ECTP-CEU AWARDS 2014 and The Winners are

22/05/2014
ECTP-CEU, with the support of the Committee of Regions, is proud to announce the Winners of the 10th European Urban and Regional Planning Awards 2013-2014.

Press release

The 10th European Urban and Regional Planning Awards were awarded by Mr Petr Osvald 1st Vice-Chairman of the COTER commission, Mr Petter Wiberg, Chair of the ECTP-CEU Awards Jury and Mr Henk van der Kamp, President of the European Council of Town Planners on 5th of May 2014 at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels.

This prestigious award recognizes innovative urban and spatial planning projects that demonstrate the role of urban renewal and territorial cohesion.

The winners of the 10th European planning awards are good examples of adaptation to climate change, especially with regard to how energy solutions have been made an integral part of spatial planning.

The jury decided to pick four very different winners. The winning projects have a number of characteristics which make them stand out:
• They demonstrate the importance of spatial planning in coordinating land use, urban and regional development with energy and climate issues in order to achieve optimal solutions across different sectors such as transport, housing and services, the location of business and industry, energy production, distribution and consumption.
• The projects illustrate how efficient interdisciplinary and inter professional efforts can achieve innovative, robust and convincing results in terms of reduced energy needs, more sustainable cities and human settlements.
• The key role of visionary government and governance at local, regional and national level is highlighted in all the projects. It is quite clear how it is not only cooperation between professions and skills which are necessary to be successful, but also cooperation between administrative sectors and between departments. Public authorities are also able to generate participation and to educate. Knowledge and involvement by the public at large are probably some of the most important keys to success for a future sustainable world.
• The winning projects contribute to the development of a philosophy of sustainability which integrates concepts of territory, planning and energy in a holistic manner which diverts attention away from the individual project, to the territorial unit.
The four winners were also picked because they demonstrate successful plans and projects at different spatial scales from the village or small town to a major sub urban brown field development, to the level of a major city and further on to the level of the region at a national and international context. They show that small size is not an inhibition to innovation. Nor is a problem too big to be handled.
The jury feels confident that the winners of the 10th round of the European planning awards are worthy of the recognition they are given. The projects have not been ranked in relation to each other as the opinion of the jury was that they represent different and independent examples of approaches and solutions in very different contexts. It is to be hoped that they will serve to encourage and inspire colleagues, investors and decision makers elsewhere on the path to a more sustainable future.

Download the full 2014 catalogue here