Abstract
Spatial planning in Trinidad and Tobago is organized in a three tier hierarchical framework where the national level functions in a purely strategic role, the municipal tier is a mix of strategic and project led initiatives under multiple thematic areas, and the third has a distinctly site-specific regulatory role. The intention is that there is coherence and alignment in strategy moving down each level in scale, and that this is made visible in local design forms. The National Spatial Development Strategy (NSDS) completed in 2013, sets out a strategy of harmonised regional development, outlining sectoral policy priorities, the actions needed to implement these and integrated planning regions (IPRs), a new planning instrument to facilitate delivery of national policies at the lower levels. IPRs are sub-national planning zones that traverse the boundaries of existing municipal planning regions, covering areas identified as having strategic economic development potential and/or requiring revitalisation. They are neither accompanied by new administrative structures, nor do they function as service area boundaries. Instead, they provide a new spatial framework which facilitates horizontal and vertical synergies in planning and implementation, clearing some of the obstacles which have hindered working across hard boundaries. As a spatialization of economic development policy IPRs can be thought of as informal planning arenas (Allmendinger and Haughton, 2010). These soft spaces can be new scales in planning to fill gaps (Olesen, 2012) or act as a bridging mechanism between scales. However, to fulfill their role in reshaping areas IPRs must be flexible, yet robust enough to establish a meaningful dialogue with the requirements of local development. The future spatial development of Trinidad and Tobago is directly linked to development trends that have transformed the space thus far, the ability of planning policies to communicate and choreograph spatial directives, and key challenges that lie ahead. Since the adoption of the NSDS in 2013, global agendas such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda as well as the local Vision 2030, National Development Strategy of Trinidad and Tobago 2016-2030, have emerged as highly relevant for reshaping policy in response to both recurring and new challenges. As a vulnerable small island developing state (SIDS), changing demographics, an influx of migrants from neighbouring Venezuela, the intensifying effects of climate change, and increasing imbalances between places are just some of the issues to be addressed in an ever evolving planning landscape. Against this background, this research evaluates the function and relevance of the IPR as a policy instrument. It also investigates the fitness of IPRs to support the existing planning framework in responding to the changing societal and policy context. Using a mix of document analysis and interviews with policy makers and regulators, the discussion begins with an examination of IPRs as a ‘rescaling experiment’ containing discursive elements and underlain by political goals (Davoudi and Brooks, 2021). The paper then discusses whether IPRs can influence behaviour within development processes, and what legitimises a scale of spatial policy. Reflecting on the value of multi-scalar approaches to spatial planning, the possibilities for IPRs to bridge the gap between nationally defined strategic priorities and the design and development of sustainable cities, towns and communities are explored. References Allmendinger, Phil, Haughton, Graham (2012). "Post-political Spatial Planning in England: A crisis of consensus?" Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 37:1, 89-103. Davoudi, Simin, Brooks, Elizabeth (2021). “City-regional imaginaries and politics of rescaling.” Regional Studies 55:1, 52-62. Olesen, Kristian (2012). “Soft spaces as vehicles for neoliberal transformations of strategic spatial planning?” Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 30, 910-923.
