in communication, in cooperation, in the develop- ment of planning concepts or in the application of planning techniques directly related to creating low carbon communities and energy efficiency;

Engagement:
• the effective involvement of town planners to enable or co-ordinate young planners in the project and the demonstration of the added value brought to the project through this;
• the effective engagement by town planners with community groups, politicians and local stakeholders leading to better awareness and support for sustainable and, in particular, renewable energy solutions to create low carbon communities.

The Jury

An independent jury representing the planning profession and the SPECIAL project has been appointed by the ECTP-CEU and the Committee of the Regions. 

President of the Jury:
Petter wiberg, Head of department, Building and Planning, Bergen, FKP - ECTP-CEU – Norway

Members:

• Vincent Berrutto, Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI), Head of Unit Energy Efficiency
• Hella Dunger-Löper, Plenipotentiary of the Land of Berlin for Federal and European Affairs, Representative of the Committee of the Regions and the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Territorial Cohesion Policy, Germany
• Dominique Lancrenon, ECTP-CEU Secretary General, France
• Diane Smith, European and Corporate Affairs Manager, Town and Country Planning Association, SPECIAL Project Manager, UK
• Dr Hugh Ellis, Chief Planner, TCPA, UK
• Christine Schwaberger, Spatial Planner, Department for Spatial Planning Law, Provincial Government of Styria, SPECIAL project Partner, Austria 

Deadlines

All applications must be received by 31st January 2014. 
Please consult the Call for Entries for all details.