The Implementation of the sustainable development principle in zoning and planning regulations: the Lithuanian case
ENSustainable development has been a major area of policy focus since a framework for the principles of sustainable development was laid down at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Environment and Development in 1992. As the major consumer of resources and energy, the construction industry (including spatial planning) has been at the heart of the debate on sustainable development (Opoku et al. 2022). Therefore, there are a variety of studies on sustainable development principles in spatial planning. A few of the main findings of the relevant research may be cited. Sustainable development is a worldwide topic in urban planning legislation. As J. R. Nolon (2009) indicated after examining the legal regulation on sustainable development in the USA, the task of creating an integrated system of law to promote sustainable development, manage climate change, and reduce energy consumption is not as complex or novel as it seems. Such a statement is also supported by Zhang et al. (2022). These authors, having analyzed the development of urbanization in China, suggested that sustainable urban development could be ensured simply by analyzing and replicating the historical relics of urban spatial structures, urban functional zoning, and the differences and evolutionary characteristics of urban construction sites. Achieving sustainable development was made even more convenient when the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were presented by the UN (2015). As research (Szetey et al. 2021) indicates, the SDGs are a global sustainability agenda intended to be implemented at global, national, and local scales. Local planners developing sustainability plans should make use of the SDGs to produce a consistent and comparable set of goals and targets. Therefore, it is not surprising that the implementation of the sustainable development principle differs in various localities.For example, China is now at a critical stage of rapid urbanization and industrialization, so it pays more and more attention to urban construction and the green and sustainable development of the environment (Wang et al. 2022). However, the SDGs are not the only instrument to help countries achieve sustainable development. Along with the SDGs, different countries or regions take various measures towards sustainability. For example, the African Union, in addition to the 17 SDGs, has established its own system of SDGs called Agenda 2063, which contains 20 Goals. The African Union has identified five principles for the sustainable development of African countries: light up and empower Africa, feed Africa, industrialize Africa, integrate Africa, and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. This represents the African Union’s vision for a more developed, richer and more independent Africa (Wang et al. 2020). Meanwhile in Sweden, high demand for sustainability is ensured by detailed measures, including particularly extensive spatial planning requirements and a long list of individuals and institutions participating in the process (Trygg and Wenander 2021). Swedish authors K. Trygg and H. Wenander (2021) note that one of the main instruments for sustainable development is the comprehensive plan prepared by the planner, which includes formulated visions and goals. In addition, municipalities often have specific goals that add to sustainable development, such as specific plans (e. g., a bicycle plan, a traffic plan and a green structure plan), guidelines (e. g., a wood construction strategy and guidelines for sustainable building) and programs (e. g., a land and housing program, an energy and climate program, and an urban environment program). Sustainable development is thus achieved through the implementation of complementary local-level principles.Detailed measures which could be introduced to ensure sustainable development are not confined to the Nordic countries. Specific measures for sustainable development and the mitigation of climate change consequences are analyzed by various researchers in heavily affected regions. For example, Turkish researchers – while analyzing measures to mitigate heat waves, floods and lack of water – indicate that, from the perspectives of massive architectural, spatial, and landscape designs and solutions, climate is among the major factors that play an important role (Toy and Demircan 2019). Researchers from Iran systematically propose some solutions for cooling urban neighborhoods (Ramyar et al. 2019). Current planning approaches and policies should effectively deal with environmental challenges, especially when looking at sustainable storm-water management (Pappalardo and La Rosa 2019), which is also topical in Lithuania. Meanwhile, within the Indonesian regulations, flood mitigation systems that work by identifying spatial planning criteria related to housing and settlement planning and disaster mitigation are essential (Mardin and Shen 2019). Finally, the study on Urban Planning and Water-related Disaster Management edited by G. Huang and Z. Shen (2019) is worth mentioning, from which the most noteworthy output is the notion that water management is multifaceted. Furthermore, approaches to dealing with water-related issues are diverse, such that wise water governance including the incorporation of wise water management into urban planning should be pursued in order to achieve an integrated solution for sustainability. To summarize, the studies of other researchers support the observation that sustainable development is a growing global trend, although measures of sustainability are often taken and implemented at the national level. [Extract, p. 367-368]
