Transitions to Sustainability Using Strategic Spatial Planning: Designing Spatial Visions in the Coal Phase-out Process in Lusatia

Abstract

Alongside the decision to phase out coal in the energy system by 2038 at the latest, the German government is seeking to foster a sustainability transition in the affected lignite regions. In Lusatia, the most deprived coal region, however, peripheralisation trends and the experience of structural collapse in the 1990s mean that political debate is less concerned with addressing socio-ecological challenges than it is with economic stimulus, especially employment substitution. Aspects of sustainability, therefore, seem to be difficult to embed within the transition. Against this background, we ask what strategic spatial planning can offer to support the transformative aspirations of sustainability transitions. We address this question by reporting on a planning process that we implemented to create spatial visions for Lusatia. The planning process demonstrated both the potential and limitations of the implementation of a regional design format, especially as regards the participation of external design teams. By creating integrated, visual strategies with external perspectives, the process helped to fill gaps in the ongoing process of developing a regional strategy for the transition. At the same time, it highlighted difficulties related to the complexity of the transition challenges as well as the actors and structures tasked with addressing them.