Coming soon: The Atlas for the Territorial Agenda 2030

The Territorial Agenda 2030 (TA2030) sets out the territorial priorities for Europe to ensure a sustainable future for all places and people in Europe. It also states that actions must be based on a common understanding, that development needs and the impacts of future developments differ between places, and that cooperation and coordination is needed between places, levels of governments, policy sectors and groups of society.

On the one hand, the actions needed result in economic, social and environmental challenges, but, on the other hand, they safeguard and capitalise on the existing potential to improve living conditions in all places and for all people.

The policy responses, which are highlighted in the TA2030, need a strong territorial dimension and coordinated approaches that acknowledge and use the diversity and specificities of places. The knowledge of specific economic and societal structures and trends forms the basis of the formulation of the territorial challenges and the policy priorities targeted in the TA2030. In-depth territorial and spatial knowledge is even more important for the regional interpretation of challenges and opportunities in the implementation of the TA2030.

Thinking spatially, nothing is better suited to obtaining information than maps.

The Atlas covers a broad range of areas of action in the Territorial Agenda 2030. It forms an analytical synopsis of the territorial priorities and respective territorial challenges resulting from demographic change and migration, the strength and competitiveness of cities and regions, regional cooperation and trends relating to the environment and natural resources.

With the Atlas, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community updates the evidence-based information from the Territorial Agenda 2007.

The Atlas is the result of collaboration between the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) and ESPON. Using maps and infographics, it outlines in 36 chapters the trends in and existing potential for European territorial development and shows where the regional differences, similarities and potential synergies are. The maps were produced using a large number of different national, European and international sources, including the processed data sets of the partners involved.

The Atlas will be published early December by the German presidency of the EU Council