ECTP-CEU approved during its last General Assembly the “RE-START-EUROPE” Declaration for an inclusive and just post-Covid future for all communities.
This Declaration – which was presented on 12/10/2020 during a webinar – seeks to harness the creative power and technical expertise of spatial planners in tackling the social and economic crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here is the summary
RE-START- EUROPE
SUMMARY
ECTP-CEU 2020 declaration for an inclusive and just post-covid future for all communities
- This Re-START-Europe declaration sets out the principles to deliver Europe from the crisis created by Covid-19, by harnessing the power of spatial planning for a Just Recovery across Europe underpinned by a wider agenda for Resilience, Renewal and Growth.
- Covid-19 is accelerating trends and creating new trajectories that are re-shaping our towns and cities. Revitalised Spatial Planning is needed to manage the new economic geography of Europe being created by new business practices, home working and more localised and diversified supply chains. A return to“Business as Usual”trends and policies will threaten the foundations of economies and societies all across Europe.
- The future for Europe must not be paralysed by the radical uncertainty it faces. Covid- 19 has created the risk of sustained economic recession. Europe must act with urgency, resetting the goals and practices for a healthy and planned Europe, creating jobs and mobilising investment. We need to restart the European Spirit that has flowered over the last 70 years by facing up to the crises created by human conflict and natural disasters.
- Re-START-Europe will help deliver on its long-standing ambition for a more sustainable future with the commitment of the planning profession to ensuring policy is evidence-based, and not ideologically driven. In doing so, it builds on the Charter of European Planning and the European Charter on Participatory Democracy.
- Re-START-Europe requires all nations to seize the opportunity to reset Europe on a more sustainable trajectory shaped by our shared values, and not by unfettered markets, by:
• Re-committing to the principles of the UNHABITAT New Urban Agenda for the well-being of its citizens, sustaining vital ecosystems, and tackling climate change;
• Setting explicit sustainability targets in line with the principle of the 10-Year Outcomes Frameworks, embodied in the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals and with the New Leipzig Charter;
• Rebalancing power and wealth to avoid unrest and the erosion of respect for governments, be it local, regional or national, in order to create a just and equitable Europe;
• Creating more resilient urban systems and more vigilant in risk assessments by strengthened spatial planning, so European communities are better prepared for future economic shocks. - Re-START-Europe is built around Territorial Impact Assessments (TIA) and embeds spatial planning practices at all levels of territorial and sectoral governance in order to:
• Create resilience in Europe’s economic base by re-building Europe’s manufacturing economy;
• Contain urban densities to sustainable levels;
• Shorten and diversify supply chains and capitalise on its R&D strengths;
• Develop the foundational economy and the greater empowerment of communities;
• Decarbonise energy and industrial systems;
• Enhance connectivity within regions and beyond to marginalised communities; and
• Value ecosystems, especially public space, and reverse losses in biodiversity. - Re-START-Europe requires all the nations of Europe to make urgent change in the scale and direction of policy:
• Renewing existing commitments to zero-carbon transport and energy networks;
• Scaling up existing programmes to rebalance the economies of Europe; and
• Creating new initiatives for sectors and communities particularly affected by the Covid-19 crisis.