Tartu Planners‘ Conference 2017

The third Tartu Planners‘ Conference took place on November, 2.-3. 2017. It mainly focused on the issue of planning and ethics, which was covered in the plenary speech by the Head of the Ethic Center of the University of Tartu, Prof. Margit Sutrop. However, the conference panels also discussed: planning methods, architectural planning, infrastructure and city planning. Moreover, planning initiatives of the European Union were introduced (URBACT, ESPON, SPINA, INTERREG and others). Beyond that, the opportunities for Estonian local governments and planners to strengthen the communities and engage in international projects were discussed. To brainstorm ideas on this topic, a World Café was conducted. One of the World Café moderators was Geomedia consultant Rivo Noorkõiv. The discussions focused on topics such as entrepreneurial networking, the potentials of subcontracting activities, state support schemes for international entrepreneurship activities, vocational standards for planners and the certification of enterprises, the challenges connected to specialization and solutions for growing entrepreneurial competitiveness. At the second conference day, a plenary speech was held by the Minister of Public Administration, Jaak Aab, which was followed by a session focusing on the impact of the administrative reform on the organization and practices of planning.