International project SPIMA

Project Targeted Analysis SPIMA – Spatial Dynamics and Strategic Planning in Metropolitan Areas

From November 2017 to April 2018, the city of Brno was involved in an international research project under the title Spatial Dynamics and Strategic Planning in Metropolitan Areas, known under the acronym SPIMA. Ten different European metropolitan areas were included in the project (Oslo, Brno, Brussels, Lille, Lyon, Zurich, Prague, Vienna, Terrassa and Turin).

The project focused on the quest for the best solutions in planning and managing metropolitan areas. In the course of the project, an expert research team also visited Brno and its hinterland. Team was familiarised with the set of problems of strategic and spatial planning and metropolitan cooperation. The team found out that for the time being, the collaboration still runs on a voluntary basis (only with some stakeholders), being motivated primarily thanks to the ITI tool and external funding. Experts noticed that strategic and spatial planning did not have much interconnection within the Brno Metropolitan Area, and saw some frightening cases of unregulated construction of houses in the surroundings of Brno.

Through its involvement in the SPIMA project, the city of Brno has gained new knowledge in the management of its metropolitan area through experiences and solutions of other cities, which it intends to incorporate into its development in the future. The further co-operation with other cities was an added value of involvement in the project.

The final report of the project describes the Brno Metropolitan Area, the challenges of territorial development, especially the progressing suburbanization and insufficient capacity of public transport and transport infrastructure. In particular, the report calls for the need for coordination of territorial development between Brno and regional authorities. In this respect, the contribution of the Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) tool was highly accented. The demonstration of such a great positive change is also unique at international level and will be given as an example of the successful application of EU Cohesion Policy. The ITI has served as a key imput to the launch of debates on metropolitan planning. The most important future actions in the future will be to set up a sustainable mechanism that maintains the ITI-initiated strategic process.

The research compared ten metropolitan areas. The key benefits of the project are specific recommendations for each of the participating agglomerations. The final report gives recommendations for strengthening spatial planning in metropolitan areas, summarizes good practice in European capitals, describes the so-called metropolitan process and outlines the future development of these agglomerations.

More information can be found in the final report of the project and information sheet on the Brno Metropolitan Area.

An important task for following years is the dissemination of project outputs and their application to the real management and administration of the Brno Metropolitan Area. The follow-up is in charge of the Departments of ITI Management and Metropolitan Cooperation Brno City Municipality.