15/05/2026 Building Spatial Resilience in the Baltic Sea Region at the 17th EUSBSR Annual Forum
The 17th EUSBSR Annual Forum in Tallinn brought together policymakers, planners, experts, and stakeholders for two dynamic days dedicated to one central theme — resilience. Explored through multiple perspectives and sectors, the discussions highlighted how stronger macro-regional cooperation, knowledge exchange, and cross-sector collaboration can contribute to regional security and shared prosperity across the Baltic Sea Region.
VASAB Secretariat and Policy Area Spatial Planning were represented in the Networking Village with a joint stand showcasing several initiatives and projects relevant to VASAB and PA Spatial Planning activities, including NESBp, the Land-Based Planners’ Forum, SEABAS, Protect Baltic, and Baltic PlaNet.
Multi-level resilience: the story of governing urban mobility
″The coordination and cooperation between cities, regions and national authorities is improved through knowledge sharing, experience exchange and community building that leads to increased capacities of planning professionals,″
highlighted Tīna Šipkēvica representing VASAB Secretariat and PA Spatial Planning during the breakout session “From plans to reality: governing urban mobility for resilience.”
The session, organised by BSR Urban Mobility project platform and SUMPs for BSR project, presented survey insights from different governance contexts and brought together stakeholders from PA Transport and PA Spatial Planning. Discussions focused on urban mobility challenges that require coordinated action across sectors and governance levels, emphasising the importance of collaboration in building resilient and sustainable mobility systems.
Advancing spatial resilience in the Baltic Sea Region
″When spacemaking, wear your resilience glasses. When thinking resilience, don’t forget to think spatial,”
was the key takeaway form the presentation by Mr. Tiit Oidjärv, Head of Strategy and Analysis at the Land Use and Spatial Planning Policy Department of the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.
The session “Shifting tides, resilient territories: advancing spatial resilience in the Baltic Sea region” focused on the concept of spatial resilience — a key element of the VASAB Ministerial Tallinn Declaration on Spatial Resilience and the recently approved Baltic ReSeaLand project. In his keynote presentation, Mr. Tiit Oidjärv explored both theoretical and practical dimensions of spatial resilience and their relevance for contemporary spatial planning.
Following the keynote, participants engaged in group discussions around four dimensions of spatial resilience: territorial resistance, engineering spatial resilience, evolutionary spatial resilience, and territorial exaptability. The discussions encouraged participants to share experiences, exchange perspectives, and raise new questions on how resilience differs from crisis management in spatial planning practice.
Looking Towards a Resilient Future
Beyond the discussions on resilience, the Forum served as an important reminder that meaningful regional development depends on listening across sectors, learning from one another, and working together towards shared ambitions for the Baltic Sea Region. The diversity of stakeholders, perspectives, and experiences represented throughout the Forum reinforced the importance of looking beyond individual sectors and recognising cooperation across borders and disciplines as one of the region’s greatest strengths in achieving common long-term goals.
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