Brussels, 08/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - During the public hearing organised on 2 May in Brussels by the EP's regional development committee on sustainable communities, MEPs were informed about a study entitled, “The Possibilities for Success of the Sustainable Communities Approach and its Implementation”. The study was drawn up by a team of researchers from Leeds Metropolitan University at the request of the EP's regional development committee (Policy Department Structural and Cohesion Policies). It should be seen in the context of the Bristol agreement concluded at the informal ministerial conference in Bristol on 6-7 December 2005.
Overall, the study seeks to: evaluate how spatial and urban planning practices in the EU27 correspond to the sustainable communities approach and its “integrated place making”; enhance knowledge and experiences in sustainable urban development by shedding light and learning from good practices in the conception of policies and most recent case studies; provide a response to the question of how the sustainable communities approach can be introduced and enhanced throughout Europe; formulate a series of recommendations for contributing to EP decisions on sustainable communities in the 2007-13 period. This study (11 pages, 2007, ISBN 978-92-823-2216-1) is available from the Official Publications Office of the EC in Luxembourg and/or at the site (in English and French) (http: //http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/organes/regi/regi_20070502_0900.htm ). (gb)