4.1.5. Sectoral Policies

Sectoral policies that refer to transport (e.g., mobility), environment (e.g., air, soil, water) and rural development (e.g., agriculture) seem to have different impacts on sustainable land use. Overall, as can be seen in the interventions presented in this subsection, it seems that the adoption of a more integrated policy approach, as well as a long-term strategy or vision, leads to a more sustainable development.

As regards transport policies, the Urban Mobility Plan of Barcelona (Spain), introduced "the superblock model" [44,45], an intervention that is considered very successful since it reduced air pollution levels. In the United Kingdom, the Mini-Holland in Waltham Forest (www.walthamforest.gov.uk/content/creating-mini-holland-waltham-forest (accessed on 15 March 2021)) is another successful intervention that supports urban mobility, reducing motorized transport and creating segregated cycle lanes on the model of Dutch-style infrastructure. The results of the Slovenian Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) seem to be less successful, according to the expert informant, even though the country adopted the "EU Sustainable mobility for a prosperous future" strategy in order to manage urban mobility more effectively. In fact, only one third of the municipalities adopted the SUMPs and their poor acceptance by local political leaders seems to be one of the main challenges. Since SUMPs are not an obligatory instrument, providing financial support seems to be the best way to encourage their implementation. Another intervention whose

success is open to question is the City of Sofia's underground metro (Bulgaria) that seems unable to integrate its mobility goals with achieving a more integrated land use approach. The Lyon–Torino high-speed railway and tunnel project (between France and Italy) is also considered a less successful intervention due to the constant delays and conflicts it has generated [46,47]. In fact, the project has been contested by environmental associations over its potential impacts on the environment (e.g., consumption of land, exploitation of natural resources).

As regards environmental and rural development policies, in Germany, the expert informant considers the BOKS—Soil Protection Concept as a positive example of sectoral intervention, which promotes a higher level of environmental quality and aims to reduce soil consumption. Another interesting intervention is the Lower Austrian spatial planning ordinance for wind energy utilization, which sets up a framework to manage wind-park development up to 2030. It identifies areas where wind turbines are allowed and where development is severely restricted. The expert informant deems it a positive intervention because it promotes the safeguarding of the natural environment; however, the construction of wind turbines in green areas (e.g., in forestry areas) seems to be a controversial topic in the country. It is also worth mentioning the 2007–2013 Green cross-border area—investment in nature project (between Bulgaria and Serbia) which has enhanced environmental awareness, as well as an exchange of knowledge and good practices. On the contrary, in Austria, for the expert informant, the Soil Enhancement Plan has the potential to support sustainable urbanization and land use (e.g., it tries to retain high-quality soil), but is rarely applied. The flood managemen<sup>t</sup> system along the Tisza River in Hungary is also considered by the expert informant as an unsuccessful intervention due to a lack of coordination between the authorities and financial mechanisms.
