Hope you all are enjoying nice and relaxing summer! So far, this year has been very active despite the lockdowns and restrictions due to the pandemic. After adoption of the Methodology, VASAB launched the update of its Long-Term Perspective for the Territorial Development of the Baltic Sea Region (LTP) – strategic spatial planning document targeted towards territorial coherence in 2040. The update of the Long-Term Perspective will take place by the end of 2022 and is carried out together with support of commissioned experts from Spatial Foresight and Nordregio.

The update of the territorial perspective will be based on the powerful metaphors already developed in the VASAB first vision in 1994, giving them a ‘future-oriented twist’. The purpose of the process is to bridge the ‘old’ with the ‘new’ and develop a fresh document, that builds up on the relevant topics of the existing VASAB Long Term Perspective, updated and adjusted to current and future trends and policy contexts.

During the first internal workshops in May and June 2021, VASAB Committee together with commissioned experts discussed:

• overall approach to the Long-Term Perspective,
• direction to the vision,
• values to build upon,
• challenges, trends and changes in the Baltic Sea Region and beyond from the perspective of the ‘Pearls’, ‘Strings’, ‘Patches’ and ‘System’ – the four metaphors of the first VASAB vision for the Baltic Sea Region.

Save the date for the VASAB Long-Term Perspective workshops!

VASAB together with commissioned experts are working on the update of the Long-Term Perspective throughout the summer 2021 in order to invite you to join to the first external stakeholder workshop already on 28th September online – “Bridging the old with the new: How can we build a better Baltic Sea future for 2040 and beyond?”. This event will be organised as part of EUSBSR Annual Forum program, considering the role of VASAB Long-Term Perspective as a strategic document that provides territorial dimension of the EUSBSR framework. By applying participatory approach, the workshop will discuss how the Baltic Sea Region could look like in 2040, what trends and policies can be relevant for the Baltic Sea Region. During workshop the extent to which current developments can be drivers for developing a clear vision for a more sustainable, thriving and modern Baltic Sea Region will be explored. The results of the discussion will further be applied into the work of the update of the VASAB Long-Term Perspective. Application for the workshop (28th September, at 9.00-12.00 CET) is within the registration for the 12th EUSBSR Annual Forum at: https://eusbsr2021.eu/

If you are virtually attending 19th European Week of Regions and Cities this year, do not miss the session where LTP-update will be discussed – the workshop “Baltic Sea Region vision and strategies for thriving regions and cities” on 12 October 2021. The workshop will discuss the prospects and benefits of macro-regional spatial planning for European regions and cities, and what can be transferred to other areas beyond the existing practice in the Baltic Sea Region. Workshop will also discuss how visions and territorial perspectives can help tackling global challenges (e.g. pandemic reality effects, climate resilience, digital transformation) in macro-regional/cross-border scale. Application for the workshop is within the registration for the #EURegionsWeek at: https://eu.app.swapcard.com/event/eu-regions-week/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfNjMwOTgy

See you soon!