Learning from international comparisons: urban policies and implementation dynamics in European towns.

This paper describes the findings of a working group on urban policies and implementation across Europe. Towns vary in size, character, history, culture and commerce. General trends of evolution of the European town can be identified, with the preponderance of the car giving way to high quality public transport and then to consideration of pedestrians, including concepts such as pedestrianised streets, woonerfs and traffic-calmed zones. Policy often creates pedestrian "island" spaces in the centre of towns. Road safety, environmental protection, accessibility and heritage conservation are some of the values which inform strategy. Stakeholders in policies include national, regional and local government, and technical and professional organisations. The legislative framework for action is mostly imposed at national level, although financing is increasingly involving private partnerships. Consistency of policy and an integrated strategy are aims of current urban planning. For the covering abstract see ITRD E118896.