Regional Planning

National plans and county plans (or other regional plans) should state the vision for the planning area and then set the development goals and objectives for the coming years. We can help you with project management of such large scale and multi-partner planning projects as well as provide help on leading the workshops and presenting the plan to the public etc.

Printed documents of valid Estonian National Spatial Plan - Estonia 2030+.

Preparing a National Spatial Plan or any plan for a greater region is usually a long process that can take up to several years. The usual timeframes for the valid national and regional plans can be 10 to 30 years and they take about 1-3 years to prepare. The key of a successful planner knows how to balance different interests and create an acceptable vision and it's implementation strategy for the planned area. For achieving a good result the planning process can include the following steps:
1) Strategy on how to involve different parties and how to organize work;
2) Agreeing upon the purpose and main tasks of the plan;
3) Agreeing on the vision for the planned area;
4) Agreeing on the development goals for the planned area;
5) Preparation of spatial planning documents;
6) Public involvement, negotiation, and approvals.

There could be more steps. Mainly regional planning requires very good strategic planning skills. But that alone is not enough as different nations and regions could have a very different cultural and planning capacity background. That means that the same terms, for example, might have a different meaning in the heads of planning workgroup members. We can help you to unify the different understandings, provide help to take account different political coals, summarize statements, finalize the planning texts, document the meetings and help you to keep the planning process moving in planned tempo, etc.

Our CEO Kaur Lass has 20 years of experience in Strategic and Spatial Planning (including Regional and National Plans). He has consulted Rapla County Government during an international co-operation project called Via Baltica Spatial Development Zone over the years 1999-2001. He has also consulted Latvian Ministry of Regional Development and Local Governments during 2008 while working out a common vision for the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). He has been a project manager for Estonia's new National Spatial Plan Estonia 2030+ etc. He has also consulted several County plans within Estonia. Kaur Lass has also taken an active part in international workshops and seminars and presented his experience there. He is also a respected SEA expert and a good negotiator.

Kaur Lass making a presentation. International conference on Rail Baltica transport corridor development and perspectives in Riga 24.03.2011. Photo by Kristine Tihanova.