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Welcome to the Platform of Experts in Planning Law

The 2017 conference will take place in Haifa (Israel) in October 2017.


Tenth Conference: Barcelona, Spain: ‘Tourism and the sharing economy; implications for planning law’

The tenth conference was held in Barcelona on November 18 and 19, 2016. The topic was Tourism and the sharing economy. The purpose of the meeting was to debate the new legal issues  which have risen regarding tourist and shared economy services such as AirBnB and Uber. Issues discussed include: Is it/should it be legal to regulate private economic activities? In what contexts and to what extent? Barcelona was the ideal location for discussion of this topic, as the city faces several related challenges and is a front-runner in the regulation of activities such as AirBnb. On the final day of the meeting, participants toured some of the areas of the city which are hugely affected by these new private economic activities. Our wonderful hosts Pablo Molina Alegre and Marta Lora-Tamayo Vallve showed us around the city.

During the case study discussions, we focussed on regulation possibilities – especially planning instruments such as zoning plans, licensing, and further restrictions set to limit stay via AirBnb in specific locations. Several jurisdictions also apply specific permissions to use a building as an overnight stay for touristic purposes. We also discussed national and local policies on this matter, and the way countries and cities embrace or decline the so-called sharing economy. Approaches differ across jurisdictions: In some cities (e.g. Barcelona, Amsterdam and Lisbon) the scale and intensity of sharing economy is very intense with higher impact, while in other cities (e.g. Helsinki, Warsaw) governments do not regard it as a problem because the scale and impact on neighbourhoods is manageable.

In summing up the discussions, Professor Rachelle Alterman focussed on the need to face the sharing economy in the legal context. Many cities encourage tourism, but also find a way to limit activities which cause a (real or perceived) negative impact on city centres and neighbourhoods. Land use plans can be helpful, but there is a need to address the issues through policy and regulation.

Click here for more details.


Ninth Conference: Torun, Poland: ‘Landscape Protection in Planning Law’

The ninth annual conference of the Platform of Experts in Planning Law took place in Torun, Poland.  Click here for more details.


Eighth Conference, The Hague: ‘The New Environment & Planning Act (Omgevingswet)’

The eighth Conference of the Platform of experts in Planning Law took place in the town the Platform of Experts in Planning Law was founded in 2007: The Hague. The conference was organized in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment

After a warm welcome by Jan Struiksma the conference started with an introduction to the case and the Dutch point of view by Regina Koning followed by a presentation of the Spanish point of view by Pablo Molina and Marta Lora – Tomayo Vallvé.

Timo Härmälä presented the Finnish point of view and Tim Schwarz the German point of view.

After Lunch Nicole Fikke of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment gave an introduction to the Environment  & Planning Act (Omgevingswet).

Then two workshops hosted by Fred Hobma (International comparison cost recovery) and Hendrick van Sandick (Project Development under the Environmental Planning Act) were organized. The workshops were full of discussion and exchange of knowledge.

This all led to plenary feedback and a lively group discussion led by Rachelle Alterman.

All participants expressed their intention for a follow up to the further exchange of knowledge through this website and a eight conference next year!

The second day of the conference included a cultural program. Hendrick van Sandick gave a guided tour through the historical centre of Leiden and there was a guided visit to the historical Academy Building of Leiden University. This was very much appreciated by the members of the Platform of Experts in Planning Law.

Read more and download case responses.


Seventh Conference Athens: ‘Rethinking planning law in the crisis era: new scope, new tools, new challenges’  

The seventh Conference of the Platform of experts in Planning Law took place in warm and sunny Athens in the beautiful Kostis Palamas building of the University of Athens.

After a warm welcome by Ionannis Tassopoulos (Director of the Department of Administrative Science, University of Athens) and Konstantinos Menoudakos (President Emeritus of the Council of State, President of the Greek Association of Urban & Regional Planning Law) and a introduction to the conference theme by our host Georgia Giannakourou (University of Athens) the conference started with a presentation ‘Rethinking planning law in the crisis era: the need for a comparative approach’, by Rachelle Alterman. This was followed by a presentation by Louis Wassenhoven (Professor Emeritus (National Technical University)): ‘Planning policy and law in hard times. Some thoughts based on the Greek experience’.

After that the participants had a lovely dinner nearby the conference building.

The next morning a case concerning ‘Rethinking planning law in the crisis era: new scope, new tools, new challenges was discussed. Evangelia Balla and Georgia Giannakourou introduced the case and gave the Greek point of view. After that Tim Schwarz and Ed Sullivan presented their response to the case and after the coffee break Jan Struiksma gave the Dutch point of view.

In the afternoon there were three short presentations followed by an discussion about: ‘Planning reforms in Greece: progress achieved and the way forward’ (presentations by: Harry Coccissis (University of Thessaly), Yannis Pyrgiotis (Secretary General for Tourist Infrastructure and Investments, Ministry of Tourism) and Andreas Taprantzis (Executive Director Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund).

This led to a lively group discussion led b Rachelle Alterman.

All participants expressed their intention for a follow up to the further exchange of knowledge through this website and a eight conference next year!

The third day of the conference included a cultural program. A Guided Tour in Athens New Acropolis Museum was very much appreciated by the members of the Platform of Experts in Planning Law.


If you have any questions, remarks or suggestions don’t hesitate to contact us at mailto:internationalplanninglaw@ibr.nl or use the contact form here.

Why is there need for the new Platform of Experts in Planning Law? (by Rachelle Alterman)