1. The ASSET project of ECOVAST Action to Strengthen Small European Towns Phil Turner About the project Pam Moore Research

2. Winchester South East England, UK [email_address] 4 th International Symposium on Small Towns, Grieskirchen, Upper Austria 24 April 2009 Phil Turner Vice President of ECOVAST www.ecovast.org Philip A Turner, Dipl. Arch., Dip.TP., RIBA (retired), MRTPI

3. ECOVAST the ASSET project (Action to Strengthen Small European Towns)

4. ECOVAST This work on ASSET is important to our members in many countries ECOVAST has active interest in Heritage of buildings Cultural heritage Survival of towns and villages -’sustainability’ Involvement of citizens in integrated rural development The landscape setting of villages and small towns

5. ASSET ASSET – Action to Strengthen Small European Towns is a project instigated by ECOVAST as a result of an international conference held in Retz, Austria in 2005 This conference identified a European policy gap – attention has been given to larger settlements and to rural areas, but small towns have “fallen through the net”

6. Small towns and the villages in their surrounding areas. How small / large? In the UK - approximately 2,500 - 30,000 population - but research for ASSET reveals a wider range in some countries In the work of ECOVAST and its influence on policy at European Union level and through the Council of Europe, this project has generated thought about the key role of towns related to the surrounding landscape and villages The key role of towns related to the surrounding landscape and villages - ‘hinterland’ The future importance of ‘Localness’ - food, energy and services, especially health, housing, retail, education and transport

8. There is a growing awareness that small towns have advantages and opportunities Transition Towns UK, Australia, New Zealand and USA - the Transition Model for responding to the twin challenges of Peak Oil and Climate Change - is a recent initiative by the people of towns and villages to consider how to respond to global influences http://www.transitiontowns.org/ Slow Food, Slow Cities - originating in Italy - ’Cittaslow’ , is Italian for "slow city" or "slow town” an international network of towns, working towards a set of goals that aim to improve quality of life… http://www.cittaslow.org.uk/

9. Until now planning policies in many EU member states and under the European Spatial Development Perspective , have focused on cities, conurbations and larger urban networks Smaller towns and villages have been unsure about their ability to survive - to be sustained

10. The town or village has faced decline of population and services Rural residents, especially young people, have been attracted to larger towns and cities Even former ‘market towns’ that served a large hinterland have been stifled There is a need to connect smaller towns and the more populated cities - policy makers should be looking out from the metropolitan areas, not just looking in from their immediate boundaries

11. ASSET Partners Small towns or associations of towns are welcome to become a member of ECOVAST or to become a partner of the ASSET Organising Group - the present members are: ECOVAST APURE (l'association pour les Universités Rurales Européennes) SEEDA ( UK South East of England Regional Development Agency) Yorkshire Forward ( UK Regional Development Agency, England) The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) England UK MONTE, ACE - Desenvolvimento Alentejo Central, Portugal

13. Recent initiatives ECOVAST (Croatia) and ASSET have joined (as non partners) an INTERREG IVB Mediterranean area, with Malta as lead partner. It is taking the title of TOWNES and also some of the partners we had gathered from meetings in London, Brussels and Spain. There are 16 partners in all, from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Greece. Efforts to join other EU funded projects continue, with prospects in the areas of North East Europe and Central Europe. At Potsdam recently we have discussed the Declaration of Wittstock (Chamber of Architects and ECOVAST) and the Brandenburg State spatial planning policy that envisages ‘small towns as the metropoles of the cultural landscape’.

14. Events involving ASSET Europa Nostra will hold its 2009 Congress, on a Small Towns theme, in Taormina on Sicily, Italy , from 3-7 June 2009 . It will be organised in cooperation with Italia Nostra and the Distretto Culturale Taormina Etna. Pam and I are giving a paper Linked to ECOVAST International General Assembly Thursday 8 October 2009 Macedonia FY . INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “ LANDSCAPE AND SMALL HISTORIC TOWNS: TWO KEY THEMES ” October or November 2009 - An international 'round table' on small historic towns linked to ECOVAST Croatia Annual Conference

15. The ASSET projects will offer the sharing of good practice examples From a previous INTERREG project (SUSSET) Scotland UK Sweden Poland Greece There is a toolkit that can be offered to speakers of other languages http://www.britnett-carver.co.uk/susset/

16. There are examples from the UK, from Croatia and from Poland of community-led plans that can identify the visions and needs of local residents, visitors and workers and that can influence rural development in terms of the management of land and economic enterprises. United Kingdom England There are examples from the UK, from Croatia and from Poland of community-led plans that can identify the visions and needs of local residents, visitors and workers and that can influence rural development in terms of the management of land and economic enterprises. United Kingdom England

17. PLEASE JOIN US IN THE INITIATIVES ASSET project welcomes new members of the Organising Group Each partner gives 2,000 euro each year for three years Towns and associations of towns can also join ECOVAST!

18. ASSET RESEARCH Pam Moore, B.A. (Hons) Secretary General of ECOVAST [email_address]

19. INTRODUCTION For those who have not been involved in the ASSET Project previously, information gathering was an important part of the start up phase of ASSET. It took three forms: - Databases of appropriate contacts - Country proformas compiled using internet sources, such as EU sites - Questionnaires

20. DATABASES & PROFORMAS Although some work has been done on these, it soon became apparent that they were most useful if data was already available on each country, so the questionnaire was given priority and was devised and sent to contacts in as many European countries as possible – about thirty in all

21. THE QUESTIONNAIRE To date, responses have been secured from 24 and analysis has commenced on the findings. We have managed a good coverage of Europe – Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden have all responded – in varying degrees of detail. The questionnaire has been available in English, French, Italian and Croatian

22. QUESTIONNAIRE CONTENT To briefly summarise the information sought through the questionnaire : Governmental structure of country Definition of a “small town” (population) Whether this includes its hinterland Specific issues of concern to small towns What support is received and from whom

24. ANALYSIS There is still much to be done on the analysis of what is a wealth of information, but it has become apparent that the picture is a very complex one. Almost every aspect of the data creates questions as well as answering them and to extract the maximum from what has been learned, follow up work is needed. For example, even the definition of a small town is problematic. Whether population is used as the deciding factor, or facilities, or the typology method, the variation across Europe is substantial.

26. DEFINITION I have come to the conclusion that the best advice on the subject was that which I heard at a conference in Jyv ä skl ä , Finland in 2006 – “ If you think you are a small town, you probably are” Similarly complex and variable were the results of analysis on factors such as the challenges faced, the degree of interaction with the hinterland and the amount of support received from government and other sources

27. PHASE TWO Therefore, the next steps in my research will be: - Obtaining further responses, which should prove possible – I continue to seek contacts - More in-depth analysis of the information - Where appropriate, consulting existing respondents again to seek clarification and further information - Using the knowledge gained to develop the databases for the ASSET Project - A further questionnaire specifically to seek information on the perceived effects of the economic downturn on the small towns of Europe

28. NEW QUESTIONNAIRE I have devised a follow up questionnaire which I have started to circulate. I would like to acknowledge the helpful comments on the draft which I have had from Phil Turner, and from Crispin Moor of the Commission for Rural Communities. To date, I have sent it to contacts in 18 countries, and three responses have already been received. I can provide copies of the document electronically. The “new” questionnaire has not necessarily been sent to the same contacts – in some instances more suitable respondents have been identified

29. SECOND QUESTIONNAIRE CONTENT To give an idea of the type and scope of questions: I have started with a fundamental one - Is there evidence that the economic downturn is causing changes that threaten small towns in your country? Then respondents have the opportunity, partly through multiple choice and partly through comment boxes, to elaborate on a variety of topics…

31. QUESTIONS CONTINUED… Next I have asked about: Support for small towns during the recession – and the adequacy (or otherwise) of this… Interaction with hinterland – is there more or less? Relating to the landscape – are there threats from out of town development? Other challenges from, for example, industrial development (e.g. mining), changes in agricultural practices , climate change (e.g. drought or flooding)

32. QUESTIONS CONTINUED… The questionnaire concludes with a section seeking information on other sources such as research studies, reports published or forthcoming etc, and whether any awards schemes exist for “good practice”. I aim to translate the text into French which will enable me to widen the list of countries being consulted, as well as seeking further contacts for the English version.

33. CONCLUSION If you have any questions about the ASSET research, or you can offer a contact to complete a questionnaire, please speak with me here, or contact me at e mail address : [email_address]

34. Thank you for your attention! Grieskirchen