An open instrumental approach: the case of supra-local plans in the region of central counties of Catalonia

Abstract

During the first two decades of democracy, although Catalonia has a territorial planning law, spatial planning remains as an abstract and distant purpose from society. In late 2003, however, confidence in spatial planning is restated. In this context, the implementation of Supra-local Urban Plans (PDU), articulates the multiple levels of the territorial model established by the Catalan Autonomous Government (2003-2010). However, in practice, the diversity of drafter’s methodological approaches shows that the instrumental opportunity of the PDUs exceeds the plurimunicipal coordination. PDUs are not typeable instruments; their potential flexibility allows adapting its scope to the uniqueness of each territory. The aim of this paper is to define the innovative contributions and the instrumental specificity of the PDU through a multiple case study.