VASAB Vision 2040
On 2nd June 2023 VASAB Ministers responsible for Spatial Planning and Development in the Baltic Sea Region endorsed the VASAB Vision for the Territorial Development of the Baltic Sea Region in 2040.
VASAB Vision 2040 sets long-term territorial perspective for a vibrant, resilient, well-connected Baltic Sea Region, comprising the land-based and maritime spatial elements of the Region, respecting its diversities and specificities, and embracing sustainability, integration and cooperation throughout. It proposes potential future actions to be jointly implemented with stakeholders in order to cope with challenges across various levels, sectors and borders.
Pearls
Pearls describe the urban and rural network and settlement structure of the Baltic Sea Region. The Pearls are the anchor points of spatial development and by clustering people and ideas they are important drivers of change towards a green and digital transition. Pearls are urban centres and their functional areas. They all are characterised by mutual interdependencies; they are linked and depend on each other, regardless of whether they are in sparsely populated areas, coastal regions or the mainland of the Baltic Sea Region, forming an integrated network and overall resilience. Whether a Pearl is perceived as local, small and medium-sized or metropolitan depends on its spatial context and function in the wider regional, national or transnational territory.
As population density and settlement structures differ widely in the Baltic Sea Region, the function of place is more important than its number of inhabitants. For instance, a comparably small place in Northern Finland or Sweden can have a much higher importance for the development of the area and the provision of services than a place of the same size in the shadows of Berlin, Hamburg or Warsaw.
By 2040 all places, rural areas, small and medium-sized towns, cities and metropolitan areas offer high quality of life building on their own comparative advantages and complementarities and being well networked with and across each other.
Document
This document explains. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Resilience
– explanation
Documents on resilience topic:
The new VASAB Vision 2040
On 2nd June 2023 VASAB Ministers responsible for Spatial Planning and Development in the Baltic Sea Region endorsed the VASAB Vision for the Territorial Development of the Baltic Sea Region in 2040.
VASAB Vision 2040 sets long-term territorial perspective for a vibrant, resilient, well-connected Baltic Sea Region, comprising the land-based and maritime spatial elements of the Region, respecting its diversities and specificities, and embracing sustainability, integration and cooperation throughout. It proposes potential future actions to be jointly implemented with stakeholders in order to cope with challenges across various levels, sectors and borders.
Download documents here:
The Baltic Sea Region faces many challenges like digitalization, demographic trends, vulnerability of the Baltic Sea. In the last couple of years unpredictable events – COVID pandemic, war against Ukraine, energy crisis – have brought additional challenges and consequences to our regions and cities, while impacts of climate change have also become more visible affecting environment and our living conditions.
Acknowledging the current challenges, development and trends and the need for strong coordinated policies and experience exchange across the Baltic Sea Region and beyond, VASAB CSPD/BSR decided to update the Long-Term Perspective and elaborate the VASAB Vision 2040.
The new VASAB Vision 2040 supports different stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region countries in policy making to cope with challenges across various levels, sectors and borders, and to better anticipate and prepare for the future development paths towards sustainability and territorial cohesion perspective of the Region till 2040. Particularly, it proposes potential future actions targeted for transnational and cross-border cooperation and synergies in such fields as development of urban settlements, virtual and physical connectivity, carbon neutral energy production and supply, resilient ecosystems, as well as cooperative planning systems.
Preparation of the VASAB Vision 2040 took place from 2021 by the end of 2022 and was steered by VASAB CSPD/BSR and led by a partnership of Spatial Foresight GmbH and Nordregio, both together having a long experience in EU policies, territorial cooperation, visions and scenario development, development and implementation of strategies, a considerable focus on the Baltic Sea Region and a long track record of working together.
The VASAB Vision 2040 was developed through an open, participatory and co-creative process. It engaged stakeholders at different governance levels (EU, macro-regional and national), including the thematic coordinators of EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, other pan-Baltic organizations and national and local key stakeholders through series of events and targeted thematic workshops.