The Bavarian state government has revised the state development program. However, experts and the “Ways to a better LEP” initiative criticized the revised version. According to them, Bavaria’s future challenges cannot be mastered with it. Read here what they are now calling for.
The Bavarian state government has revised the state development program. However, experts and the “Ways to a better LEP” initiative criticized the revised version. According to them, Bavaria’s future challenges cannot be mastered with it. Read here what they are now calling for.
Bavaria is facing major challenges. On the one hand, there is the climate crisis. But there is also, for example, the need to create spatial justice in the state. Living conditions in urban and rural areas often still diverge greatly. Digitalization is just one aspect that can be mentioned here. But in other areas, too, there is still a long way to go before there is equality. The Bavarian State Development Program – LEP for short – is there to do just that. It is intended to point the way to the future. To this end, those responsible revised it in key areas last year. However, the changes are not sufficient. At least that is what the “Ways to a better LEP” initiative is calling for. This is broadly anchored in society. Various associations and stakeholders from different sectors find a voice in it. And they all agree. The Bavarian State Development Program as it currently stands cannot meet the challenges that lie ahead.
“The whole young generation is concerned about the climate crisis and how we can manage and plan better than previous generations with the available resources,” laments Antonia Kainz, for example. She is the regional chairwoman of the Catholic Rural Youth Movement. And she supports the initiative. She believes that this paper pays too little attention to the threat of climate collapse. It is important to formulate clear goals for climate protection, especially in spatial planning. The Bavarian regional development program also completely ignores young people. The Bavarian regional development program does not formulate any statements on the potential of youth participation. “If young people are consulted more, it will bring a lot of new momentum to mobility and renewable energies in rural areas, for example!”
Barbara Weihs from the BDLA also voices criticism. She emphasizes that the state development programme can be a key instrument for Bavaria’s development. However, its form needs to be revised. The prescribed strategies should increasingly be formulated on a landscape basis. This is the only way to create sustainable action plans. Climate, biodiversity and land protection should be the top priorities. At the same time, it is also important to maintain a positive vision despite all the stringency. After all, the aim of the Bavarian state development program is a future worth living for everyone. If this were communicated to all those involved, the necessary transformations would also meet with wider acceptance. Weihs cannot see this direction in the state government’s revised program: “Unfortunately, neither the necessary technical and content-related goals have been set by the second update, nor is a reliable perspective for the implementation of the LEP presented.”
Richard Mergner, Chairman of BUND Naturschutz in Bayern e.V., criticizes that the LEP is bound to cause numerous conflicts, as various topics are formulated too independently of each other. For example, the Bavarian State Development Program promotes growth and the construction of new roads, while at the same time calling for increased climate protection. Instead of a revision, he is calling for a complete overhaul of the LEP. Franz Damm, Vice President of the Bavarian Chamber of Architects, echoes this sentiment. The targets are too vague, he says, and opportunities are being squandered as a result. He cites the potential offered by the circular economy, the conversion of valuable buildings and the multifunctional use of land as just a few examples that should be taken into account in the desired transformation process. And Norbert Gebbeken, President of the Bavarian Chamber of Civil Engineers, adds that disaster prevention, for example, is not mentioned at all.
Stephan Reiß-Schmidt from the German Academy for Urban and Regional Planning, Bavarian regional group, summarizes it as follows: “The concept of the LEP has fallen out of time”. The planning dates back to a time when limitless growth was considered a desirable goal. However, this era is over. This is why numerous spatial and planning-related academies, chambers and associations have been coming together since 2018 to develop a sustainable vision for Bavaria. It seems necessary to respond to the challenges of the future with a new, open type of state and regional planning. Instead of a further revision of the outdated state development program, a new start is needed. This is the only way to make the transition to a socially and climate-friendly future a success.
You can find more demands for future developments here: Munich Future.
