Workshop 1 in Nitra City
On 24 January 2024, Nitra Practice Case held its first workshop.
The Nitra case is focused on the processes of spatial planning and sustainable use of the urban and suburban area of the city. In the context of the Plus Change project, the biggest development challenges are considered to be ensuring a good quality of life for the inhabitants, in synergy with effective biodiversity protection and implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.
The workshop was attended by 40 participants. It included the researchers and representatives of various stakeholder bodies – Municipality departments, representatives of national government bodies and organizations, local and regional government; development, planning, consulting and investment agencies and companies; farmers and forest managers; as well as education and media.
The aim of the workshop was to inform the participants about the project and the Practice Case – its main objectives, the elaboration process, and the tasks for 2024. In addition, a “stakeholder identification” was carried out, in which most of the present stakeholder representatives expressed their interest in the project. Finally, a discussion was held on the further progress of the work in the Nitra Practice Case and the level of cooperation of the different stakeholders.
The workshop was a useful introduction to the practice case in two ways – first, it provided background information for the participants, and second, it provided the researchers with valuable insights for further work, as well as additional contacts for a wide range of experts, concerned authorities and organisations in the case study area. Responses from stakeholders are currently being collected on three key questions for the further development of the territory: 1) the main risks and negative trends associated with land use change in the area, 2) options for eliminating these risks in the next 10 years, and 3) existing positive examples of good practice and ways to support them.
