The Commission on Urban Planning was established in 1998 as a means to promote interaction and cooperation between Baltic Sea cities and towns in the field of urban planning and construction.

The Commission on Urban Planning aims to increase the awareness of the issues facing urban planning, construction and architecture among UBC member cities.

To support these aims, the Commission has created a network of town planners, master planners, regional planners, architects, civil engineers and other professionals committed to improving the quality of life in the Baltic Sea cities.

The Steering Committee: from the left Mr Lars-Göran Boström, Mrs Sirpa Kallio (left in 2011), Mr Niels-Peter Mohr, Mrs Mara Liepa-Zemesa and Mr Marek Karzyński.

Commission goals

• Sustainable development in different fields of sustainability in Baltic cities and regions
• Attractive Baltic cities
• Better quality of life in Baltic cities
• Positive economic development by initiating dialogue between city residents, the private sector and the public sector
• Sustainable development in Baltic cities and regions
• Planning and construction that reflects the socio-economic, cultural and political life of the cities is a tool to achieve these goals.

Commission Themes & Issues

The Commission on Urban Planning approaches a range of urban planning issues relating to both public and private domains.

Infrastructure and Commerce

• Inner city redevelopment
• Pedestrian-friendly city centres
• Better possibilities for public transportation
• New shopping centres and business areas

Life and Cultural Heritage

• Public space and its furniture
• Cultural heritage in planning
• City waterfronts
• Diversity of urban lifestyles
• New housing developments
• Renovation of residential areas, especially those built with concrete panels
• Redeveloping old harbour, industrial, storage and military areas (so called brown field areas) for residential and commercial use

Public Facilities

• Service facilities such as child day-care, schools and services for the elderly
• Parks and recreation areas

Technical Facilities and Transportation

• Energy management
• Water supply and waste water management
• Traffic systems and flows
• Road, street, square and marketplace planning

Planning Methods

• Strategic planning
• Territorial planning
• Legislative issues

Joining the Network

The Commission has established a growing network of planners, architects, civil engineers and other urban planning professionals.

The network members have the opportunity to meet each other through UBC-organized events - to exchange ideas and experiences, learn about new developments in urban planning, collaborate, and interact with members of the UBC.

Network Meetings

The Commission and cooperating expert organizations arrange meetings and other events focusing on the issues and themes of interest to the participants.

• Theme-related seminars and excursions
• Chances for the participants to inform member cities of their achievements in seminars
• Theme-related seminars and excursions
• Finding partners and EU financing for urban planning projects
• Congresses and seminars in the Baltic Sea region
• Professional auditing
• Exhibitions and publications

Finances

There are no membership fees, but network members are responsible for travel and accommodation. Other costs, such as seminar participation, will be subsidized when possible through grants or funding by official bodies.

In Memoriam
In June 2006, very sadly our dear friend and colleague Lars Brattberg passed away. Lars was for many years a valued member of the steering committee and a driving force within the Commission on Urban Planning. He was from the City of Malmö the lead partner of the ABC project (2003-2005)where he managed to involve a great number of cities and colleagues. Lars Brattberg was a warm,
generous and friendly character. He is greatly missed.

Steering group

The steering group is currently comprised of representatives from the leading cities of the Commission:  Aarhus, Denmark; Umeå, Sweden; Gdynia, Poland and Riga, Latvia.

Last meeting of the Commission: 

Urban Planning and Environment seminar "Urban Streams"
14-17 September 2014, Riga