Toolkit for better public participation in spatial planning available –

Toolkit for better public participation in spatial planning available

03. April 2012. a.

EELC has completed work on a toolkit designed for promoting public participation in spatial planning procedures, which is now available on our homepage in Estonian. The toolkit is aimed at officials in municipal governments other than larger towns and is based on a project carried out in close co-operation with two municipal governments in the Tartu area (town of Elva and Tähtvere parish).

The toolkit comprises of two parts. First of them is a handy poster with step-by-step guidelines on how to involve public in spatial planning procedures. The other documents includes examples and clarifications of how to use different means of communication most effectively as well as recommendations for inclusion of public in the decision-making processes that have an impact on the spatial development of municipalities on a more general level.

The toolkit is based on the analysis of previous experiences of the two municipalities co-operating in the project and discussions with both the officials in municipalities as well as the locals and NGOs in those municipalities. Based on the analysis, recommendations that would be viable and most cost-effective for smaller municipalities were included in the toolkit.

The project was carried out with the financial support of the National Foundation of Civil Society and the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs. For more information on the project and its results, contact us via e-mail siim@k6k.ee or by phone +372 55 683 880 (Siim Vahtrus).