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In 2003, partners from across North West Europe formed the Sustainable and Accessible Urban Landscapes (SAUL) Project to explore the role of socially inclusive spaces in the sustainable development of metropolitan regions.

Led by Groundwork London, and with partners representing Amsterdam, Frankfurt/Rhein-Main, London, Luxembourg, Rhein-Ruhr, Saarland, and more recently Arnhem-Nijmegen, the project has evolved to incorporate work under the headings of SAUL, SAUL Plus and, currently, SAUL 2 EXT.

The project is part-funded by the European Union’s Interreg IIIB programme for North West Europe (NWE). Interreg encourages closer European co-operation and integration through transnational spatial development initiatives which promote sustainable development.

The SAUL project is the practical response to an earlier research project carried out by the same partnership, under the name of New Urban Landscapes. This concluded that spatial planning needs to respond to the changing patterns of land-use that are emerging across Europe as a result of economic restructuring and social change.

The SAUL project was designed to test the assumptions identified during this work via a series of action and investment demonstration projects, involving all partners.

In 2005, the project was awarded further Interreg funding and was extended to form SAUL Plus. This allowed for a greater range of demonstration projects. Please click on the above map for details of the individual practical projects.

The achievements of SAUL and SAUL Plus were marked by a Final Conference in Amsterdam in June 2006, and the release of a Final Report containing the partnerships five key messages which summarise the findings of the project, and contain recommendations for planners and politicians:

1. In Europe’s economic heartland, new urban landscapes are now a reality with a vital impact on people’s quality of life in city regions. Their unique challenges and opportunities need innovative approaches by drawing transnationally on examples of good practice.
   
   
2. Sustainable regions are ones where people want to live, now and in the future. Regional spatial strategies, based on visions widely shared, give people a stronger sense of belonging, locally and regionally.
   
   
3. The impacts of globalisation and social change mean that Europe’s citizens increasingly demand to be in the driving seat of shaping their future environment. Partnerships with the people offer a new approach to planning and governance for Europe’s urban landscapes.
   
   
4. Transnational partnerships can unlock learning, transferable knowledge and greater understanding. A strong transnational partnership is greater than the sum of its parts and can deliver shared objectives in Europe.
   
   
5. Competitive city regions are ones that can attract and retain viable businesses and their employees by offering a good quality of life. New urban landscapes are an essential element in building Europe’s future economic structures and social well-being.

Since the Final Conference, the project has been successful in securing a further extension to the project, known as SAUL 2 EXT. This is an extension of the original work and brings the total project budget to €23.4M (€10.7M ERDF).

SAUL 2 EXT will run until June 2008 and will build on the experience and findings of the SAUL and SAUL Plus issues through six practical projects, and associated strategic work. The main aims now are to:

• Demonstrate the significance of New Urban Landscapes to the economic vitality of city regions, and the importance of engaging businesses in partnerships with public authorities, employees and citizens to maximise the potential of any developments
  
  
• Show that involving citizens of all age groups in developing New Urban Landscapes can empower them to take responsibility for their future environment and lead to greater social cohesion