1. Integrated approach to city-regional planning in
NEW BRIDGES
Strengthening of Quality of Life through Improved
Management of Urban Rural Interaction
Lauri Johannes Hooli, Project Coordinator, UBC EnvCom
This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

2. Lauri Johannes Hooli, Project coordinator, UBC EnvCom
Three-years project (1/2009 – 1/2012) in the
Baltic Sea Region
Total budget 2,8 MEUR
Part-financed by the BSR Programme 2007-
2013 (75%), National Ministries and partners
11 partners, of which 8 are city-regional
partners
Coordinated by the UBC Commission on
Environment
Other core partners: Nordregio and ECAT-
Lithuania
This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

3. Improved management of urban-rural interaction
towards an attractive and competitive BSR:
• Reinforce city-regional co-operation in regional planning
• Focus on new potentials, not only on solving urban-rural
problems
• Link together the individual perspectives, planning activities
and policymaking
This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

4. Implemented Pilot Actions:
• Strong emphasize on local stakeholder group and cross-sectoral
working group´s
• Common methodology for 7 city-regions – 7 different outputs
• Outcome oriented and process oriented
• From strategic city-regional master plans to concrete
transportation schemes
This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

5. Hamburg:
New “village center” in Kaunas district:
Dambeck & Strategical co- Development of regional cycling
operation to strengthen scheme across borders
Hamburg Metropolitan Region
Hiiuma:
Lower Silesia:
Detailed plan for close Integrated transport planning
surrounding of Kärdla Harbour and the land use
Örebro:
Development of new city-
regional master plan & new Zemgale
tools for participation Development of Mobility plan
Turku and SWF : for rural areas
City-regional service structure
study & sustainable mobility
concept for Turku urban region
This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

6. Lauri Johannes Hooli, Project coordinator, UBC EnvCom
Integrated Management System in city-
regional planning
This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

7. Discussion
• Integrated city-regional planning is a new approach in regional
development
 good governance and transparent management to gain mutual
trust and common understanding is required  IMS
• Defined cooperation project in one field can open doors for
cooperation also in the other fields
 forming the basis for long lasting partnerships
• IMS brings stakeholder involvement and interaction with politicians
to the center of the planning process
 more open, interactive and inclusive planning culture
This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

8. Discussion
• Stakeholder meetings across the sectors and borders provided a
neutral platform for city-regional cooperation
”Municipal therapy”
• IMS took stakeholder involvement and political commitment
as an explicit part of planning process, but participation of
residents needs extra attention!!
• The highest value asset held by the municipalities is their
residents
 How to get them work together towards common goals?
• IMS helps to turn the single EU project to be a part of
sustainable long-term city-regional planning process
This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

9. This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

10. Lauri Johannes Hooli, Project coordinator, UBC
PLANNING TOGETHER FOR BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE:
• Set of policy and practice recommendations based on NEW
BRIDGES project towards coherent planning, implementation
and management of urban-rural interactions in BSR
• Generalised step-by-step model for more integrated city-
regional planning (NEW BRIDGES framework)
• The guide will be complemented soon with Electronic toolkit
www.urbanrural.net
This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),
the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.