LAND USE GOVERNANCE IN OECD COUNTRIES Side Event – European Habitat Conference Rüdiger Ahrend, Head of Urban Programme, OECD

Functional urban areas: 659 Average size: km² Average population: Population dens: 340 inh/km² Pop. dens. built-up land: 3034 inh/km² Land use in urban areas in Europe Source: OECD calculations based on Corine Land Cover data

Land use in urban areas in Europe Change Urban fabric (i.e. mostly residential areas) increased less than population Non-residential built-up areas increased almost 3x as fast as population Survey of experts in all OECD countries identifies sprawl as most common problem

Planning at the right functional scale Dark blue: urban core / Light blue: functionally integrated commuting zones Functional Urban Areas (FUAs)

Municipalities hold exclusive or primary responsibility for land use planning in 25 out of 32 surveyed OECD countries. Average number of municipalities per FUA with more than 500,000 inhabitants: 74 Co-ordination of land use policies is essential! Municipalities are the main actor in land use planning Source: OECD, Land use governance in OECD countries (forthcoming); OECD metropolitan database

Coordination necessary: Great variety in approaches No one-size fits all solutions Appropriate tasks depend on local circumstances Different models within the same country can be appropriate Policy coordination in metropolitan areas between local governments across different policy areas

Approximately 280 metropolitan areas with more than 500,000 inhabitants exist in OECD countries Two-thirds of them have some form of metropolitan organisation Often based on voluntary co-operation Metropolitan authorities

Three fields of work dominate

Metropolitan authorities Transport planningLand-use planning Often controlled by national/intermediate levels of government Often controlled by local governments Sprawl Satisfaction with Public Transport

Good and early communication with citizens Negotiating conflicts upfront Devolving power for more inclusive policies Making the national policy-making process responsive to local feedback Stakeholder engagement Stakeholder engagement leads to plans that are better adapted to local requirements! Stakeholder engagement involves:

THANK YOU Contact: