European Union Spatial Policy and Planning
EU policies and programmes are already a familiar part of the working environment for professional planners and local planning authorities; for example the directive on the environmental assessment of projects, or the need to identify partners in other member states; or to join networks in order to participate in EU programmes; or to develop projects which qualify for ERDF or ESF grants. The Commission is increasingly recognized as part of the structure of government and network of government contacts, in the same way as national government departments.
To operate professionally in this context, to 'think European' and to understand the implications of this policy context, as well as the continental spatial scale, presents a major challenge to all planners, students and planning educators. This book is written for those who need to know more about this new context. It is the product of the author's several years' experience of teaching EU spatial policy and the institutions responsible, to senior undergraduates and postgraduates.
The book is divided into four parts: Part One explains the powers and institutional structure of the EU. Part Two traces the emergence of a Europe-wide spatial policy, and describes the EU's role in regional, environmental, transport, and urban planning. Part Three deals with the practical aspects of operating professionally in Europe and Part Four reviews the prospects for further policy development in the context of the 1996 IGC.
'This is a highly useful and authoritatively written textbook. It will serve students well, but the topics and the manner of their treatment means that it will appeal to, and inform, a much wider constituency' - Urban Studies
'The book is extremely valuable in its breadth and conception. For many it will provide a valuable base in introducing a wide range of aspects and an overall perspective on EU spatial policy' - Local Economy
'I can see this book becoming the standard reference for surveying and planning practitioners and students dealing with European planning issues' - Chartered Surveyor Monthly
'This book is value for money. And in its field it is a pre-condition for the transparency in Union affairs that is increasingly asked for' - Nordrevy
'A comprehensive account of EU spatial policy and planning, well written and fully supported with bibliography and illustrative material, which takes the reader all the way from the fundamentals of European integration to the present operation of regional, urban, environmental and transport policy' - Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
'The book is sure to equip the reader, as Williams intended, to "make the mental leap required to develop new ways of thinking not only to accommodate the EU spatial scale but also to conceptualize a continental jurisdiction and planning subject.”' - APA Journal
'Deserves to be read widely by students and practitioners alike so that they become aware of the European influences on planning practice' - Town Planning Review
'European Union Spatial Policy and Planning is the ideal textbook for the planner who wishes to understand EU planning in its institutional and political contexts. The book is clear and easy to follow. The reader can swiftly proceed on the basis of little preceding knowledge of European policy and politics. The book covers such topics as the institutional history, the powers of European public bodies, leading to more detailed treatment of spatial, regional and urban policies. The style is lucid and lively. There is a strong command of detail. The book neatly links spatial concerns with the development of policy' - Local Government Studies