Transcript Role and potential small and medium-sized urban areas Latvia’s case Indra Ciuksa The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development 04.12.2014.

Role and potential
small and medium-sized urban
areas
Latvia’s case
Indra Ciuksa
The Ministry of Environmental Protection
and Regional Development
04.12.2014.
Definition of SMUAs
• No common definition at EU level - multiple definitions
are in use:
– New OECD-EC definition is 50-100 thousand inhabitants for
small cities, 100-250 thousand - for medium sized cities;
– ESPON TOWN project – below 50 thousand inhabitants for small
and medium sized urban areas
• Different situation in Member States
– depends from size, administrative division, historical and cultural
context
Urban areas in Latvia
• 77 cities and towns, including:
• 9 republican cities – more than 20 thousand inhabitants
• 5 cities – more than 50 thousand inhabitants
•
21 regional centres – 5 to 20 thousand inhabitants
• Largest city – Riga more than 640 thousand inhabitants
• Smallest town – Durbe 527 inhabitants
• Urban areas cover 11% of all the country
• Degree of urbanisation – 68 %
Monocentric development tendencies
Income tax per inhabitant in local municipalities budget
Balanced network of centres – potential for
polycentric development
Remarkable regional development
disparities
5th largest regional disparities in EU-28
(dispersion of regional GDP per inhabitant in
NUTS 3 regions)
BUT
One of the fastest growing economies
in EU
Since 2000 Latvia has a highest GDP growth rate
(5,6%)
Republican cities demonstrates higher
growth potential
Indicator
Unemployment level
(%)
Income tax per one
inhabitant in
municipalities budget
(EUR)
Number of enterprises
per 1000 of
inhabitants
Other
Municipalities
municipalities
Republican
containing
(without Riga
cities
regional centres agglomeration)
7,27%
10,35%
9,60%
503,38
381,16
358,08
29,82
20,04
16,21
Challenges of Latvia’s development centres
• Economical and social:
•
high unemployment, increasing poverty rate
•
insufficient business environment and infrastructure, need for new jobs
•
lack of skilled labour that could meet the labour market needs
• Demographic:
•
population decline, including children and young people, brain drain
•
ageing population, need to review the service network of local governments, etc.
• Environmental and climate:
•
deprived and contaminated territories in former industrial areas,
•
low energy efficiency of buildings, poor condition of heating networks that causes high heat
losses
•
incomplete use of centralized water supply services, in some cases outdated infrastructure
networks
Regional policy in Latvia
• Development planning and policy documents:
– Sustainable Development Strategy 2030
– National Development plan 2014 - 2020
– Regional Policy Guidelines 2013- 2020
• Oriented on unlocking the potential of different areas
• Urban development issues – part of national regional
policy
• Proposes polycentric development as a precondition for
sustainable and balanced development
National spatial development perspective
Settlement structure
Development directions:
• enhancement of the
potential and
competitiveness of the
development centres
• mutual co-operation and
interaction of urban and
rural areas
• establishing of
functional networks of
development centres
Spaces of national interest
Development
directions:
• Rural development space
• Baltic Sea coastal area
• Riga metropolis area
• Eastern border (EU
external border)
• Outstanding areas of
nature, landscape and
cultural history
Role and potential of urban areas (I)
• International development centre (1)
– Capital Riga, largest city among the Baltic states
– scientific and entrepreneurial potential
– significant business, science, culture and tourism centre of
Northern Europe with a global development perspective
• National development centres (8)
– largest cities with developed industry, transport, public services
and social infrastructure
– centres of economic growth and knowledge creation, the driving
forces of economic development
– in co-operation and interaction with the nearest urban and rural
areas can create the critical mass for growth
Role and potential of urban areas (II)
• Regional development centres (21)
– significant production and/ or culture centres with developed
social infrastructure and various services
– the potential considerably exceeding the potential of the rest of
small towns
– should continue specialization, developing mutually
supplementing co-operation, thus achieving the attraction of
human resources and economic activity equal to development
centres of national significance
Role and potential of urban areas (III)
• Local centres – small towns, in some cases larger rural
centres, identified by planning regions
– provide basic public services and working places, also for
surrounding areas
– ensure attractive living environment
Policy approach in strengthening urban areas
• Investment concentration in development centres within the
regional development support measures
• Integrated local development strategies - basis for allocation
of investments
• Place based and integrated solutions
• «Basket» of services for each level of development centres
- one of the criteria for allocation of investments
(entrepreneurship, education, health, culture, social care,
sport)
• Thematic focus of investments: business infrastructure,
quality and availability of public services, mobility,
administrative capacity
Thank you!