The countryside is changing rapidly. Although the agricultural sector is still the largest user of land, it is often no longer the economic motor of the countryside. Here and there the habitability of an area is at stake. The countryside around the cities is threatened by competition from urban uses, but the proximity of the city also offers new challenges and opportunities. Changes in physical planning and new EU directives demand further adaptation.
We concentrate on the economic and administrative aspects of these processes, paying special attention to the harmonisation of the supply and demand of uses in the countryside and the balancing of interests. We help policymakers to seek integral solutions that strengthen the vitality of the countryside. The tools that we employ for this purpose include social cost-benefit analysis, geographical information systems and process control.
The regional scale level ranges from EU regions, provinces, sub-regions to municipalities.
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Ecological networks and cost-benefit analysis
Increasing pressure on land demands a careful assessment of competing activities in land-use planning. LEI has recently explored how the value of ecological networks can be incorporated into cost-benefit analysis to improve spatially explicit land-use planning.
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Nested markets in multifunctional agriculture
Regional agricultural products are said to be traded in nested markets, i.e. segments of the wider market for that type of product. European agriculture is not so much a multifunctional agriculture producing public goods, but a region-based common-resource agriculture.
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Spearheads
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Integrated area studies
In these studies, land use, institutions (governance), economic development and future development possibilities etc. are analysed for particular regions. Information at different scale levels is translated into consequences for the region. This also covers the translation of the consequences of national and international policy, legislation and regulations for a region, particularly for the use of space, water and soil.
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Competition for scarce space, water and land
The various claims on space are mapped and analysed. Demand, supply and quality of space, water and land and instrumental possibilities and limitations play an important role here. Appropriate tools to improve and stimulate synergy between different forms of land use are investigated and developed, where necessary (e.g. water-recreation, residence-landscape).
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Regional benchmarking
Regions are compared qualitatively and/or quantitatively in respect of habitability, sustainability, entrepreneurship, regional development and development possibilities. Besides comparing regions, we also compare important regional stakeholders (e.g. water boards and municipalities). Regions can also be compared in relation to one specific theme (e.g. realisation of National Ecological Network), both nationally and internationally.
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Strategic advice on regional development
We advise on and supervise processes for and in regions (and stakeholders within these regions), so that they can develop in the desired direction (knowledge management, knowledge arrangement , regional development visions and regional entrepreneurship). We base ourselves here on the People, Planet and Profit principle. The stakeholders include central and local government, companies, members of the public, consumers and social organisations.