EUINTERREG III B Project PUSEMOR Public Services in Sparsely Populated Mountain Regions PUSEMOR Fina

1
EU-INTERREG III B Project PUSEMORPublic
Services in Sparsely Populated Mountain
RegionsPUSEMOR Final Conference
SchlusskonferenzCH-Lugano, Hotel de la Paix
June, 21th 2007, 1700Synthesis of the Pilote
Projects Factors of Success and
Transferability of Results Department of
Regional Development and Spatial
PlanningKaiserslautern University of
Technology Prof. Dr. habil. Gabi
Troeger-WeißMember of the PUSEMOR Advisory Group
2
Contents

• Demographic change Effects on rural areas,
  strategies, options of action
• Synthesis of the pilote projects
• Implementation of strategies Contribution of
  the pilote projects to supportthe improvement of
  public services
• Factors for success
• Transferability of results to other regions
• Integrated conceptual approach Region Südlicher
  Oberrhein

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
3
Demographic Change

• Considering demographic change in general
• The spatial effects of the demographic change
  will proceed very different in the specific types
  of spatial areas.
• The quantitative decrease of population and the
  expected shift in the age structure will
  intensify problems of rural areas and
  municipalities.
• Maintaining an adequate offer of infrastructures
  and public services on the current level will be
  difficult in the future.

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
4
Demographic Change in Rural Areas

• The demographic trends decreasing und ageing of
  population notably apply to rural areas and
  municipalities
• Declining and changing demand and level of
  capacity of private and public infrastructure
  and services
• Increasing economic problems for holders of
  facilities and shops (Under-utilization /
  decreasing efficiency)
• At the same time Decreasing income of rural
  municipalities (tax revenue) and private
  providers of goods and services

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
5
Effects on Rural Areas

• Worsening of accessibility by road network and
  public transport
• Growing chasm in the provision of ICT networks
  digital divide
• Hindered conditions of the provision of private
  and public services e.g. goods and services of
  the every day need
• Rising urbanistic problems in villages,
  increasing vacancies of buildings
• Further out-migration of young and well educated
  population (brain drain) lack of qualified
  employees
• Structural change in the broadest sense

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
Main Task Improvement of Public Services

• Rural municipalities are confronted with the
  great challenge to face the increasing pressure
  on the future provision of public services
• Public and private service offers and facilities
  are equally affected by this development
• Kindergarten und schools
• Transport networks, public transport
• Health care services and facilities
• Public administration
• Postal services und banking
• Shops and facilities of the every day need

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
9
Demand for Action

• Adjustment processes and concepts to keep and
  improve the provision of public services have
  greatest importance
• Adequate provision of public services is a
  necessary precondition for maintaining the
  overall quality of rural municipalities
• Countermeasures are possible yet, rural
  municipalities and further involved parties have
  to react in due time
• Cooperations and qualified guidance of actors and
  stakeholders in provision of public services are
  of increasing importance

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
10
Development of Strategies Future Tasks of
Action

• Information Shrinking processes represent a
  chance
• Intercommunal cooperation
• Multifunctionality of infrastructure
• Redefinition of accessibility standards
• Shifting of locations, closure of facilities if
  necessary
• Declaration of family-friendly regions(Family
  audits, Awards for family-friendlymunicipalities
  et al.)

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
11
Strategies Strengthening Provision with
Public Services

• (Economic) capacity of public services
  predominantlydetermined by size of supply area
  and number of users
• Various forms of cooperation necessary to extend
  
• provision of services
• Priority in cooperation of
  municipalities / flexible local solutions
• Concentration of public services e.g. in
  market towns
• Actively strengthening / supporting
  function as backbone
• Elementary importance of accessibility
• Concentration limited by distance / journey time

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
12
Strategies Options of Action

• Supra-local instead of local solutions
  (Economies of scale)
• Combination of several domains
  (Economies of scope)
• Movable and / or temporary solutions / New
  IC-Technologies as chance
  (Service to customers)
• Reduction of standards
• Integrated combination of options /
  Adaption to particular spatial situation

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
13
Strategies Cooperation for Implementation

• Cooperation among service providers and
• between providers and users of services
• gains increasing relevance
• Public authorities as initiators, organisers and
• promoters of cooperation
• Activating local citizenship for voluntary
  services /
• using specific potential in rural areas
• Well-adapted organisation of
  cooperation is an important chance for
  improving provision of public services

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
14
Strategies Conclusion

• Rural areas can counteract the demographic change
  with innovative concepts by
• Raising the awareness of the future development
  of population and provision of public services
• Intensifying cooperations between involved actors
  and stakeholders (also between public and
  private)
• Being susceptible to innovative conceptual ideas
  on local, regional and political level
• Implementing well elaborated ideas and concepts
  to ensure and improve public services and
  attractiveness of rural regions and
  municipalities in medium term

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
15
Supporting the Implementation of Strategies

• The elaborated and manifold PUSEMOR pilote
  projects aim at the implementation of mentioned
  strategies
• Contributing the improvement of public services
  solving problems detected by analysis and
  assessment during project progress of PUSEMOR
• Representing innovative and local adapted options
  of actions and (flexible) solutions
• Delivering of direct visible success, also for
  the general public work with media
• Strengthening bottom-up work processes and
  cooperations with the particular local partners

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
16
Pilote Projects Factors for Success

• Solutions have to be adapted to the needs of the
  local population / meeting the demand
• Importance of regional identity / adjustment
• Supporting and co-ordinating voluntary work in a
  professional way
• Impetus for developing new projects may be given
  by increasing demand and/or high pressure through
  existing deficits and problems
• Creative solutions aside from mainstream
  structures are important
• Projects can strongly profit from exchange of
  best practices

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
17
Factors for Success

• 5. Cross-sector solutions need involving of
  different partners
• 6. Good climate of cooperation structures and
  practices, also between public and private actors
• For keeping a project running, the project
  executives need a strong motivation / patience -
  a strong leader person is helpful for overcoming
  difficulties
• 8. Small businesses or volunteers running a
  project need
• a good knowledge about the administrative, legal
  and political framework
• professional support and training possibilities

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
18
Transferability of Results

• Transferability of the pilote projects ideas and
  starting points to other rural (mountain) regions
  and municipalities is given to a certain degree
  if
• Similar spatial situations, problems or demand
  are existent or expected
• Stakeholders can adopt the developed solutions
  and strategies and integrate them into their
  activities
• Nevertheless in most cases modifications conce
  rning the specific framework conditions (e.g.
  territorial or legal context) will be necessary
• Finally the transnational composition of
  PUSEMOR allows a transfer of gained knowledge

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
19
The Project PUSEMORin the Region Südlicher
Oberrhein
Spa and health care centre / structural change
Part of a central place / provision of services
Agriculture, tourism and commuting
Tourism and health care / structural change
Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
20
Integrated Conceptual Approach Region
Südlicher Oberrhein

• Development of communal future concepts for the
  four project municipalities to reach following
  aims
• Improvement of the provision of public services
• Maintenance of the functional emphases,
  operability and performance of the municipalities
• Ensuring the overall attractivity (trade and
  commerce) and the (residential) quality of the
  location
• Dealing with specific structural changes in
  tourism, health care and spa sector
• Development of strategies and measures to
  respond adequately on shifting demand caused by
  demographic change

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
21
Project Municipalities Development of
Population 1981 2006
Prof. Dr. habil. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
22
Trend of Population Development 2005 2025
1,9
1,6
0,7
- 2,9
- 3,3
- 0,4
- 1,0
- 9,4
- 10,0
Prof. Dr. habil. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
23
Developed Strategies

• Increasing of the family-friendliness
• Stronger consideration of ageing of population in
  spatial planning processes
• Ensuring provision of goods and services of every
  day need within walking distance alternative
  concepts
• Development of housing schemes for elderly
  citizens
• Assuring adequate public transport services in
  particular for seniors
• Enhancing usage of new media, especially
  broadband internet access and mobile information
  technologies
• Using new ideas to secure the local medical
  provision
• Intensifying of intercommunal cooperation

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
24
Pilote Projects Region Südlicher Oberrhein

• Additionally to the integrated concepts
  development of three pilote projects
• Fact finding for the feasibility of broadband
  internet access
• Local overall concept to deal with the specific
  demand of a population with increasing average
  age / decreasing number of inhabitants
• Concepts for the provision of daily needs /
  retail services in sparsely populated areas
• Additional active support for the municipalities
• Utilization of (local) results on regional level

Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß
25
Thank you for yourattention !
Prof. Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß