Long-term spatial planning needs an accountable owner, architect says

Spatial planning needs clear responsibility that can endure beyond individual terms, contracts and careers, architect Veronika Valk-Siska argues in an opinion article published by ERR.

A comprehensive plan can take years or even decades to complete, while detailed planning procedures can drag on. By the time construction begins, the person who initiated a project may have moved to another job or city, or retired. The challenge, Valk-Siska writes, is to preserve its goals, knowledge and accountability throughout the process.

Spatial decisions shape the living environment for decades, and changing them is costly, making thorough planning essential. But politicians change, officials move between roles and project managers leave when their contracts end. With each change, work can start over: a new leader wants a new vision, an official may not know why earlier decisions were made, or a new council may question the need for the project. As a result, time, institutional memory, continuity and trust can all be lost.

Strategic spatial planning does not end when a document is completed. Its strategy lives on through people, cooperation and decisions, Valk-Siska writes, or it remains unused on a shelf.

Every spatial planning process therefore needs an agreed lead who keeps its goals in view, remembers the reasons for decisions, identifies delays and reports when work is left undone. Responsibility should be clear, so those involved know whom to contact.

This does not mean relying on one exceptionally committed person. It requires a well-managed team and working arrangements that can withstand staff changes. Handover should include not just the project files, but also an understanding of why the work is being done, what has been agreed and which questions remain unresolved.

That is a matter of management culture. Construction projects, budgets and deadlines can be managed, Valk-Siska writes, but it is harder to sustain the long and often invisible work that begins well before construction and continues through the use, maintenance and alteration of a building or street. The quality of the living environment depends on how these stages work together.

The issue is not only a concern for architects. Civil engineer Alari Arro also discussed management culture in a presentation titled “What else must we learn in addition to technical and technological fields?” at the “Construction 2022+” conference. Technical and technological expertise is necessary, but not enough: people also need to know how to organise cooperation, explain decisions and take responsibility.

Managing a long process is therefore not an extra task alongside professional work. It is part of professional competence.

The same question arises with the national spatial plan “Estonia 2050”. Villy Lopman and Pille Metspalu have described it as a set of values guiding spatial decisions, including by favouring the use of underused buildings and areas with existing infrastructure.

This links long-term spatial planning to practical choices. Should development begin by taking over a new area, or should planners first consider how to make better use of what already exists? Should a building be assessed on its own or together with the street, public transport, services and public space? Should decisions consider only construction costs, or also the wider effect on people’s quality of life and the future use and maintenance of the living environment?

A national plan can set a direction, but it cannot implement itself. If the goal is to make better use of existing buildings and infrastructure, that principle must inform municipal plans, investment decisions, procurement and project briefs.