The pandemic and the war in
Ukraine have rocked the political agenda and changed it,
highlighting the urgent need for radical change in a wide range
of issues and strengthening the European Green Deal, according
to Yves Le Breton, the head of the French Agency for Territorial
Cohesion (ANCT).
Writing in the soon-to-be-published new edition of
TerritoriALL, the semiannual magazine of the ESPON European
cooperation programme specialised in regional analysis, Le
Breton observed that the two crises show how crucial issues such
as the security of energy, food and medicine supplies are, even
though they seemed abstract for many citizens up to now.
These issues, which are at at the top of the priorities of the
French presidency of the European Council, all have an important
impact on the management of public goods, the most important
being the use of land.
Le Breton wrote that the Green Deal has already proposed a model
of development that is more efficient on the energy front, more
respectful of biodiversity and seeks to improve the protection
of the soil and the territory.
According to the ANCT chief, the challenge not only lies in the
need to "plan more sustainable territories and cities" but also
in the need to "protect farm land, monitor risks to energy
supplies and reposition the production of goods that are
essential and of strategic interest".
Together these elements strengthen the case for limitations on
the use of the territory and for implementation of the Green
Deal, Le Breton said.
"Planning our demands, rationalizing the use of the territory
and its resources, is of strategic importance in order to ensure
favourable conditions for more autonomous development, as well
as to guarantee good quality of life to all European citizens,"
Le Breton stressed.
He said that, for this reason, strategic territorial planning is
needed that, unlike in the post-war period, is no longer driven
by "the imperatives of growth but also, and above all, by the
awareness of the local actors that more rational management of
one's territorial resources is one of the fundamental
conditions" for development that is resilient and sustainable in
times of transition and crisis.
This is a paradigm change that will also lead to "more
innovation," he said.
"Fairer, more sustainable, less energy-devouring urban planning
is still the exception that must become the rule," Le Breton
argued.
These new territorial models require better balanced relations
between urban and rural areas, explained the ANCT director, who
sees the change of gear following the pandemic as an opportunity
for rural areas to improve the quality of the services offered.
The health emergency, which increased the attractiveness of
rural areas "could be the spark of a breakthrough" he concluded.
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