SPATIAL PLANNING Key Instrument for Development and Effective Governance

• More effective coordination of sectoral actions that have a cross-sectoral spatial dimension (e.g.
economic development, environment, agriculture, health);
• More flexibility in the planning process, achieved by simplifying plans so that they give firm
guidance for decision makers while allowing for inevitable uncertainties;
• Greater responsibility for operating the system for authorities at the regional and local levels,
while ensuring conformity and adequate supervision;
• More effective participation by local communities and other stakeholders;
• The ability of planning authorities to recoup a proportion of the financial gain from the allocation
of development rights to private developers to pay for externality effects and provide local
community benefits;
• The responsible consideration of environmental impacts of development, so that any adverse
impacts are mitigated and/or compensated for.
5.3 Decision-making process
The emphasis of this paper is that in an open, democratic and mixed market society, national and
regional governments are not in a position of absolute authority. Policies and decisions should devolve
wherever possible and be made in a collaborative way with local stakeholders and investors.
Nonetheless, there are critical issues that need to be decided in a top-down manner, thus ensuring
decisive and unambiguous outcomes. This may be required to address an urgent issue, an issue of
international significance or unwanted speculative activity, or to bring an end to local controversy and
conflict. Examples might include the need to: protect an area of critical natural capital, take up a major
inward investment opportunity, protect heritage assets from speculative activities, or facilitate a
decision on a major energy infrastructure development. There will also be occasions when central,
top-down decisions are needed in the interests of fairness to all, such as in the case of imposing
common development land taxes across an entire country.
National and regional decisions of this kind need to be binding on all levels and with all actors, and to
follow a process that ensures accountability. These decisions should respect agreed policy statements
wherever possible and be accompanied by clear explanations when they do not. All levels of
government should be offered an opportunity to play a part in the decision-making process, e.g.
through consultation on major infrastructure projects, or through the opportunity to provide evidence
where appeals are being considered. Law and policy need to explain the criteria by which authorities
at the national level may intervene in regional and local decisions. Generally, central intervention in
decisions normally made at lower levels will be limited to matters of national and international
significance or issues of potential national controversy.
5.4 Policy statements
Unambiguous statements of national and regional policy play a critical role in effective integration of
actions among levels of government and between sectors. Policy statements should include a clear set
of general goals and principles for spatial planning. Most countries now make very firm statements at
the national level about overall goals for spatial development as well as the need to achieve a greater
degree of sustainable development. Such statements are linked to collectively agreed targets and
indicators (as discussed below).
Countries should produce national spatial development plans or perspectives that communicate and
elaborate upon national planning policies. The first step to preparing such a framework will be a
“national spatial development report” that summarizes findings from monitoring and objective
research (see below). However, national policy frameworks require a high degree of capacity in
20 Spatial Planning - Key Instrument for Development and Effective Governance