Spatial planning procedure. Foundations, examples, recommendations This volume discusses an instrument of considerable importance in the German spatial planning system: the spatial planning procedure. This procedure is used when large, spatially-relevant projects are planned – such as a new federal road or a factory outlet centre. Before the detailed planning of the project in question begins, the spatial planning procedure assesses whether and to what extent the proposed location or route for the project is spatially and environmentally acceptable. In many cases alternative locations or routes are compared to one another and the spatial planning procedure helps to determine which option is the most spatially and environmentally acceptable. The volume offers insights into the workings of spatial planning procedures for “novices”, experts and practitioners in administrations and planning departments alike. The first section presents the foundations, goals and operation of this type of procedure. The second section directs attention towards the fields of application for spatial planning procedures and presents a range of examples from practice – including the grid connection of an offshore wind farm, a pumped-storage power plant, a federal road, a ground-mounted photovoltaic system, a high-power voltage line, a factory outlet centre, a cable car and rail infrastructure. The third section offers opportunities to engage with this planning instrument in more depth. The authors of the various papers discuss here, for instance, when a project-related spatial planning procedure is necessary, and when a plan revision is more suitable. Other objects of observation are a comparison with federal sectoral planning, public participation and the further development of the regulatory framework for spatial planning procedures. Lessons learnt through past experience and suggestions for organising spatial planning procedures complete the volume, which concludes with a chapter of recommendations.
