Neighbourhood with Vision: German-Polish Cooperation Project BB-L Interconnection Starts with Kick-off Conference in Zielona Góra
At the launch of the Interreg A project ‚BB-L Interconnection. Vision for a Joint Interaction Area‚, the lead partner, the Department of Geodesy, Real Estate Management and Spatial Planning of the Marshal’s Office of the Lubusz Voivodeship, invited participants to its new Space Technology Park (Park Technologii Kosmicznych) in Zielona Góra on 13 June 2024.
A Promising Trio
The German project partners are the Joint Spatial Planning Department Berlin-Brandenburg and the Department of Regional Planning at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU). The conference marked the start of a long-term, collaborative process of cross-border spatial and regional development, for which the three-year project is intended to lay the foundations. The aim is to jointly develop an understanding of the challenges and potential of the Brandenburg-Lubusz interaction area.
The guests were welcomed by Jacek Urbanski, Member of the Board of the Marshal’s Office of the Lubusz Voivodeship: I am delighted that you are with us today and that we can start a new project with our closest neighbour, a region with which we have so much in common. I hope that the launch of this project will enable you to develop important positions together. Today’s programme also includes a visit to the Space Technology Park. Take a look at what is being developed in Lubuskie!
On behalf of the Brandenburg Minister for Infrastructure and State Planning, Rainer Genilke, Manuela Hahn, Head of the Joint Spatial Planning Department Berlin-Brandenburg, emphasised the importance of the German-Polish neighbourhood for the Land Brandenburg and its spatial development: Brandenburg is the only federal state whose constitution enshrines cooperation with a neighbouring country, Poland. We see ourselves as part of a common German-Polish interaction area with development needs and potential and have the shared goal of developing this area in the best possible way for the common good.
Prof. Ludger Gailing, Chair of Regional Planning at BTU Cottbus, referred to the many different areas with potential for cooperation. For example, the Department of Regional Planning is involved in the practical research project ‘Alterperimentale’ on the quality of life of older people in the rural German-Polish border region. We are now looking forward to working with the Marshal’s Office and the Joint Spatial Planning Department!
Jointly Developing the Interaction Area East Brandenburg-Lubuskie
Together, the three project partners presented the project plans to an expert audience of regional stakeholders in spatial development and cross-border cooperation.
It is divided into three work packages, which can be summarised as follows:
- Intensification of administrative cooperation in the field of spatial and regional development, creation and consolidation of joint cooperation structures, knowledge transfer and exchange of experience
- Analysis of regional socio-economic structures and challenges in the form of a territorial diagnosis
- Preparation of two expert reports on the polycentric settlement structure and use of renewable energies
- Development of a joint vision for the future of the Brandenburg-Lubusz interaction area including recommendations for action
- Reinforcing the identity as a joint interaction area
The project is organised as a three-year process involving regional planning, municipal and other stakeholders, as well as representatives of the scientific community . There will be specialist workshops, excursions and public spatial development conferences over the course of the project.
A group of experts from science and practice will support the activities, some of whose representatives briefly presented their work at the conference. In addition, Martin Holtrup from the Brandenburg State Office for Building and Transport, who is also providing specialist support for the project activities, presented the data potential and analysis results of spatial observation in Brandenburg.
The members of the expert group are: from the University of Zielona Góra: Dr hab. Ing. Anna Bazan-Krzywoszańska (Dean of the Faculty of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering), Dr Dorota Bazuń (Faculty of Social Sciences – Institute of Sociology), Dr Agnieszka Gandecka (Institute of Sport, Tourism and Nutrition), Dr hab. Mariusz Kwiatkowski (Faculty of Social Sciences – Institute of Sociology), Prof. Krzysztof Witkowski (Head of the Department of Logistics and Information Systems – Institute of Management and Quality Sciences). As well as: Dirk Gebhardt (Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development – BBSR), Dr. ing. Kirsten Mangels (Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Chair of Regional Development and Spatial Planning), Wolfgang Rump/ in representation Witold Feszczyn (Oderland-Spree Regional Planning Association), Ralf Ullrich (Lusatia-Spreewald Regional Planning Association), Dr Peter Ulrich (University of Potsdam, Scientific Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies).
The project is funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the INTERREG VI A Brandenburg-Poland 2021-2027 cooperation programme. It has a total budget of €1.02 million.
Employees of the European Spatial Development Department are responsible for the supervision and implementation of the project on behalf of the Joint Spatial Planning Department Berlin-Brandenburg.
Contact
Antje Wilke
Dr. Jürgen Neumüller
Iwona Pasieka-Göpfert