BULGARIA:
A Toolkit for a
Compact City Approach
to Support Climate Action
May 2023
© 2023 International Bank of Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
1818 H Street NW
Washington DC
20433
Telephone: 202-473-1000
Internet: www.worldbank.org
This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The
findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily
reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the govern-
ments they represent.
The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the
data included in this work and does not assume responsibility for any errors, omis-
sions, or discrepancies in the information, or liability with respect to the use of or fail-
ure to use the information, methods, processes, or conclusions set forth. The bound-
aries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work
do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal sta-
tus of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
Nothing herein shall constitute or be construed or considered to be a limitation upon
or waiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank, all of which are specif-
ically reserved.
RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS
The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank encourages
dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for
noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given.
All queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to
World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC
20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org.
Acknowledgments
This project was executed through financial assistance from the Climate Support Facility (CSF)1. This output
constitutes the final report of a pilot project aimed at testing how a more Compact City development approach
and tools could support improved climate results in smaller cities in Bulgaria.
This report was prepared under the guidance and supervision of Christoph Pusch (Practice Manager, Urban,
Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land [Europe and Central Asia) and Lasse Melgaard (Resident
Representative). Drafting of the report was coordinated by Carli Venter (Task Team Leader and Senior Urban
Development Specialist) and Noriko Oe (Senior Urban Development Specialist), with guidance from Ellen
Hamilton (Lead Urban development Specialist). The content was prepared by Dimitar Nachev (Project
Coordinator), Dobrinka Karadzhova (Communication and Social Research Specialist and Event Coordinator),
Aleksandar Hinov (Financing and Regional Development Expert), Zdravko Petrov (Urban Planning Expert),
Nikola Belchev (Urban Planning Expert), and Evgenia Sarafova (Data Management Expert). Additional support
was provided by Albena Samsonova (Program Assistant).
The team would also like to express its gratitude to the representatives of municipal administrations for their
excellent cooperation and feedback that allowed for the successful implementation of this project, as well as to
all stakeholders and experts who participated in the series of training workshops organized as part of the project.
1 Voluntary National Review— Sustainable Development Goals. Bulgaria 2020. Available here.
Table of contents
1. Background.....................................................................................................................................................................5
1.1. Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
1.2. Why Compact Urban Development Is Important........................................................................................................................8
1.3. Urban Sprawl And Suburbanization With Shrinking Urban Populations In Bulgaria........................................ 11
1.4. Urban Spatial And Strategic Planning Landscape.....................................................................................................................14
1.5. Proposed Approach And Tools For Compact Cities In Bulgaria........................................................................................17
Pillar 1: Improved Development Planning,
2.
Including The Use Of Urban Growth Scenarios................................................................................................ 19
2.1. Rationale For Using The Approach........................................................................................................................................................19
2.2. Methodology........................................................................................................................................................................................................20
2.3. Application And Findings In Bulgaria................................................................................................................................................. 21
3. Pillar 2: Urban Regeneration And Brownfield Redevelopment................................................................. 28
3.1. Rationale For Using The Approach.......................................................................................................................................................28
3.2. Methodology........................................................................................................................................................................................................30
3.3. Application And Findings In Bulgaria And Case Studies......................................................................................................34
4. Pillar 3: Integrated Planning And Financing.................................................................................................... 37
4.1. Rationale For Using The Approach....................................................................................................................................................... 37
4.2. Methodology........................................................................................................................................................................................................39
4.3. Application And Findings In Bulgaria And Case Studies......................................................................................................42
5. Foundational Element: Capacity Building And Convening.........................................................................46
6. Conclusions.................................................................................................................................................................... 51
Appendix A: Growth Scenario Modelling: Technical Details................................................................................. 54
Appendix B: Additional Materials.................................................................................................................................... 61
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
Figure 1. Project Timeline.....................................................................................................................................................................................7
Figure 2. Urban and Rural Population in Bulgaria............................................................................................................................. 12
Figure 3. Percentage Change in Population in Urban Centers in Bulgaria (2002–2021)......................................... 13
Figure 4. Urban Footprint in the Period 1995–2020........................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 5. Urban Footprint in the Period 1995–2020 for Sliven (left) and Vratsa (right)..............................................14
Figure 6. Scope of the Bulgarian Planning System in 2023........................................................................................................ 16
Figure 7. Compact Cities Approach Framework................................................................................................................................18
Figure 8. Urban Growth in Sliven (2000–2020).................................................................................................................................... 22
Figure 9. Urban Growth in Vratsa (2000–2020)................................................................................................................................... 22
Figure 10. Current Urban Footprint, Sliven (2020)............................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 11. Current Urban Footprint, Vratsa (2020).............................................................................................................................. 23
Figure 12. Urban Footprint, Business As Usual Scenario 2050, Sliven.................................................................................. 23
Figure 13. Urban Footprint, Business As Usual Scenario 2050, Vratsa................................................................................. 23
Figure 14. Urban Footprint, Plan Scenario 2050, Sliven................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 15. Urban Footprint, Plan Scenario 2050, Vratsa.................................................................................................................. 23
Figure 16. Urban Footprint, Vision Scenario 2050, Sliven.............................................................................................................. 23
Figure 17. Urban Footprint, Vision Scenario 2050, Vratsa............................................................................................................. 23
Figure 18. Carbon Emissions, Sliven..............................................................................................................................................................24
Figure 19. Carbon Emissions, Vratsa.............................................................................................................................................................24
Figure 20. Energy Consumption, Sliven...................................................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 21. Energy Consumption, Vratsa..................................................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 22. Accumulated Capital Investments, Vratsa....................................................................................................................... 26
Figure 23. Annual Municipal Service Cost, Vratsa................................................................................................................................ 26
Figure 24. Accumulated Capital Investments, Sliven........................................................................................................................ 26
Figure 25. Annual Municipal Service Cost, Sliven................................................................................................................................. 26
Figure 26. Purpose of Brownfield Regeneration, including Environmental, Social, Economic,
and Financial Impacts....................................................................................................................................................................29
Figure 27. Steps for Brownfield Regeneration......................................................................................................................................30
Figure 28. Brownfield Land Register Example for Ealing, London........................................................................................... 31
Figure 29. Site Visits: Hotel Sliven (left) and Former Military Zone (right)........................................................................... 35
Figure 30. Urban Living Labs: What, Where, Who, and Why...................................................................................................... 40
Figure 31. Group Work under the Charette Planning Process...................................................................................................42
Figure 32. Existing Situation and Proposal for Development of the Zone Surrounding
the Abandoned Industrial Buildings....................................................................................................................................43
Figure 33. Stakeholders and Partnerships in the Redevelopment Scheme around King’s Cross..................... 45
Figure 34. Group Work under the World Café Format.................................................................................................................... 48
Table 1. Overview of Partner Municipalities under the Project, 2020.................................................................................7
LIST OF BOXES
Box 1. Partner Cities under the Project........................................................................................................................................................6
Box 2 Ending Global Sprawl: Urban Standards for Sustainable and Resilient Development..............................10
Box 3. GIS Tools for Cities in Bulgaria...........................................................................................................................................................19
Box 4. Case study: Brownfield land registers in the United Kingdom.................................................................................. 31
Box 5. Shrinking City Regeneration—Leipzig’s Guardian Houses as a Temporary Use Example..................... 32
Box 6. Case Study: Actions for Containment of Urban Sprawl in Liverpool...................................................................... 35
Box 7. Case Study: Adaptive Reuse in Austria....................................................................................................................................... 36
Box 8 Integrated Territorial Investments in Bulgaria during the 2021–2027 Programming Period..............38
Box 9. Case Study: King’s Cross and St. Pancras Station Area Regeneration Plan..................................................... 44
Box 10. Sample Workshop Agenda (Brownfield Regeneration).................................................................................................47
Box 11. World Café Discussions Format...................................................................................................................................................... 48
Box 12. Workshop Feedback................................................................................................................................................................................49
4 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
Abbreviations and acronyms
BAU business as usual
CO2 carbon dioxide
CSF Climate Support Facility
DSP Detailed Spatial Plan
EU European Union
EC European Commission
FUA Functional Urban Area
GDP gross domestic product
GHG greenhouse gas
GIS geographic information system
GPSC Global Partnership for Sustainable Cities
INSPIRE Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community
ITDS Integrated Territorial Development Strategy
ITI Integrated Territorial Investments
LCR London and Continental Railways Limited
LURA land utilization repurposing application
MSP Master Spatial Plan
NCRSD National Concept for Regional and Spatial Development
NSI National Statistical Institute
NUTS Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
PA priority axis
PDR Programme for Development of the Regions 2021 – 2027
PIDM Plan for Integrated Development of the Municipality (“PIRO”)
RDA Regional Development Act
RDC Regional Development Council
SPARD Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development
5
1. Background
1.1. Introduction
Bulgaria faces a dual challenge of declining populations in a large number of medium and smaller sized
cities and increased urbanization and growth pressures in a handful of larger cities. Around 74% of the pop-
ulation live in cities, and the majority of these in cities that were planned for 10 times less population than today.2
Despite having a declining population, most cities in Bulgaria are growing in terms of built area coverage, with
growth most pronounced in those which are part of a large agglomeration.3 The majority of new development
occurs on greenfield sites located on the fringes of cities and in peri-urban areas (expanding into former agri-
cultural areas),4 while the lack of maintenance of the existing old housing stock and historic heritage buildings,
as well as undeveloped brownfield sites in cities, are well documented.
The country is unlikely to achieve its climate goals without active efforts toward mitigation at the city level,
where inefficient growth patterns should be of significant concern. Cities have transitioned from a “com-
pact and connected” to a predominantly “dispersed and disconnected” urban form. In absolute numbers, the
population of Bulgaria decreased from 8.3 to 7.4 million inhabitants between 1996 and 2010, but cities expanded
by 16% in the same period.5 The population decline trend has continued, with the country’s urban population
decline accelerating from 3.6% in the period between 2000 and 2010 to close to 6.1% in 2011 and 2021, specifically
with rapid decline in smaller localities. Urban expansion is highly relevant from the climate change mitigation
perspective because lower population densities and longer commuting distances result in increased green-
house gas (GHG) emissions. While many cities in Bulgaria have signaled their intent to move toward climate
smart investments (e.g., by joining the Covenant of Mayors), this intent has not yet translated into significant
action and investment.
While progress has been made, Bulgaria continues to perform well below the European Union (EU) averag-
es on the majority of indicators for sustainable cities. This includes areas such as emission targets, recycling
rates, housing cost overburden rates, and satisfaction with cultural facilities. A desk review of the sustainable
cities agenda and landscape in Bulgaria pointed to the following key challenges faced by cities:
inding optimal and sustainable spatial models for development in growing cities because sprawl and
F
suburbanization6 require significant investments in new public infrastructure, increase the cost of service
delivery, and have negative climate impacts through increased emissions.
he sustainability of shrinking cities as city-level implications of population decline can be devastating to a
T
city’s economy and quality of life.
2 Voluntary National Review— Sustainable Development Goals. Bulgaria 2020. Available here.
Agglomerations are a concept similar to functional urban areas and refer to multiple settlements or towns essentially functioning as a
3
single unit with a core city and residential areas. This is attributable to the small size of local government boundaries, where urban devel-
opment and economic activity spreads over such multiple administrative boundaries. A formal definition of an agglomeration area is a
leading city (agglomeration core) with a population of over 50,000 inhabitants and where the outer edges of the agglomeration include
all surrounding administrative areas, where more than 15% of the labor force commutes daily (i.e., the area of influence of the leading city).
4 For the period 2013–2019, the population decline in the country is –294,195 or -4.06%, while the newly constructed dwellings are 65,016.
Restrepo Cadavid, P., Cineas, G., Quintero, L., and Zhukova, S. 2017. Cities in Europe and Central Asia: A shifting story of urban growth and
5
decline. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. Available here.
6 See definition box in section 1.2.
6 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
he poor performance against environmental indicators and climate change–related data at city levels,
T
coupled with ambitious national commitments to climate change goals, point to a need for urgent action on
multiple fronts in cities.
arious sectoral assessments point to a lack of local capacity to either plan, design or implement projects
V
and initiatives, and where the projects are initiated, a longer term sustainability focus is often absent. In light
of additional EU requirements around the green transition and climate neutrality, it is expected that local
capacity constraints are likely to become more pronounced.
This report captures the results of a pilot project which worked, in practice, with city officials and other key
stakeholders to explore methodologies, tools, and techniques toward more compact city development.
The aim was to identify potential decarbonization pathways with a group of cities, build local capacity, and in
the process build a good practice knowledge base that can be disseminated and replicated within Bulgaria and
among other similar countries in the region. The project convened more than 60 experts representing a wide
range of national, regional, and local stakeholders, including over 20 technical-level city officials from six munici-
palities. The project plan initially called for both shrinking and growing cities to participate, but in terms of active
participation, the cohort could largely be considered shrinking cities.
Box 1. Partner Cities under the Project
The selection of partner cities (i.e., municipal administrations) for participation in the project was an
important step, given that the project requires a long-term engagement by local government officials
and political representatives. The selection process included the following steps:
dentifying a long list of possible participants based on their size and relevant national importance,
I
previous engagement, or expression of interests and geographical spread.
stablishing contact and inviting potential partner-municipalities to apply for participation by sub-
E
mitting a filled-in form with mayoral endorsement. The application for participation was import-
ant in order to show local-level commitment, even if only symbolic. It asked local governments to
commit officials to participate throughout the life of the project, provide information as requested,
attend peer learning events, and feed knowledge from the process into the local planning and de-
cision-making system.
onducting a rapid review of existing plans, strategies, and climate action of the long list of cities in
C
order to inform review processes in the next step.
Reviewing applications against an agreed set of criteria, such as:
opulation dynamics: cities between 30,000 and 500,000 residents (and ideally above 75,000);
1. P
cities with differing population growth but not less than –20% in the past 10 years.
conomic dynamics: cities with differing levels of economic development; prioritization of cities
2. E
that do not already benefit from significant Just Transition programs support on decarboniza-
tion.
eographic considerations: good geographic spread between coastal and inland, north and
3. G
south, etc.
ther: cities with differing urban footprint dynamics; cities known to have capacity for service
4. O
delivery, etc.
Following the above process, a total of five applicant cities (municipal administrations) were selected to
participate as partners in the project: Gabrovo, Lovech, Sliven, Varna, and Vratsa.
7
Table 1. Overview of Partner Municipalities under the Project, 2020
Average
GDP per Population
Population pre-tax
capita* below the Unemployment*
(at city level) monthly salary*
(euros) poverty line*
(euros)
49,175
Gabrovo €7,560 €593 12.3% 6.8%
(–16.9% over 10y)
30,353
Lovech €5,680 €537 20.1% 4.8%
(–19.8% over 10y)
83,371
Sliven €4,289 €528 31.3% 6.9%
(–9.8% over 10y)
332,394
Varna €8,030 €652 24.0% 2.1%
(+3.3% over 10y)
51,020
Vratsa €7,971 €663 24.5% 10.0%
(–14.8% over 10y)
*Note: Available data is at district level (NUTS-3).
Source: National Statistical Institute.
The project was largely delivered around three multidisciplinary learning events, with the timeline depict-
ed below. Informed by city-level and key stakeholder engagements, desktop research, and the original project
plan, the team grouped issues and topics into three broad focus areas that would structure themselves around
peer learning events. Each learning event was also an opportunity to deepen the World Bank team’s under-
standing of the local context and identify topics and issues to inform future dialogue at the national level.
Figure 1. Project Timeline
Source: Authors elaboration
Taken together, the content, tools, and methodologies showcased during the three events constitute the
elements of a Compact City approach for Bulgarian cities. The project outputs provide an evidence base for the
decarbonization potential in the built environment through the improved use/reuse of land and building space
(urban regeneration and brownfield redevelopment) and improved spatial planning toward more compact urban
forms (using tools such as growth scenario modelling), as well as integrated project and financing approaches.
8 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
This report constitutes the final output of the project and collates the project results, tools, methodologies,
and case studies into a Compact City framework with three pillars (see section 1.5).This is presented here as
a practical toolkit for use by local government officials and city leaders. The next sections provide further context
around the topic of urban sprawl and the spatial and strategic planning policy environment within which local
governments function. This chapter concludes with a summary of the elements of the Compact City approach,
with subsequent chapters unpacking each of these elements in more detail.
1.2. Why compact urban development is important
A focus on reducing sprawl and encouraging more compact urban development supports positive devel-
opment outcomes in terms of climate and the environment, the economy, and social dimensions. 789
Climate & environment
It is estimated that 67–72% of the global share Definitions
of carbon emissions can be attributed to urban Compact city: Spatial urban form characterized
areas in 2020 and, more worrying, that share by compactness, with key characteristics as (i)
is increasing.10 With moderate to no mitigation dense and proximate development patterns; (ii)
efforts, the global share of future urban GHG urban areas linked by public transport systems;
emissions is expected to increase through 2050 and (iii) accessibility to local services and jobs.7
due to growth trends in population, urban land
Urban sprawl: Urban development with low-den-
expansion, and infrastructure and service de-
sity housing, both residential and commercial;
mands, but the extent of the increase depends
segregated land use; high level of automobile use
on the scenario and the scale and timing of ur-
combined with lack of public transport, which is
ban mitigation action. Some mitigation options
in high demand for land.8
available to established cities to achieve GHG
emissions savings include replacing, repurpos- Suburbanization: The process through which res-
ing, or retrofitting the building stock, encour- idential communities are established on the out-
aging modal shift, and electrifying the urban skirts of cities, resulting in population shifts from
energy system, as well as infilling and densify- central urban areas into suburbs. Includes two
ing urban areas.11 Integrated spatial planning to distinct features: moderate residential density
achieve compact and resource-efficient urban and urban fringe location.9
growth through the co-location of higher res-
idential and job densities, mixed land use, and
transit-oriented development could reduce
GHG emissions globally between 23–26% by 2050, compared to the business as usual scenario.12
7 OECD (Organisation for Economic C0-operation and Development). 2012. Compact City Policies: A Comparative Assessment. OECD
Green Growth Studies. OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264167865-en.
8 Johnson, M. P. 2001. Environmental Impacts of Urban Sprawl: A Survey of the Literature and Proposed Research Agenda. Environmental
and Planning A, 33, pp. 717–735. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/a3327.
9 Harris, R. 2015. Using Toronto to Explore Three Suburban Stereotypes, and Vice Versa. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space,
47(1), 30–49. https://doi.org/10.1068/a46298.
10 IPCC. 2022. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [P. R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Slade, A. Al Khourdajie, R. van Diemen, D. McCollum, M. Pathak, S.
Some, P. Vyas, R. Fradera, M. Belkacemi, A. Hasija, G. Lisboa, S. Luz, and J. Malley, (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and
New York, NY, USA. doi:10.1017/9781009157926.
See Footnote 10
11
12 Lwasa, S., K. C. Seto, X. Bai, H. Blanco, K. R. Gurney, Ş. Kılkış, O. Lucon, J. Murakami, J. Pan, A. Sharifi, and Y. Yamagata. 2022. Urban systems
and other settlements. In IPCC. 2022. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [P. R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Slade, A. Al Khourdajie, R. van Diemen,
D. McCollum, M. Pathak, S. Some, P. Vyas, R. Fradera, M. Belkacemi, A. Hasija, G. Lisboa, S. Luz, and J. Malley, (eds.)]. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA. doi: 10.1017/9781009157926.010.
9
The urban form of cities, which includes the level of density, fragmentation, and layout, has a significant
impact on climate and environmental indicators. Compact cities depend less on vehicular transport, with
positive effects on emissions and local air pollution reductions, and knock-on effects on health and well-be-
ing. Peri-urban and peripheral expansions can also result in a loss of environmental amenities within and
at the borders of urban areas. While the effects on biodiversity are very context specific, discontinuous de-
velopment patterns may be harmful to biodiversity if they are accompanied by a fragmentation of natural
habitats surrounding urban areas.13 Infrastructure constructed concomitant with urban land expansion lock
in patterns of energy consumption which will persist for decades, if not generations. While compact urban
development would clearly combat these negative environmental outcomes, care should be taken when
pursuing more compact or dense urban development to also consider mitigation actions to combat air and
noise pollution, include traffic management or alternative mobility options, and prevent the potential loss of
green space. 14
Economic
Urban sprawl has been shown to have economic consequences, including placing significant pressures on
local public finance. It is simply more expensive to provide public services to outlying, low-density areas. In
economic terms, compact cities can increase the efficiency of infrastructure investment and reduce the cost
of maintenance, particularly for line systems such as transport, energy, and water supply, and waste disposal.15
Sprawling, lower-density cities are often linked with longer commute times, lower production, and higher resi-
dential energy use,16 while more compact urban development may be associated with greater levels of produc-
tivity, innovation, and growth rates.17
Social
Urban sprawl is associated with social inequality and segregation, as the regulatory mechanisms that main-
tain low density may severely affect housing affordability and public transport accessibility.18 While urban
sprawl is not the sole cause of marginalization, it can contribute to the physical, social, and economic segre-
gation of different socioeconomic groups, resulting in reduced access to opportunities and amenities and in-
creased environmental and health disparities.
Social benefits of a more compact urban form include enhancements to quality of life through enabling
more social interaction. It further supports addressing social disparities if underpinned by an urban grading
approach that would also support improving declining, inner city, or well-located urban residential areas. A
compact urban form often includes a mix of housing types, including affordable options such as apartments
and townhouses, which can provide more affordable housing options and reduce economic segregation.
Greater proximity to services improves access to health and social care, and to public spaces as well, as the
opportunity to walking and cycling rather than driving to workplaces, which are all positive societal out-
comes.
ECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). 2018. Rethinking Urban Sprawl: Moving Towards Sustainable Cities.
13 O
OECD Publishing, Paris. Available here.
14 See Footnote 7
15 See Footnote 14
wing, Reid, and Rong, Fang. 2008. “The Impact of Urban Form on US Residential Energy Use.” Housing Policy Debate 19(1): pp. 1–30.
16 E
https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2008.9521624.
hlfedlt, G., and Pietrostefani, E. 2017. The effects of compact urban form: A qualitative and quantitative evidence review. Coalition for
17 A
Urban Transitions, London and Washington, DC. Available here.
18 See Footnote 13
10 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
Box 2. Ending Global Sprawl: Urban Standards for Sustainable and Resilient
Development
This recent publication by the Global Partnership for Sustainable Cities (GPSC) considers how urban
planning and the future of the city is a whole systems design challenge that can only be addressed
with comprehensive, long-term thinking. The next generation of urban growth can set a standard for
sustainable and resilient development that can lead with long-term values rather than one that con-
tinues with the various types of sprawl that isolate people from diverse communities, from economic
opportunity, from natural systems and, ultimately, from healthy lives.
The book rests on the thesis that while each city is unique, the global challenges resulting from urban
sprawl are universal. Three types of sprawl afflict growth globally, and the most prevalent form in
Bulgaria could be classified as the low-density sprawl of higher-income regions that have become
dominated by cars. The book outlines the seven fundamental urban design principles distilled from
successful strategies for healthy urban forms around the world, and positive outcomes have been doc-
umented for each principle in widely differing conditions. The principles relate primarily to best practice
in urban design, not infrastructure or architecture. The latter involves complex technical and financial
analyses tied to local conditions; therefore, the focus instead is on strategies that can shape the under-
lying urban form of a city, the foundation upon which these other detailed technologies can be devel-
oped. The principles are:
Principle 1: Plan for Growth, Resilience, and Preservation;
Principle 2: Reserve Open Lands and Public Space;
Principle 3: Enhance Shared Mobility and Transport;
Principle 4: Build Transit-Oriented Developments;
Principle 5: Mix Uses and Users;
Principle 6: Create Human-Scale Streets and Small Blocks; and
Principle 7: Design for Walking and Biking.
Urban design since World War II has evolved based on a different paradigm, one that isolates more
than connects, that allows the car to dominate urban form, that too often ignores history, climate, and
culture. This paradigm damages the environment and too often leaves the poor behind. The principles
presented in this work seek instead to connect people, place, history, and ecology in ways that are
derived from humankind’s greatest urban traditions. As urban form and regional structure improves,
all the metrics studied improve air quality, miles driven, fiscal impacts, household cost, infrastructure
costs, land consumption, carbon emissions, water consumption, and health costs.
Source: Peter Calthorpe, The GPSC2022.19
19
The EU Urban Agenda is the policy framework that seeks to promote sustainable, inclusive, and innovative
urban development across cities in the EU, and a compact cities approach is consistent with the sustain-
ability and urban goals of the European Commission (EC). At a slightly higher level, combating urban sprawl
is also consistent with the “Fit for 55” legislative package to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the EU
Green Deal, which establishes a forward-looking framework for completing and further reinforcing the objec-
tives set forth within the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developments.
Peter Calthorpe, The GPSC. 2022. Ending Global Sprawl: Urban Standards for Sustainable and Resilient Development. Available here.
19
11
The potential positive outcomes of compact city actions in terms of environmental, economic, and social
dimensions also clearly contribute to achieving objectives in line with the initiatives, such as the Covenant of
Mayors and the EU Mission for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities.20 Ultimately, national and regional sustain-
able development objectives can only be realized through local action, and compact urban development is
one tool that could make a significant contribution.
1.3. Urban sprawl and suburbanization with shrinking
urban populations in Bulgaria
The history of urban planning in Bulgaria is, not uncommon for the region, deeply rooted in a develop-
ment philosophy focused on land consumption in pursuit of growth objectives. Since the end of the World
War II, the land planning agenda was intrinsically linked to a process of massive industrialization in cities,
resulting in significant population growth in cities. A new expansionist agenda was set, generating plans for
new housing estates to accommodate factory workers coming from rural areas.21 That narrative became well
established in planning practices and remained after the collapse of Socialism. Urban development in Bulgar-
ian cities became dominated by “free market forces” caused by the abandonment of past planning practices
and the lack of comprehensive development plans.22 Today city plans are still growth -driven and aiming to
unlock land for new investments to meet market demand. This often results in large swathes of land being
designated to accommodate projected new developments and ultimately facilitate dispersed growth in the
suburbs, rather than encouraging compact development.23
As the country moved toward a market-based economy after 1989, several significant trends in urban liv-
ing, including housing provision and mobility, have been observed. Personal vehicle ownership, allowing
people to travel long distances to destinations where public transport is absent or inefficient, has become
the dominant mobility pattern. According to statistics by the National Statistical Institute (NSI), private car
ownership in Bulgaria grew from around 1.7 million in 1989 to almost 2.9 million by 2018. Increased indi-
vidual mobility arguably accelerated the development of the outskirts of many cities or nearby villages. In
terms of business development, the availability of larger plots of land on the outskirts allowed for the de-
velopment of retail parks, big box shops, and industrial parks, most evidently in areas with direct access to
motorways. Another important change has been the shift away from the provision of housing by the state
to a market-based model, with private developers playing an important role in meeting demand, especially
in larger cities. Home ownership is culturally important in Bulgaria, with an ownership rate of well above
80% and a high rate of second home ownership.24 Much of the new housing development has taken place
on the outskirts of urban areas, with ad hoc and individual building permits not necessarily aligned with city
infrastructure construction plans. Simultaneously, the quality of historic multi-family apartment buildings
has been deteriorating, making these housing assets, often located in or closer to central city areas, less
attractive for home buyers.
Over the last two decades, Bulgaria has experienced a dramatic population decline, but the country con-
tinues to urbanize despite an absolute decline of urban population, as urban areas are declining at slower
rates than rural areas. The urban population percentage in Bulgaria increased from 66% to 76% between 1990
to 2020, and it is expected to reach 85% by 2050. Also, the economy is expected to continue concentrating
ttps://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/ec_rtd_eu-mission-climate-neutral-cities-in-
20 h
fokit.pdf.
21 Kovachev, А. 2003. Urban planning [in Bulgarian: Градоустройство]. Pensoft, Sofia.
22 Slaev, A. (2020). Market Analysis of Urban Sprawl in Sofia. Varna Free University, Varna.
23 Slaev, A.. and Nikiforov, I. 2013. Factors of urban sprawl in Bulgaria. Spatium, vol. 29, pp. 22–29. https://doi.org/10.2298/SPAT1329022S.
https://3seaseurope.com/bulgaria-home-ownership-housing-prices/.
24
12 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
in urban areas, with more than 83% of the national added value (percentage of [gross domestic product])
concentrated in services, industry, and construction.25 Figure 2 shows the historical trend and projections of
population shrinkage divided by urban and rural population.
Figure 2. Urban and Rural Population in Bulgaria26
Population (millions)
Rural population Urban population
City population growth and decline is not homogeneous across the country. While most small towns and
mid-size cities are declining, large cities such as Sofia and Varna continue to grow in population. Cities be-
longing to agglomerations concentrate some of the fastest growing areas in the country. This reflects a reor-
ganization of the urban population across the urban system. A spatial pattern, showing population growth
along the Black Sea coast cities, emerged when considering data between 1996 and 2010. 27 Population data
up to 2020 show even less localities registering growth, with the overall population decline now dwarfing
even the larger city growth trajectories.
Data as represented in “Final report on “Growth Scenario Modelling for Bulgaria Compact Cities.” prepared by Capsus for the World Bank
25
Group. Data source: The World Bank. (2022. Data: Services, value added (% of GDP)—Bulgaria. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/
indicator/NV.SRV.TOTL.ZS?locations=BG.
Final report on “Growth Scenario Modelling for Bulgaria Compact Cities.” prepared by Capsus for the World Bank Group. World Bank staff
26
estimates based on the United Nations Population Division’s World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.
27 See Footnote 5
13
Figure 3. Percentage Change in Population in Urban Centers in Bulgaria (2002–2021)
Cities in Bulgaria have transitioned from a “compact and connected” to a predominantly “dispersed and
disconnected” urban form. In absolute numbers, the population of Bulgaria decreased from 8.3 to 7.4 million
inhabitants between 1996 and 2010, but cities expanded by 16% in the same period.28 The country’s urban pop-
ulation decline accelerated from 3.6% in the period between 2000 and 2010 to close to 6.1% between 2011 and
2021, with specifically rapid decline in smaller localities. A review of recent satellite data sources (up to 2020)
shows the continued and pronounced expansion of urban footprints.
Figure 4. Urban Footprint in the Period 1995–2020
See Footnote 5
28
14 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
Figure 5. Urban Footprint in the Period 1995–2020 for Sliven (left) and Vratsa (right)
Urban expansion has also resulted in increased exposure to hazards, as Bulgaria is particularly vulnerable
to climate change events. Bulgaria’s cities are prone to hazardous events, as its territory is characterized by
forests and highlands. Among others, the percentage of built-up areas exposed to flooding hazards increased
by 33% between 1975 and 2015.29 This represents a double challenge. First, cities can experience an increased
exposure to hazards. Second, climate change–related hazards are expected to intensify and increase in fre-
quency in the next decades. Also, the increase of hazardous events in Bulgaria will likely impact the economic
sectors, as extreme weather events can affect the productivity of land, create water shortages, damage infra-
structure, and create uncertainty in the power generation of renewable energies.30
The drivers of urban sprawl in the context of shrinking populations in Bulgaria seem to be the result of
a typical combination of factors, including property developer preferences for greenfield locations and
cultural shifts in housing preferences.31 Industrial investors are inclined to prefer green field areas that are
unpolluted and with limited restrictions in terms of building options. Retail property investors follow a similar
pattern, with retail centers becoming the focal points of today’s shopping and recreation activities, particu-
larly with little opposition to the suburban allocation of these facilities in declining regions. Finally, living in
a single residential dwelling with a larger plot of land is significantly more desirable than residing in a dete-
riorating apartment block, even if this means a longer commute time. This problem does occur in growing
cities, too, but is aggravated if cities are shrinking. On the other hand, in declining cities prices and rent are
moderate throughout the urban region.
1.4. Urban spatial and strategic planning landscape
The above dynamics in urban form and function are ultimately a result of the specific spatial and urban
planning policy environments, which are either enabling or producing negative results due to policy fail-
ures. Urban planning is a technical and political process that sets out the development, design, and regula-
tion of land use and the built environment in urban areas, as well as public service and infrastructure capacity
and access. It also sets the leading priorities and allocates the necessary publicly funded projects within the
common development vision. The objective is to enhance public welfare by ensuring the appropriate utiliza-
Final report on “Growth Scenario Modelling for Bulgaria Compact Cities.” prepared by Capsus for the World Bank Group. Data source:
29
European Commission. 2015. GHS-UCDB R2019— GHS Urban Centre Database 2015, multitemporal and multidimensional attributes.
Retrieved from Joint Research Centre Data Catalogue. Available here.
Ministry of Environment and Water. 2018. “National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan.” Available here.
30
Couch, C., Karecha, J., Nuissl, H., and Rink, D. 2005. “Decline and sprawl: an evolving type of urban development–observed in Liverpool and
31
Leipzig”. European planning studies, 13(1), pp.117–136.
15
tion of local resources, the health and safety of people, the protection of natural resources, and the provision
of public services and spaces. For purposes of this report, the urban areas are considered to be the 257 legally
designated cities and towns located in 218 municipalities.32
The urban planning process is primarily determined by two separate legislative acts defining the develop-
ment of interconnected strategic and planning documents from different hierarchical levels. The Regional
Development Act (RDA) sets the framework for the country’s regional development, with a view to reducing
intra-regional differences; improving the lagging territories; and creating conditions for integrated develop-
ment, economic growth, and sustainable employment. The Territorial Planning Act outlines the guidelines for
establishing a planning basis for sustainable territorial development and building a quality living environment.
The RDA amendment from 2020 significantly optimized and simplified the system of documents for re-
gional development, reducing their number from eight types to three types. Until 2020, the law provided
two types of documents for each hierarchical level of the national territory—one document for general region-
al and one document for spatial development of the national, regional (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for
Statistics [NUTS]-2), district (NUTS-3), and municipal levels. The fragmentation of strategic planning into vari-
ous documents, as well as the lack of sufficient administrative capacity for their timely and coordinated elab-
oration and implementation, proved to be ineffective. Thus, in 2020 an entire level of planning (district level)
was abolished, and the strategic documents for regional and spatial development were integrated into a
single document for sustainable regional development. As a result, to date, only three types of documents are
being prepared—the National Concept for Regional and Spatial Development (NCRSD), Integrated Territorial
Development Strategies (ITDS) for each of the six NUTS-2 regions, and Plans for Integrated Development of
the Municipality (PIDM), which are the strategic plans for local development. All three types of papers should
contain objectives and priorities, while the regional strategies and municipal plans should stretch to specific
measures and implementation projects. The NCRSD sets out the basic spatial structure, with the most gener-
al division of the national territory, hierarchy of settlements, axes for urban development, and main transport
corridors, which are reflected accordingly in the regional strategies (ITDS). The municipal plans should take
into account the higher-level documents, as well as define zones for an integrated approach and priority im-
plementation of projects, including for the urban areas within the borders of the cities and towns.
The Territorial Planning Act outlines two types of plans in hierarchical subordination, namely the Master
Spatial Plan (MSP) and the Detailed Spatial Plan (DSP). These plans are strictly bound to the level of the
municipalities. The scope of the MSP naturally covers the entire municipality, although it could focus only on
specific parts of it (for example the city which is the administrative center). The master plan determines the
general (predominant) purpose of territories and zones that consist of several parcels with similar character-
istics. This plan determines how the urban areas in the municipalities will be developed in terms of functional
purpose and building parameters. Then the DSPs determine the specific purpose for each individual parcel
and thus give opportunity for construction (location and construction of buildings, structures, networks, and
facilities) at the parcel in accordance with its purpose. In general, the planning/ change of the purpose of ter-
ritories and parcels for construction should be carried out on the basis of a DSP that has been put into force.
The coherence between the documents under the two acts is most directly defined with the elaboration
of the PIDM. The RDA stipulates that the PIDM is prepared in accordance with the MSP, taking into account
their different time horizons. The PIDM defines medium-term goals and priorities for sustainable develop-
ment of the municipality and ensures integration of the economic, social and ecological sectors. The MSP
outlines the general structure and the predominant purpose of the territories, the routes of technical infra-
structure, and the protection of environment and cultural heritage sites. Thus, sustainable development in
the municipality requires consistency between strategic and territorial planning so that the socioeconomic
he administrative center of each of the 218 municipalities are classified as towns, but one municipal area could also include more than
32 T
one town, with 39 towns which are not classified as administrative centers.
16 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
and ecological priorities correspond to the territorial models. In addition, although the Spatial Planning Act
and Regulation no. 8 on the spatial plans stipulate that the Master and Detailed Spatial Plans should take into
account the documents under the RDA, the specific requirements for complementarity are not clarified and
do not consider the 2020 amendment of the RDA.
While the aim is for improved integration between strategic, spatial, and investment plans, in reality, in-
vestment plans are not currently well justified or integrated into the provision of spatial plans. Ideally, the
spatial (land-use) plans should serve as the foundational understanding for strategic and investment plan-
ning processes to start—leading to spatially explicit, hence realistic and efficient, strategies and investments.
Investments that are not spatially justified can lead to a lack of sustainability and inefficiency. A worrying
observation is that spatial plans of municipalities are often heavily influenced by the presence of large invest-
ment interests and landowners lobbying for larger than required urban land zones. This means spatial plans
largely reflect growth expectations which are completely detached from the historic trends in population
decline and future projects. This is contrary to the best practice in which a spatial strategy defines the location
and nature of investments to ensure the sustainability of city form, services, and infrastructure.
Figure 6. Scope of the Bulgarian Planning System in 2023
Design: Authors of this report.
All types of documents are envisaged to be implemented according to the fundamental principles of sus-
tainable development through connected actions in the economic and social sphere in accordance with
environmental protection. Strategic documents for regional and spatial development (under RDA) should
17
reflect issues related to climate change; moreover, the regional strategies and municipal plans should also
contain specific measures for advancing climate neutrality.
At the local level however, there is evidence of fragmented, disconnected, and small-scale climate and de-
carbonization investments, which points to a lack of integrated development capacity and the absence of
incentives. Municipalities often opt for smaller projects for which capital investment funds are easily available
through, for example, EU-funded programs. Matching projects to technical specifications or pre-allocated
funding amounts has resulted in a system of project-driven rather than integrated or strategic local develop-
ment. There is also a disconnect between sectoral investment plans, for example roads and utility infrastruc-
ture plans are not aligned or sequenced, which could result in inefficiencies (i.e., utilities not upgraded before
road rehabilitation). With funds generally only available on a project-by-project basis there is also evidence
that smaller-scale pilot projects are resulting in stranded asset investments (i.e., disconnected bike paths or
different technologies in waste management systems across a single city). With integration not happening
across sectors in a single space (i.e., a single municipality), achieving integrated development across different
territorial units is unlikely to be successful or transformational—local government units are likely to continue
to default to the simplest projects with the most easily accessible funds.
Projects are often very narrowly focused on specific individual local government-owned property assets,
with very little consideration for implications such as land value generation or broader precinct develop-
ment. This points to an inability to coordinate with the private sector or other thematic sector actors and could
be rooted in a strong culture of narrowly functioning within the specific regulatory space assigned to local gov-
ernment. While this approach is technically correct, a broadening of understanding the role of local government
as enabler and lead actor that could coordinate actors toward a common vision for a locality seems absent. A
precinct or neighborhood approach, or outlining specific urban zones for targeted development, considering
both key private assets and other sectoral assets (such as schools, health care facilities, etc.) in conjunction with
local government properties and buildings, could yield efficiencies in investments as well as multiplier effects.
1.5. Proposed approach and tools for Compact Cities in
Bulgaria
City plans clearly don’t reflect realistic popu- Figure 7. Compact Cities Approach Framework
lation projections, while lower land costs in
peri-urban areas and the difficulty associat-
ed with brownfield development in inner cit-
ies also contribute to expanding urban areas.
This points to a need for greater evidence-based Compact cities approach
planning approaches and a greater understand-
ing of the long-term sustainability, climate, and
cost implications of the continued development
Pillar 1: Pillar 2: Pillar 3:
trajectories of towns in Bulgaria. This project in- Improved Urban Integrated
troduced, applied, and tested several global best development regeneration planning
practice tools and methodologies in the Bul- planning and and
and Urban brownfield financing
garian context. These approaches are broadly
Growth development
grouped into three sets of interrelated actions Scenarios
at local levels, which forms the framework for a
Compact Cities approach in Bulgaria. The three
pillars are described below, with the fourth en- Foundational Element:
abling condition as capacity building: Capacity building at local level
18 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
1. I
mproved development planning at local levels aimed at reducing ongoing urban expansion. Spe-
cifically, utilize available geographic information system (GIS) tools and new approaches such as Urban
Growth Scenario modelling to better understand the longer-term climate, environmental, and financial
implications of spatial expansion plans. This pillar encourages an evidence- based planning approach at
the local levels.
2.
Accelerated urban regeneration and brownfield redevelopment. This pillar encourages cities to focus
development efforts on land located within or near existing inner cities and connected to existing infra-
structure networks. In the Bulgarian context this means a specific focus on utilizing well-located public
assets such as old military sites that are often large land parcels that act as barriers to better connected
and functioning urban areas. There is also significant potential in the redevelopment of privately owned
assets (i.e., derelict buildings, old industrial areas, and even multi-family apartment buildings, which was
not explored in detail in this project).
3. I
mproved integrated project planning and financing. This encourages a shift away from small- scale,
disconnected infrastructure investments, which risks the creation of stranded assets. The pillar encour-
ages integrated approaches at a project level (which could come in the form of mobilizing multiple fi-
nancing sources to support more integrated projects) and moving away from site-specific approaches to
a more integrated neighborhood or precinct view (connecting multiple investments in specific neighbor-
hoods to yield multiplier effects).
4. C
apacity building as enabling condition. Local government leaders and officials are ultimately respon-
sible for the development trajectories of their localities through strategic and spatial planning and then
implementing those plans through capital investments. Local capacity is a catch-all phrase, often cited
as a key constraint to achieving local-level development impacts. But capacity constraints can take many
forms, such as limited numbers of technical officials, poor technical skills of those officials, or lack of ac-
cess to and use of the appropriate data, tools, and systems. Introducing a focus on more Compact Cities
requires technical training and tools, but more importantly identifying and recording good practice for
sharing through peer learning networks.
The following chapters outline the three pillars and capacity building in more detail, including the tools
and methodologies introduced and results achieved through the application of and training events in this
project. The sequence of the pillars differs slightly from the order in which training events were delivered,
with the first event focused on brownfield regeneration (Pillar 2). This was due to the process of definition of
scenarios and data collection for the Growth Scenario modelling, which forms the basis for Pillar 1. Following
the completion of this project, the Growth Scenario modelling tools will be made available in open-source
platforms for adjustment and use by other Bulgarian municipalities. The report is further produced to allow
other stakeholders, be those ministries or other entities such as growth funds or associations, to replicate the
convening and capacity building approaches. All training materials, participant workbooks, event agendas,
and methodological guides and tools are available on request, with opportunities to share these publicly
through partnerships with key stakeholders being explored.
19
2. Pillar 1: Improved Development
Planning, including the use of Urban
Growth Scenarios
2.1. Rationale for using the approach
Urban Growth Scenario modelling is an evidence-based and data-driven process to predict how cities may
develop in the future under different conditions. These models are typically based on a range of statistical
techniques and use advanced technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing
to help identify trends and patterns in the data. They consider various factors that influence urban growth, such
as population trends, economic development, infrastructure investments, and land-use policies, to create mod-
els that simulate future scenarios. These models can help policy makers, urban planners, and other stakeholders
evaluate the potential impacts of different policies and make informed decisions about how to manage urban
growth. By providing a framework for predicting urban development, scenario modelling can help ensure that
cities are developed in a sustainable and equitable manner.
Scenarios contribute to an efficient communication of urban initiatives and rely on indicators that provide
a “common language” based on numerical data and represent a consistent, transparent, and systematic
approach to urban concerns. By using scenario modelling, city planners and policy makers can anticipate the
impacts of population decline on urban infrastructure, public services, and land-use patterns. This can help
identify opportunities to optimize existing resources, re-purpose underutilized land, and re-imagine the city’s
future. Scenarios can serve as a dialog platform between stakeholders. They can be used to assess synergies be-
tween initiatives, develop integrated solutions, understand the interdependency of possible solutions, or create
a multi-level and multi-sectorial consensus, among others.
In addition to growth scenario modelling, this pillar includes a focus on encouraging a more active local
utilization of GIS data sets and tools. GIS essentially combines mapping and database tools to help manage
and analyze geospatial data. The utilization of GIS can help identify patterns and relationships that might not
be evident in traditional spreadsheets or text-based data. It can also help engage the public in urban planning
processes by providing interactive maps and visualizations that help illustrate complex data and concepts. Com-
mon platforms can stimulate data sharing and support integrated and coordinated planning and management
efforts. Finally, GIS-based approaches can help track and monitor the implementation of urban plans and pol-
icies, as well as evaluate their effectiveness over time. Box 3 shares some of the available GIS tools in Bulgaria.
Box 3. GIS Tools for Cities in Bulgaria
The development of geospatial technologies in Bulgaria in recent decades has been dynamic. Today,
these technologies are part of a huge number of industries and businesses, and there are hardly any
people who do not benefit from them in one way or another. Spatial data are owned, managed, and
shared by multiple organizations, including municipalities, agencies (Agency for Geodesy, Cartography
and Cadastre; Executive Agency for Environment, etc.); ministries (Ministry of Environment and Wa-
ter; Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works; Ministry of Internal Affairs, etc.), and also by
crowdsourcing initiatives (AirBG.info; OpenStreetMap).
20 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
The variety of data sources related to urban studies requires coordination, and data and information
sharing between all these organizations. The Directive of the European Union (EU) on the creation of
the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) of 2007 was involved
in this. It was introduced into Bulgarian legislation through the Law on Access to Spatial Data in Bul-
garia. The Data Unit in the Directorate ”Information Systems and Interoperability“ of the State Agency
for Electronic Government is the national contact point for the directive.
There are two official data portals in the Republic of Bulgaria related to urban datasets; the first
is the government open data portal, located at https://data.egov.bg/. It includes tens of thousands
of data sets in a machine-readable format. The second one—The National Spatial Data Catalog—
was published in December 2020. It provides citizens and stakeholders with geospatial data and
is located at https://inspire.egov.bg/. In addition to the two portals, spatial data can be found on
the websites of many other organizations that collect, store, and share it. Due to its diverse nature,
work on urban planning and the analysis of urban areas requires working with data from different
organizations.
Thanks to the requirements imposed by various European institutions and regulations, in the last two
decades large amounts of data have been digitized and shared on the internet in Bulgaria. However,
there is a need for improvements in this area, such as better structuring of the data, providing the lo-
cation of objects in a machine-readable format, and so forth. It is also necessary to work on improving
public awareness regarding the official portals and the data contained in them.
2.2. Methodology
During this project, growth scenario modelling was introduced and applied using the Urban Performance
approach developed by the World Bank through generous donor support over several years.33 The modelling
was applied in practice with two participant cities (Sliven and Vratsa) as test cases. Both cities have recorded
pronounced shrinking population and concurrent urban footprint expansion dynamics. A six-step process was
applied:34
1. Literature review and identification of urban policies
2. Data gathering and area definition
3. Definition of policy levers
4. Scenario definition
5. Calculation of indicators
6. Results analysis
The Urban Performance tool assesses the city’s present and future performance by creating multiple growth scenarios that include
33
investment projects, public policies, and land regulations. The latest version of Urban Performance was developed at City Planning Labs
and is maintained by CAPSUS, UPTech, and a community of developers. Urban Performance is open source and its source code can be
found at GitHub: https://github.com/UPTechMX. During this project the services of CAPSUS were utilized for application; the firm also
trades as Capital Sustainable: https://capsus.mx/.
Full details available in the Final report on “Growth Scenario Modelling for Bulgaria Compact Cities.” (Capsus).
34
21
The analysis was conducted in close cooperation with city-level officials. The delivery team also included
several local Bulgarian urban and GIS specialists to ensure specificities in terms of the local context were appro-
priately reflected. Area definition was also an iterative process, and population figures utilized in the modelling
process had to be adjusted to reflect the study area, which does not fully correspond with administrative or
census tract boundaries.
The analysis for future scenarios considered the implementation of 12 policy levers in Sliven (including re-
forestation of hazard-prone areas due to landslide risks) and 11 policy levers for Vratsa (see Appendix A). The
business-as-usual (BAU) scenarios are based on historic trends, and municipalities are assumed to continue to
prioritize road and utility network construction in expansion areas. The plan scenarios are based on each city’s
official plans and strategies including, for example, existing integrated development plans (such as Plan for
Integrated Development of the Municipality “PIRO”) and annual investment plans and programs. Finally, Vi-
sion Scenario 2050 was based on ambitious goals for the city around policies that seek to comply with national
mitigation goals and European Union efficiency standards. In addition, the most expensive interventions were
adjusted to include financial resources in the key sectors and achieve both climate adaptation and mitigation
benefits with a pragmatic approach to the city.
The scenarios were built with statistical models and spatial data, such as the analysis of historical trends,
the identification of key intervention drivers for urban expansion, and emission generation. Urban growth
scenarios portray different urban planning paths, enabling public officials and leaders to compare potential con-
sequences and make informed decisions about future growth. The Urban Performance tool was used to analyze
the different urban development strategies and compare potential outcomes. The scenarios were defined by
establishing a baseline and alternative scenarios that combined the policy levers to obtain projections for 2050.
The baseline or Base 2020 analysis is a collection of spatial and numeric data that allowed the project team to set
the starting point to model the policy levers and scenarios relevant for Bulgarian cities. This layer of analysis was
not considered a scenario because the results portray the city characteristics in 2020. This means that all future
scenarios used 2020 as a base year and forecasted to 2050 as the horizon year.
The list of indicators used for this project was defined in terms of assessing the current and potential sta-
tus of the urban form. The analysis includes context-specific indicators, which provide a “common language”
where scenarios can be evaluated both consistently and systematically. The indicators analyzed in this appli-
cation include land consumption, population density, exposure to hazards, energy consumption, renewable
energy, proximity to amenities, proximity to transport infrastructure, water consumption and wastewater
treatment and solid waste collection. The final step consisted of a comparative analysis across scenarios us-
ing the key indicators, with quantitative and spatial results providing insight into potential changes accord-
ing to the policy levers.
22 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
2.3. Application and findings in Bulgaria
The first data collection and area definition steps, including the use of satellite imagery, confirmed the
extensive urban footprint expansion that both cities have undergone over the previous decades (depicted
below).
Figure 8. Urban Growth in Sliven (2000–2020) Figure 9. Urban Growth in Vratsa (2000–2020)
Source: Pesaresi and Politis 2022. 35
The maps that follow depict the modelled land consumption and urban footprint projections under the
different scenarios. The first map shows the current urban footprint of both cities in 2020, as measured by
satellite imagery, public records, and geographical information systems. In the second map in the sequence,
the blue area illustrates the forecasted expansion of the city under a scenario without significant governmental
intervention (i.e., BAU in 2050). The third map shows the expected growth of the urban footprint by 2050, if the
current plans of the municipality are fully implemented. The final map illustrates, in green, the amount of land
that will be consumed by 2050 if the proposed policies, investments, and urban interventions recommended in
this report are fully implemented.
The results show that the policies, programs, and interventions proposed in this modelling exercise will con-
tain most of the urban sprawl in both cities. In Sliven the vision scenario will limit the expansion of the urban
footprint by 2050 to 29%. For visual comparison, review the map with dark blue expansion areas in the BAU
scenario versus the map with green expansion areas in the vision scenario. Even though the city still expands
between 2020 and 2050, the extension of the city in the vision scenario will be 27% less than the BAU scenario
and 20% lower than the Plan Scenario. This is even more pronounced in Vratsa, with virtually no footprint expan-
sion in the vision scenario when compared to the current footprint, which also represents 28% less than the BAU
scenario and 46% less than the Plan Scenario.
Pesaresi, M., and Politis, P. 2022. “GHS built-up surface grid, derived from Sentinel2 composite and Landsat, multitemporal (1975–2030)”.
35
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC). http://doi.org/10.2905/D07D81B4-7680-4D28-B896-583745C27085.
23
Figure 10. Current Urban Footprint, Sliven (2020) Figure 11. Current Urban Footprint, Vratsa (2020)
Figure 12. Urban Footprint, Business As Usual Figure 13. Urban Footprint, Business As Usual Scenario
Scenario 2050, Sliven 2050, Vratsa
Figure 14. Urban Footprint, Plan Scenario 2050, Figure 15. Urban Footprint, Plan Scenario 2050,
Sliven Vratsa
Figure 16. Urban Footprint, Vision Scenario 2050, Figure 17. Urban Footprint, Vision Scenario 2050,
Sliven Vratsa
24 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
In terms of modelling results for other indicators, the following can be highlighted:
Carbon emissions
The carbon emissions that are captured in this project are related to the number of vehicle kilometers trav-
eled by private vehicles and public transportation systems, and energy consumption from municipal ser-
vices and buildings. The carbon emissions indicator accounts for the average emissions per capita released
annually from sources related to urban form (energy consumption for public lighting, municipal water supply,
solid waste collection, electricity in dwellings, and commuting).
In both cities the current trends and planned measures encourage the increase of carbon emissions per
capita. In Sliven, the Vision Scenario reaches a reduction of 41% compared to the baseline, and 66% compared to
the city trend. Even though the Plan Scenario reduces the carbon emissions compared to the BAU scenario, it
will still increase emissions by 49% compared to the current 2020 carbon emissions. For Vratsa, in the BAU Sce-
nario, carbon emissions increase by 50% if the city does not enforce policies for sustainable development. In the
Plan Scenario, carbon emissions per capita increase by approximately 19% over the baseline. The Vision Scenario
results will be achieved through implementing compact growth policies, energy and water efficiency measures,
renewable energy, and efficient mobility systems.
Figure 18. Carbon Emissions, Sliven Figure 19. Carbon Emissions, Vratsa
6 000 5 700 6 000
4 973 5 140
5 000 5 000
KGCO2EQ PER CAPITA PER YEAR
KGCO2EQ PER CAPITA PER YEAR
4 000 4 072
4 000
3 338 3 418
3 000 3 000
1 954
2 000 2 000 1 802
1 000 1 000
0 0
Baseline 2020 BAU Scenario Plan Scenario Vision Scenario Baseline 2020 BAU Scenario Plan Scenario Vision Scenario
2050 2050 2050 2050 2050 2050
Energy consumption
The energy consumption indicator accounts for the total average energy that a person consumes during a
year directly or indirectly from commuting, buildings, public lighting, municipal water supply, and waste-
water treatment. The transport and building sectors are key to developing a more resource-efficient city. The
energy consumption related to commuting and buildings 36 sums 98% of the analyzed energy consumption
in all scenarios. By promoting ambitious policies related to compact growth, transport electrification, and en-
forcement of green building codes, the city will reduce a third of the energy consumption between the Vision
Scenario and the baseline.
In Sliven, planned and ambitious investments will also support an increase in renewable energy contribu-
tion. With the development of a 5 MW wind project and 26 MW of photovoltaic systems, the share of renewable
energy reaches 25% in the Plan Scenario. However, the same investment combined with ambitious efforts to
reduce electricity consumption will promote a higher renewable energy share (48%) in the Vision Scenario.
The analysis considered electricity and energy for heating buildings. Note that at least 41% of the dwellings in the city of Sliven have ac-
36
cess to the central heating network based on the Plan for Sliven 2021–2027.
25
Figure 20. Energy Consumption, Sliven Figure 21. Energy Consumption, Vratsa
8 000 7 335 8 000
7 222 7 259
7 000 7 000
KWH PER CAPITA PER YEAR
KWH PER CAPITA PER YEAR
6 000 5 363 6 000 5 457
5 177
5 000 5 000
4 000 3 560 4 000 3 704
3 000 3 000
2 000 2 000
1 000 1 000
0 0
Baseline 2020 BAU Scenario Plan Scenario Vision Scenario Baseline 2020 BAU Scenario Plan Scenario Vision Scenario
2050 2050 2050 2050 2050 2050
Commuting Buildings Public lighting Commuting Buildings Public lighting
Water provision Wastewater treatment Water provision Wastewater treatment
Exposure to hazards
Sliven is likely to experience forest fires and landslides. One percent of Sliven’s inhabitants live in areas prone
to forest fires, and 24% live in areas prone to landslides. These percentages hold steady according to the city
trends. However, the population percentage exposed to these hazards decreases significantly from imple-
menting strategic affordable housing projects in the Plan Scenario and nature-based solutions in the Vision
Scenario.
Costs
In Vratsa the BAU Scenario will require approximately (eoros) €833 million to provide basic infrastructure in
the newly developing areas. Also, in the Plan Scenario, the municipality will need to invest 97% of the capital
investment budget in basic infrastructure for new urbanized land (12 km2). On the other hand, policies that
support the preservation of natural land and limit urban expansion will significantly reduce the strain on the
local budget. The Vision Scenario holds strict containment measures to promote compact growth, brownfield
development, and restoration of natural areas. The enforcement of these policies will likely limit the expenses
to €93 million, 95% less compared to the Plan Scenario and 88% less compared to the BAU Scenario. Figure 22
illustrates the total cost estimations for all policy levers and the development of basic infrastructure under fu-
ture scenarios. Costs are presented in millions of euros for the accumulated 30-year period. The cost difference
is mainly due to the difference in city size for each scenario.
At the same time, urban areas require maintenance and operation costs for public infrastructure and basic
urban services. The estimate of Municipal Service Cost is the average total cost for the operation and mainte-
nance of selected infrastructure, such as public lighting, potable water, waste management, wastewater treat-
ment, and road maintenance. Costs are higher in the BAU and Plan Scenarios compared to the current status
of the city. With the expansion of urban areas and the increase in the urban footprint, expenses related to the
maintenance of roads and public services will increase. Vratsa is highly dependent on national revenues and
grants, in the 2022 budget plan it was estimated that Vratsa will receive €30 million from the national govern-
ment, and €13 million from local sources. If the city population continues to decrease, the municipality will need
additional financial resources to operate and maintain the city’s infrastructure. The municipal service cost can
be reduced by one-third if ambitious policies are enforced as depicted in the Vision Scenario.
26 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
Figure 22. Accumulated Capital Investments, Vratsa Figure 23. Annual Municipal Service Cost, Vratsa
2 500 20,0
18,0 18,0
2 043
ACCUMULATED MILLIONS OF EUROS
16,0
MILLIONS OF EUROS PER YEAR
2 000 14,4
14,0 13,7
13,0
1 500
10,0 9,4
8,0
1 000 833
6,0
4,0
500
2,0
93 0
0
BAU Scenario 2050 Plan Scenario 2050 Vision Scenario 2050 Baseline 2020 BAU Scenario Plan Scenario Vision Scenario
2050 2050 2050
In Sliven the municipality will need to invest at least €3.3 billion to reach a complete supply of basic services
in the new areas of the city (27 km2). This suggests that the distribution of investments will be highly unbal-
anced, and all financial efforts would focus on developing roads, water, and sewage systems, along with electric-
ity services in the new areas of the city. The stress on the municipal budget in the next 30 years would limit the
number of projects for social and economic development, and for environmental conservation. The Plan Scenar-
io would require an investment of approximately €2.7 billion to build social infrastructure, implement mitigation
and adaptation strategies, and support the urban expansion of the city, while the Vision Scenario would require
€2 billion to carry out the ambitious policies. More than 92% of the estimated cost for the Plan Scenario will be
used for basic urban infrastructure, including roads, water networks, electricity lines, and public lighting, among
others. The Vision Scenario achieves more efficient financial resource management, and budgets are more bal-
anced among different necessities and capital investments. For example, 25% of the budgeted cost in the Vision
Scenario will be allocated to the transport sector, including cycling lanes and a more efficient public transport
system. A similar picture emerges around municipal service costs as in Vratsa.
Figure 24. Accumulated Capital Investments, Sliven Figure 25. Annual Municipal Service Cost, Sliven
3 500 30,0
3 321
ACCUMULATED MILLIONS OF EUROS
3 000 24,4
25,0
MILLIONS OF EUROS PER YEAR
2 740 22,8
2 500 19,8
20,0
2 016 17,4
2 000
15,0
1 500
1 0,0
1 000
5,0
500
0 0
BAU Scenario 2050 Plan Scenario 2050 Vision Scenario 2050 Baseline 2020 BAU Scenario Plan Scenario Vision Scenario
2050 2050 2050
Conclusions
The results obtained through the Growth Scenario modelling exercise made the impacts and costs of ongo-
ing peri-urban expansion visible and quantified. In both cities the results also show that sprawl is largely a con-
sequence of inadequate urban planning. In Vratsa, if the current Master Plan is fully implemented, it could cause
an expansion of up to 70% by 2050 compared to the city size in 2020. This enlargement will affect several of the
sustainability indicators of the city and cause a bigger fiscal imbalance. Since the city’s population is shrinking,
the municipality of Vratsa should implement an urban containment and revitalization strategy to control urban
sprawl and even regain green and natural areas for the city.
27
Vratsa specifically could benefit from land-use planning and densification policies to avoid developments
in risk-prone areas. Controlling urban sprawl and reforestation activities, and protecting natural areas could
reduce the amount of people exposed to landslides. Regarding earthquakes, the densification and land con-
sumption strategies proposed in the Vision Scenario decreased the percentage of population exposed to this
hazard from 13% to 8%.
In both cities the modelling also shows that a low-carbon development path is a lower cost development op-
tion. Ambitious climate policies applied through the Vision Scenario will require less economic resources than
other scenarios and significantly reduce the strain on the local budget. Since the city’s income is dependent on
the population, while the expenses are proportional to the urban footprint, implementing current Master Plans
will require higher basic infrastructure investments and increase the cost of providing adequate municipal ser-
vices.
For maximum effectiveness, capital investments should be supported by densification strategies. Develop-
ing new social infrastructure could have a greater impact if more people are able to access the infrastructure
more easily. Therefore, appropriate densification strategies are essential to significantly improve the proximity
to city amenities, employment opportunities, and transport infrastructure.
28 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
3. Pillar 2: Urban regeneration
and brownfield redevelopment
3.1. Rationale for using the approach
The regeneration of brownfield sites is becoming one of the most discussed strategies for enforcing sus-
tainable development in cities. The regeneration of already developed territories is becoming a key trend of
urban planning around the world. One of the smart urban development strategies is structural transformation
of vacated and abandoned territories in cities, rather than developing new ones in their outskirts. The urban re-
generation process has the idea of compact city development within its core, which is considerate with market
conditions, population growth, public administration strategies, and value for local communities. It is therefore
key to acknowledge that such an approach is data driven and evidence based as it takes into account the pro-
cesses of change the cities are going through.
The key importance is given to the idea that densely populated areas are easier for local authorities to main-
tain, including areas with declining population. Setting the parameters to contain development in a compact
area of the urban environment is considered as a key opportunity to create high quality livable conditions in ur-
banized settlements. Compact city development is perceived to integrate landscape and public infrastructure,
and improve mobility conditions, which in turn assist the creation of a pedestrian-friendly environment with low
reliance on private transport.
More brownfield regeneration could counter the demand for greenfield development, if accompanied by
appropriate growth management tools. Greenfield development, often in the form of new construction in ag-
ricultural lands and green areas, has several costs to urban development. As a result of greenfield development,
a city can lose the potential for eco-tourism and increase its CO2 emissions as a result of the carbon-intensive
construction activities. Further, a sprawl of city form threatens the financial sustainability of municipal admin-
istrations, as it requires higher costs for development and maintenance of public infrastructure and services. It
is, however, acknowledged that brownfield development comes with significantly more complexity and would
rely on the local government playing a leading role in unlocking land parcels for development through clearing
regulatory hurdles.
The specific benefits of regeneration reflect both the characteristics of the targeted area and the proposed
scenario for repurposing and redevelopment. When designed and implemented in a sectoral and spatially in-
tegrated manner, all regeneration projects should provide multiple co-benefits across financial, environmental,
social, and economic aspects for the city in the long run.
29
Figure 26. Purpose of Brownfield Regeneration, including Environmental, Social, Economic, and Financial
Impacts
Decontamination and removal of
Reduced health risks for the residents in
waste the area
Removal of pollution and
Reduced security and crime risks
environmental risks in previously abundant areas and
Increased area of green spaces in
buildings
cities Development of new public spaces, incl.
Decreased urban heat islands
parks and public gardens
Improvement of the quality of urban life
Recovery or conservation of
Renovation of residential areas and
biodiversity, incl. trees
improvement of the living conditions
Restoration of landscape
New employment opportunities for the
characteristics and values
residents
Increased area of agricultural and
Social inclusion of the people in the
forestry territories deprived areas
Prevention of additional GHG
Preservation of architectural heritage
emissions from new construction
Protection of agricultural lands and
soils
Environmental Social
Economic Financial
evelopment of new economic
D Increased market land values of the
zones and new functional zones for sites
different purposes like sports and Increased prices of the surrounding
recreation, science and education, properties
etc. Reduced costs for maintenance and
Creation of new businesses and jobs
protection of abandoned and empty
Making profit of the existing
buildings and sites, incl. public cost for
infrastructures, buildings and state and municipal properties
facilities, previously underused Avoided costs for extension of technical
Improved image of the area and
infrastructures
attraction of further investors and Avoided additional costs related with
investments the urban sprawl and the provision of
public services
Sources: Ameller, Rinaudo, and Merly 2020;37 Breggin 1999;38 Doick et al. 2006;39 Morar et al. 2021;40.
Design: Authors of this report.
meller, J., Rinaudo, J.-D. and Merly, C. 2020., The Contribution of Economic Science to Brownfield Redevelopment: A Review. Integrated
37 A
Environmental Assessment and Management, 16: pp. 184–196. https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.4233.
38 Breggin, L. 1999. A guidebook for brownfield property owners. Available at: https://www.eli.org/sites/default/files/eli-pubs/d9.11.pdf.
oick, K., Sellers, G., Hutchings, T., and Moffat, A. 2006. “Brownfield sites turned green: Realising sustainability in urban revival. WIT Trans-
39 D
actions on Ecology and the Environment.” vol. 94, pp. 131–140. http://dx.doi.org/10.2495/BF060131.
40 M orar, C., Nagy, G., Boros, L., Gozner, M., Niemets, L., and Sehida, K. 2021. Heritage, Culture and Regeneration of the Former Military Areas
in the City of Oradea, Romania. Architektúra and urbanizmus, vol. 55, No. 1-2. https://doi.org/10.31577/archandurb.2021.55.1-2.6.
30 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
3.2. Methodology
Although there are different roadmaps for regeneration within the urban planning theory, the holistic iden-
tification, analysis, and assessment of the brownfields is a requirement at the start of the process. The very
first step, especially for the local authorities, is the development of a register or database of brownfields within
the administrative borders of the municipality. It includes assessment of the sites and identification of the own-
er if it is not the municipal government itself. The concrete analysis of the specific brownfield usually includes
measurement of the level of contamination and description of its characteristics as contaminated land, aban-
doned land, underutilized land, and vacant land. It should also include the analysis of urban context, alignment
with Master Spatial Plans and Strategic Plans, such as the Plan for Integrated Development of the Municipality.
Figure 27. Steps for Brownfield Regeneration
STEP 1 evelopment of brownfields database with
D
Data collection georeferencing
and assessment Ownership identification
Site assessment and investigation
Stakeholder identification
STEP 2 evelopment of potential assessment
D
Pre-feasibility Risk assessment (for the implementation)
Community engagement
STEP 3 Development of plans and concepts
Feasibility Environmental impact assessment
(Planning) Defining partnerships
Identifying sources of financing and co-financing
Incentives for private sector participation
STEP 4
Remediation
Implementation
Redevelopment
Monitoring and control
Source: Ionescu-Heroiu 2010.41 Design: Authors of this report.
onescu-Heroiu, M. 2010. The management of brownfields redevelopment: a guidance note. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
41 I
Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/754171468295822120.
31
Box 4. Case study: Brownfield land registers in the United Kingdom
In recent years, the British government has put in practice the so-called “Brownfield land registers,” in an ef-
fort to bolster housing provision across the United Kingdom. It meant that local authorities became obliged
to prepare and annually maintain a list of previously developed land. Such a list could not include greenfield
sites. Brownfield registers are structured within two parts. Part One comprises already developed sites that
a local planning authority considers as appropriate for residential development after carrying out a consul-
tation with landowners and local residents. Listed sites may include those with full planning permission,
outline planning permission, or permission in principle, but also sites without planning permission. The
inclusion of the latter is a way for local authorities to pinpoint underutilized land and encourage redevelop-
ment. Part Two of the register comprises those sites in Part One that the local planning authority has the
confidence would be granted permission, in principle, for residential development. The Brownfield Land
Register is meant to send a strong message to developers. From one side, it provides them with the con-
fidence a development would be approved, and from another side, it speeds up the planning process to
facilitate the redevelopment of urbanized land while promoting the compact development of a City.
Figure 28. Brownfield Land Register Example for Ealing, London
Image source: https://maps.ealing.gov.uk/webreports/Planning/brownfield.html.
At this stage different methods and tools for the analysis and assessment can be implemented. Environmen-
tal site assessment can integrate (i) reviews of existing records and databases for past and current land uses,
ownership, and environmental records for hazardous materials; (ii) visits of the site for observation of the current
situation; (iii) interviews with owners, neighbors, and workers (if any); (iv) identification of potential contaminants;
(v) testing of the soils, groundwater; and so forth. Another tool is the World Bank’s land utilization repurposing
application (LURA) analytical and assessment tool that covers five different criteria: (i) environmental liabilities; (ii)
geotechnical properties; (iii) topography, hydrography, and hydrogeology; (iv) social-geography and infrastructure;
and (v) potential added land value. This helps to identify the optimal repurposing scenarios for the different cases.
The next phases are related, with required pre-feasibility and feasibility studies and preparation of the re-
development concepts. Based on the specifics of the site, including ownership, contamination, condition, and
market environment, the development potentials of different scenarios, their appraisal and potential funding
and co-founding are identified. The detailed remediation technologies and redevelopment activities are de-
32 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
fined and justified at this point. An integral part is the stakeholder engagement with workshops, training ses-
sions, visioning sessions, fact sheets, community meetings, and so forth led by an independent facilitator who
is securing representation of the different groups and avoiding domination by specific groups and interests.
The implementation phase is combining specific activities for remediation, restoration, and redevelopment,
including new construction, reflecting the specifics of the site. Typical implementation activities for brown-
fields include:
leaning, decontamination, and other activities for preparation of existing polluted and decaying sites for
C
new construction and development, including the initial removal of hazardous materials; total, partial, or
interior demolition of old buildings and structures; transportation of materials and land masses; and leveling
and shaping the terrain.
evelopment of green infrastructure,including forestry, agrochemical, technological, and reclamation
D
measures for the establishment of trees and other vegetation.
Repurposing and development of new functions, including construction works.
Another scenario for existing brownfields is the interim use for public functions. This can be an effective
method for the low-cost reuse of derelict sites through small-scale interventions like green landscaping and
shaping public spaces. The advantages are related to the smaller amounts of necessary financial resources
and time for implementation. Also, this approach is an excellent alternative for sites with long-term constraints,
such as the lack of public funds for complete renovations. At the same time the flexibility of the temporary use
brings numerous opportunities related to social and cultural activities. For example, open public spaces for ur-
ban recreation and creative industries can be formed while improving the green infrastructure and pedestrian
environment. As usual these scenarios should be driven by the nature of the brownfield and the needs of the
local communities but also aim for more innovative and creative design solutions.
Box 5. Shrinking City Regeneration—Leipzig’s Guardian Houses as a Temporary
Use Example
Wächterhäuser (guardian houses) project was founded in 2004 when Leipzig’s inner-city districts with
its valuable Wilhelminian building stock were endangered by high vacancies and decay, in many places
even by the danger of the collapse of buildings. In order to maintain vacant buildings, mostly along main
transport axes where a further residential use is highly improbable, a civic association (Haushalten e.V.)
was founded, which unites architects, planners, and other groups of people who want to counteract
the decay of the historical building stock. The aim of the “guardian houses” is to save old and probably
derelict buildings by using them and thus protecting the buildings from damage through vandalism
and ongoing decay.
The program creates a framework where homeowners and potential renters sign a flexible contract to
settle the conditions of use of these vacant houses. The contract regulates permission for the tempo-
rary use of the houses. The mutual agreement means that no rent has to be paid (except domestic ser-
vices), but the tenants or users have to protect, maintain and renovate the rooms, the flat, or the house
themselves. Private owners are given the chance to reduce the ongoing running costs and find new
uses for the buildings as the first steps to revitalization. The civic association—a bottom-up initia tive—
cooperates closely with the owners of the buildings and also with some branches of the municipality.
They also foster the settlement of “urban pioneers” in areas of decline and empty properties. “Guardian
houses” also impact their closer neighborhoods, and they undoubtedly contribute to the upgrading of
the areas in which they are situated.
Source: Based on Wiechmann, 2009, 2014 (from World Bank Companion Paper on Shrinking Cities as input towards Romania
Urban Policy (2020).
33
The spatial planning process is the tool for making a brownfield investment interest into a specific construc-
tion project. The path from the idea to construction passes through approval of a Detailed Spatial Plan and an
investment project, followed by the building permit. In Bulgaria, however, the Territorial Planning Act does not
prioritize the redevelopment of brownfields over the development of greenfields through procedural reliefs. In
both cases the envisaged building activities should comply with the adopted spatial plans. If the investor’s in-
tention to build is in line with a Detailed Spatial Plan, there is a green light to start with the concrete design. In
case there is no approved plan or non-compliance, the project initiator should undergo development or amend-
ing of the plan.
There is currently no fast-track for the planning of brownfields in Bulgaria. In theory, if the development also
includes the change of purpose of the agricultural and forest territories, it is more complicated, as development
should comply with the Protection of Agricultural Land Act or the Forests Act. In practice, it is just more time
consuming with a few additional procedural steps, as even the agricultural lands of the highest category can
be urbanized. The same applies to the next step before opening of the construction site—the issuance of a
building permit. The procedure does not differ with respect to derelict and deteriorated terrains. In any case,
once a detailed plan is available, an investment project can be prepared and, on this basis, the building permit
can be obtained. Dealing with construction permits is relatively easier in Bulgaria than the EU average because
construction permitting takes much less time in Bulgaria, with 141 days compared to the EU average of 169 days
required. At the same time the number of all procedures, including acquiring all inspections and certificates
needed before, during and after construction, is higher than the EU average, as is the cost of the processes42.
While there aren’t any specific legislative constraints to the redevelopment of brownfield sites in Bulgaria,
there could be opportunities to create a more enabling policy and legislative environment in the context
of the compact development of cities. The practice in Bulgaria, related to the redevelopment of derelict in-
dustrial sites, starts with changes to land-use designation in the Bulgarian territorial development legislation,
dating from the early 2000s. The introduction of mixed-use zoning (Смф) provides local authorities with a tool
to attract investments by increasing development parameters, and thus allows for intensification and co-loca-
tion of multiple uses, including housing, retail, and production. Over the years, mixed-use zoning has provided
a leverage across designated land, as the allowance for new housing and commercial space has increased land
value capture. Since its introduction it has been strategically applied as a means to redevelop derelict industrial
sites and diversify local economies. However, in contrast to legislation in other countries, such as the United
Kingdom where Article 4 requires 100% of return of employment floorspace, mixed-use zoning in Bulgaria does
not restrict the loss of industrial use in redeveloped brownfield sites. That arguably creates conditions that force
industries out to the suburbs, which in return leads to a more dispersible development.
“The industrial parks act,” promulgated in 2021, is another piece of legislation that can be related to brown-
field redevelopment. It aims to improve the economic efficiency of enterprises, attract investments, and provide
state aid for industrial parks development.43 Often, these are former military sites or vacant sites of previously
state-owned industrial estates. The main promise of the act is to provide investors with a fast track for planning
approval in an otherwise highly bureaucratic planning system. While the law applies for industrial sites with the
size of at least 100,000 m2, it is worth considering introducing similar laws to provide financial and nonfinancial
incentives for the redevelopment of smaller sites within the boundaries of cities.
orld Bank. 2017). “Doing Business in the European Union: Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.”
42 W
43 http://nciz.bg/en/for-investors/legislation.html.
34 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
3.3. Application and findings in Bulgaria and case
studies
The first seminar within the project was held June 14–16, 2022, in the city of Sliven. The event was organized
on the ”charette” model, bringing together different stakeholders to form interdisciplinary teams. Their task was
to develop a joint vision for the development of a specific territory as an example of participatory planning. The
participants were characterized by different professional profiles and experience, including experts from differ-
ent municipal administrations with varying positions in the administration of the municipality, the Ministry of
Regional Development and Public Works, professional organizations, funding institutions, and students. All par-
ticipants were united by the issues of urban management and planning, which reflects the goals of the project
to exchange knowledge and build capacity, with a view to a more rational and climate-neutral development of
Bulgarian cities.
The event featured a series of presentations related to the potentials and possibilities of brownfield site re-
generation, including (i) showcases of integrated approaches to sustainable improvement of the physical, eco-
nomic, social, and environmental conditions of the respective territory; (ii) adaptive reuse of buildings, requiring
significantly less resources than construction of a new building (see Box 7 below); and (iii) European examples
of urban regeneration through cultural and ecological innovations as a solution for shrinking cities.
In addition to theoretical content the event featured site visits for participants to consider the regeneration
potential of specific assets in the city. These included an abandoned hotel in the most central part of the city
and a closed military zone on the periphery of the residential part of the city, with each representing different
characteristics in terms of function, area, location, and ownership. The hotel is a multi-story building with a res-
taurant and a panoramic bar with an excellent view of the city and the magnificent mountain ranges next to
it. The military zone is a vast terrain with a combination of open spaces and buildings of different functions and
periods of construction. The terrain also includes a monument with remarkable artistic qualities to the fallen
soldiers during the Balkan War and World War I, that is currently completely isolated and inaccessible to citizens.
The hotel is privately owned, and its renovation is a priority for both the municipal administration and the private
owner, while the military ground is state property.
Figure 29. Site Visits: Hotel Sliven (left) and Former Military Zone (right)
Following the site visits, the participants were tasked with group work through a guided process of pro-
ject ideation for the different sites. This included several discussions around the potential of the properties,
factors influencing the development scenarios, and possible visions and an implementation plan. The groups
were constituted as a mix of participants both from the city of Sliven and from other cities, resulting in a mix
of different views and allowing the exchange of ideas about similar cases in other Bulgarian cities. Participants
35
were encouraged to use materials available to draw, plan, and envision the development of ideas in noncon-
ventional ways.
Participatory models for urban design (discussed in more detail later in the report) also call for consultation
of the specific interested community, which is an additional guarantee of applicability and sustainability of the
developed projects. During the event delivery it was decided not introduce the requirement for mandatory con-
sultation in this practical work session due to the limited time for the groups to work. It should also be noted
that there are some experience and good tools for conducting public consultations in Bulgaria.44 However, one
of the groups developing solutions for the hotel building conducted a survey of citizens, taking into account
their comments, and the project presented by this team was highly appreciated by the owners of the hotel.
Each of the teams presented their final ideas to other guests of the seminar, as well as the mayor of the
municipality of Sliven and the owner of the hotel. The work of the individual teams brought up several con-
clusions:
he participants develop their visions after taking into account the potentials of the two terrains, including
T
location, connection with the rest of the city, the architectural value of the hotel, and the panoramic view
from it, as well as the preserved barracks buildings and the existing landscaping of the military terrain;
he selected options for the hotel are related to preserving the authentic architecture during modernization
T
and adaptation for multifunctional use;
ne of the options emphasizes the development of social functions, while the other motivates the need to
O
find economic sustainability; and
he selected options for the military terrain emphasize the creation of full-fledged new public spaces with
T
rich landscaping.
The proposals for both case studies during the practical teamwork reflect the principles of compact cities,
the optimal use of the existing building stock and infrastructure and achieving a higher density of functions.
Several additional case studies with relevance to Bulgarian urban areas are presented in Boxes 6 and 7.
45
Box 6. Case Study: Actions for Containment of Urban Sprawl in Liverpool
Liverpool provides a good example of what is needed in order to make use of a lack of growth dynamics
for the containment of urban sprawl:
nchoring the goal of the economic use of land (i.e., brownfield redevelopment) in a national policy
A
so that regional land-use planning can effectively obstruct greenfield developments; in connection
with this—establishing an effective monitoring system, which gives an account of how much devel-
opment is taking place on brownfields /greenfields;
evelopment agencies on the regional and local level, who effectively promote and organize brown-
D
field redevelopments; and
teering investment programs toward inner city brownfields by making the reuse of already devel-
S
oped land a prerequisite for subsidies.
Source: Couch et al. 2005.45
tandards for Conducting Public Consultations, adopted by the Council for administrative reform on September 16, 2019 [Стандарти
44 S
за провеждане на обществени консултации, приет и от Съвета за административна реформа на 16 септември 2019 г.].
Available here: https://www.strategy.bg/Publications/View.aspx?Id=296.
ee Footnote 31
45 S
36 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
Box 7. Case Study: Adaptive Reuse in Austria
The “adaptive reuse” concept and its practical application in different projects of the Smartvoll Ar-
chitectural Bureau based in Vienna were presented by arch. Dimitar Gamizov during the workshop.
Smartvoll’s approach starts with evaluation of the environment of the specific building, including
landscape characteristics or the existing cultural heritage. Then it is about transformation of the orig-
inal spaces of the building for entirely new purposes without demolishment, for example turning for-
mer storage and production areas into student halls, restaurants, markets, and so forth. The first basic
principle is to reduce waste. The Austrian statistics show that more than a one-half (54.0%) of all the
waste generated is related to the construction excavation works, 18.2% belong to the construction
processes while only 6.7% represent the household waste. Thus, the reduction of construction waste
is much more efficient in terms of sustainable waste management, in comparison to the reduction
of household waste. The reduction of construction waste by the adaptation of old buildings instead
of their demolishment also minimizes the ecological footprint associated with transportation of the
waste to landfills. The second basic principle is related to the saving of the land instead of sealing of
soils as result of construction of new buildings or roads. Meanwhile, the restoration of just one centi-
meter of humus layer takes between 100 and 200 years. At the same time, the laying of concrete in
cities leads to deterioration of the microclimate, including by forming heat islands and increasing the
risk of flooding. As for the architectural solutions, they follow the principles of free design, minimal
interventions (new construction), individualization of public spaces and provision of sufficient natural
light in spaces that were often completely dark. One of the examples is related to the adaptation of a
former CD production plant in Salzburg. In this case, one big storage hall is structured into different
levels and spaces that are flexible enough to allow their use by different tenants. The variety of spaces
includes offices, shops, showrooms, and meeting halls, while the natural light is let in by vast covered
atriums from the ceiling to the ground level.
During the first project the bureau established a connection with investors in Salzburg that are specif-
ically focusing on regeneration initiatives, which led to a series of similar projects. The private initiative
turned out to be the basis of numerous projects for the adaptive reuse of abandoned structures. Regard-
ing the use of the adapted building, the combination of different companies and businesses as tenants
was considered to be the best condition for sustainability of the project, but also to encourage additional
regeneration practices in the neighborhood.
37
4. Pillar 3: Integrated Planning
and Financing
4.1. Rationale for using the approach
Addressing urban challenges and utilizing the urban development potential in the most effective way re-
quire integrated planning and financing. Modern cities with their territories, administrations, businesses, and
residents are facing complex challenges that require innovative solutions for the renewal of various urban ter-
ritories and their adaptation to the requirements of sustainable development. The standard sectoral approach
lacks effective tools for the territories to achieve synergies in the social, economic, and environmental aspects.
Integrating these aspects while ensuring sufficient financial, time, and organizational resources requires inte-
gration between different sectors and actors, to create sustainable solutions acknowledged by the majority of
stakeholders. Best practice includes bringing together measures from different sectors to be applied to one or a
number of territories, and targeting different groups of stakeholders, which naturally requires different funding
sources within different programs. The integrated approach aims at a holistic effect, which based on individual
sectoral outputs, will ensure sizable, impactful, and sustainable outcomes for the cities.
Municipalities are facing a dual challenge of a complicated planning landscape and a fragmented financ-
ing environment. They are recurred to prepare, implement, and assess various (theoretically compatible) stra-
tegic and spatial documents along with fragmented and limited sources for financing municipal functions and
local public investments, which are strongly dependent on the transfers (subsidies) from the central budget
and on the programs co-financed by the European Union (EU). According to the Public Finance Act, the main
financial sources of the municipal budgets are (i) own revenues (local taxes and fees, etc.); (ii) transfers from the
central budget—global subsidy for financing activities delegated by the state (public schooling, health care,
social services, etc.), total balancing subsidy for the municipal functions;46 targeted capital expenditure subsidy
and so forth; and (iii) transfers with other budget-spending organizations and accounts for EU funds (including
the transfers related to the European Commission [EC] grants). The average level of shares of the own revenues
within the total income in the municipal budgets (excluding the grants from the EC on other donors) is only
33%,47 while they vary from 5% to 80% between the different municipalities.
The average share of capital expenditure in total spendings of the municipalities is about 9% for the third
quarter of 2022,48 while it varies from less than 1% to more than 50% between the different municipalities.
At the same time, only 5% of the transfers from the central budget (representing in total 67% of the total munici-
pal budget income) correspond to earmarked transfers for capital expenditure. This makes it evident that the EU
funds form the biggest funding source for capital expenditures and investments for the municipalities. Тhe local
administrations are direct beneficiaries of different programs for the 2021-2027 period that will support meas-
ures for different types of infrastructural investments and “soft” measures. The comprehensive instrument of
the integrated territorial investments (see Box 8) is focused at the 60 urban municipalities but also supports spe-
cific measures within the 215 rural municipalities. The rural municipalities are eligible for support under a strate-
gic plan for agricultural and rural development at demarcation with the regional program. All the municipalities
46 The total balancing subsidy for local activities is intended to ensure a minimum level of local services in municipalities.
47 According to the Ministry of Finance 3rd quarter of 2022 report on the financial status of the municipalities.
48 See Footnote 47
38 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
will have opportunities under the Program Environment (e.g., measures for waste management and measures
to improve air quality), Program Human Resources Development (e.g., increasing employment, advanced train-
ing and retraining and socioeconomic integration of vulnerable groups), and Program Education (e.g., inclusive
education and educational integration, adult literacy, digitalization of education, vocational education, and dual
education). This limited share of the own resources makes it even more important that the investments of the
municipalities are prioritized and justified, taking into account not only the initial investment but also the future
expenditure for running and maintaining investments in terms of securing sustainability.
The Bulgarian regional policy is evolving toward a more integrated and place-based approach, in part in
response to the 2021–2027 EC programming period requirements. This includes, for example, the integrated
approach as foundational to the Just Transition plans to support climate neutrality priorities. The Programme for
Development of the Regions 2021–2027 (PDR)49 also introduces a new integrated approach to implementation
and financing of regional development. This takes the form of Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI), with more
information on the ITI approach provided in Box 8. Given the novelty of the ITIs in Bulgaria, it is expected that
specific capacity building will be required (at local and regional levels) to make them a success. 50
Box 8. Integrated Territorial Investments in Bulgaria during the 2021–2027
Programming Period
The Programme for Development of the Regions 2021–2027 (PDR) introduces a new integrated ap-
proach to the implementation and financing regional development. This takes the form of Integrated
Territorial Investments (ITIs) comprising integrated projects to be funded from different EU programs
in Bulgaria. The ITI instrument aims at promoting partnership and cooperation between different mu-
nicipalities, institutions, and stakeholders for the implementation of integrated measures designed
bottom-up and thus tailored to the local needs; creating new sustainable and cross-sectoral partner-
ships across administrative boundaries, involving broader groups of society in the territorial develop-
ment; and creating a culture of shared ownership and responsibility for joint development undertak-
ings at the regional level.
The new governance mechanism at the regional level, with an enhanced role of the Regional Devel-
opment Councils (RDCs) established in one of the six Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
(NUTS) -2 regions in Bulgaria, is one of the pillars of the new ITI regional development approach.
The RDCs are key elements of the reform and implement new functions and organizational structure
as per the Regional Development Act and its rules for implementation. The RDCs help elaborate and
approve the Integrated Territorial Development Strategies (ITDSs) of the respective regions. The RDCs
also support beneficiaries in the process of forming partnerships and preparing ITI concepts under the
PDR PA2. Finally, RDCs carry out a pre-selection of the ITI concepts before the Management Authority’s
final check and approval. In terms of structure, RDCs have two layers, a managerial (political) one with
the participation of mayors and district governors, and an expert one with three separate units with
specific functions: the mediation unit, the public consultation unit, and the pre-selection unit.
The ITI approach is envisaged to be implemented through the following PDR priorities:
Priority 1: Integrated Urban Development (EUR 536 million50), targeting the 10 urban municipalities
in Bulgariai — the main growth centers grouped in four clusters with an allocated budget (the PDR
49 Source: https://www.eufunds.bg/en/node/11555.
50 Including EU and national co-financing.
39
recommends that 30% of each cluster’s budget allocation be used for participation in ITI concepts un-
der priority 2)
Priority 2: Integrated Territorial Development of the Regions (EUR 1,281 million), targeting the 40
small and medium urban municipalities (except for the 10 municipalities under Priority 1) for the fol-
lowing measures: infrastructure measures to promote economic activity; energy efficiency and sus-
tainable renovation of residential and public buildings, including school and university dormitories;
sustainable mobility, including urban mobility; road infrastructure, functional links, and road safety;
green urban infrastructure and security in public spaces; educational infrastructure and equipment;
health and social infrastructure; housing; and culture, sports, and tourism.
Programsii co-financed from the European Social Fund+, the European Regional Development Fund,
and the Cohesion Fundiii: at least 10% of the budget of the following programs are earmarked for the
implementation of the integrated territorial approach under the PDR Priority 2, complementing their
scope of activities:
Program for Environment
Program for Competitiveness and Innovation in Enterprises
Program for Human Resources Development
Program for Education
Program for Scientific Research, Innovation, and Digitalization for Smart Transformation.
Other programs envisioning resources for integrated territorial approach are:
Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development (SPARD); and
Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Program.
To strengthen urban-rural connections and functional areas, the PDR will support interventions
throughout the country for measures that fall outside the scope of SPARD, such as health infra-
structure, energy efficiency of residential buildings, tourism, industrial zones/parks, road infrastructure,
and sustainable mobility. Thus, the entire territory of the country will have access to financing for the
implementation of ITI in accordance with the integrated territorial strategies of the NUTS -2 regions.
The measures for sustainable urban mobility will be admissible in the territory and in rural municipal-
ities that do not border on urban ones, with a clear justified necessity and an integrated nature of the
investment.
i
Defined in the updated National Concepts for Spatial Development 2013–2025. These are Vidin, Pleven, Ruse, Veliko Tarnovo,
Varna, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Plovdiv, Sofia Municipality, and Blagoevgrad
ii
The Program for Transport Connectivity, the Program for Technical Assistance, and the Program for Food and/or Basic Material
Assistance are excluded.
iii
According to Decision No. 335 of 2021 of the Council of Ministers.
4.2. Methodology
There are various methods for specifically implementing an integrated approach in urban areas. The ap-
proaches aim to identify complementarities and synergies between initiatives and investments from different
sectors and by different partners within territories/zones with common characteristics and objectives.
40 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
4.2.1. Urban living labs
The urban lab represents an innovative social environment in which multiple stakeholders jointly develop
and test solutions for the city. These innovative solutions can be a product, service, or application that is creat-
ed, tested, and upgraded in a specific urban territory—a specific zone, administrative district, or neighborhood.
The ideas are co-created by the local community for their own place to live. It is not necessay to create an entirely
new and unique idea, but to find a sustainable solution to existing challenges in a specific urban area. A crucial
step of the urban lab process (approximately equal to the life cycle of a standard project of three years) is the
evaluation of the results and impacts, so as to build the capacity to overcome similar challenges within the city,
but also a model for implementation on a larger scale.
The outcomes of the urban lab may be small-scale individual projects or integrated projects as part of an
overall development vision of the specific territory (could be used as a tool for integrated projects identifica-
tion within the framework of the Regional Development Program 2021–2027). The examples of projects may
be related to the circular economy, zero carbon footprint, urban mobility, public spaces quality and access, and
so forth. Furthermore, the alignment of the vision for the specific territory or zone with the existing strategic and
planning document priorities is a condition for longer-term results.
Figure 30 . Urban Living Labs: What, Where, Who, and Why
Source: Amsterdam Institute for advanced metropolitan solutions, www.ams-institute.org/.
41
Stakeholders do not simply consult the urban lab process, but are active participants. Citizens from different
social groups, public institutions, business representatives, academic organizations, and so forth. Become part
of the development of visions and scenarios, the development of innovative approaches and their testing, and
the collection of data and the evaluation of the results. The basic idea is for urban labs to be an open forum that
brings together specialists and citizens in one place. Such a social environment can boost the identification of
integrated projects of a multi-sectoral nature, combining (i) infrastructure investments and “soft” measures,
(ii) different sources of funding, and (iii) formation of the necessary partnerships and organizational capacity
among beneficiaries (as per the requirements of the Regional Development Program 2021–2027).
4.2.2. Zones for integrated approach
The zones for an integrated approach (zones for integrated development and impact) are another method
related to integrated planning and financing. These specific zones represent a clearly defined territory that is
characterized by a particular leading function or common needs for renewal of infrastructures and services. The
objective is to identify interconnected integrated projects that are closely linked and stem from the specifics
of the territory, including quality of the urban environment, social characteristics and inequalities, competitive-
ness, and institutional capacity. In this way, the concentration of resources and synergy are ensured, instead of
the implementation of disconnected projects with isolated results.
This method has already been implemented in Bulgaria with the Integrated Plans for Urban Regeneration
and Development during the 2014–2020 period. The approach prescribed three zones (social, economic, and
public functions) that had to be outlined in regard to regional program implementation. However, this effort to
concentrate resources and give territorial focus of the urban development initiatives did not prove to be effective
all the time. In some instances, the zones were too broadly outlined, which did not secure the envisaged concen-
tration and integration of separate projects. The zoning remains in the Plans for Integrated Development of the
Municipalities for the period 2021–2027 with their zones for integrated approach in which priority investments
should be directed. However, there is further need of guidelines regarding their territorial scope and necessary
volume of investments in order for these zones to become effective tools for territorial development based on
the concentration of resources and enhancing public and private investments synergy, in contrast with the im-
plementation of fragmented projects.
4.2.3. Planning “charettes” at the project level
A “charette“ is a similar model for encouraging creative discussion, specifically from the urban planning
realm and designed to convene multi-disciplinary groups. A planning charette is a collaborative workshop or
design session that brings together stakeholders, experts, and community members to create and refine ideas
for a particular project or development. It is often used in urban planning, architecture, and landscape design to
engage with the community and generate creative solutions to complex issues. Participants work together in a
structured and time-bound environment to brainstorm, sketch, and evaluate different ideas and strategies. The
goal is to create a shared vision and a roadmap for moving forward with a project that reflects the needs and
aspirations of all stakeholders. The charette process is highly interactive, participatory, and iterative, allowing for
feedback and adjustments throughout the planning and design process.
Key elements of a charette process include51:
mission to plan for a site or larger area’s future use(s) based on a detailed understanding of local and region-
A
al land use and market data, community history and priorities, and other information.
51 Online tutorial from US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Available here.
42 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
onflict and conflict resolution.
C
ntensive, collaborative design and planning workshops with all interested parties represented.
I
n interdisciplinary charrette team engaged by a sponsor group—a public agency, nongovern-
A
mental organization, and/or private sector entity.
n emphasis on visual and design aids like maps to visualize future use opportunities.
A
feasible plan and sustainable implementation strategy to ensure primary outcomes.
A
Figure 31 . Group Work under the Charette Planning Process
4.3. Application and findings in Bulgaria and case studies
The third seminar was devoted to the integrated planning and financing of precinct scale
projects.52 Following the model of the previous events, participants with varying expertise were
attracted to reaching shared ideas and conclusions in the mode of open discussions in working
groups. The thematic scope was concerning the limitations and possibilities of the integrated
projects in Bulgaria and the aim was to reveal the advantages of such complex projects for de-
velopment of a specific urban area. The rationale is that linking different types of investments,
involving more partners, and attracting various funding sources allow complementary and sus-
tainable results, instead of isolated projects that separately have no potential to impact the ur-
ban environment.
During the three seminar days, several lectures were presented to provide a framework
and guides regarding the integrated approach and its application in a specific case study
52 Event held December 7-9, 2022 in the city of Gabrovo
43
in Gabrovo. Among the topics presented were (i) the urban living laboratories as an approach
to long-term integrated planning and development at the precinct level or within a specifi-
cally defined urban zone in the city; (ii) the application of financial instruments for complete
renovation of buildings and areas in Bulgaria (the Regional Fund for Urban Development and
the Sustainable Cities Fund); and (iii) presentation of the integrated territorial investments as a
new generation instrument for development of Bulgarian cities and regions (Program Devel-
opment of Regions 2021–2027). Two presentations were entirely related to the city of Gabrovo:
(i) general presentation of successful local urban projects, including smart city projects, and (ii)
the specific case study related to the zone with old industrial buildings on Yuri Venelin Street.
The industrial brownfield lies on the Yantra River and has a great location close to the city cen-
ter, stretching at almost 6,000 m2 and covering built fabric from different periods, including
a part which is regarded as a cultural heritage. A concrete architectural idea for regeneration
as a multifunctional zone was presented (see maps in Figure 32). As part of the workshop, the
participants took part in a tour around Gabrovo, demonstrating the most notable projects as
well as the case study site.
Figure 32 . Existing Situation and Proposal for Development of the Zone Surrounding the Abandoned Indus-
trial Buildings
Source: Presentation from architect Stanimir Semov during the workshop in Gabrovo.
The practical components of the seminar went through several stages of discussions in work-
ing groups, and at the end each group presented its shaped proposals. Led by moderators, at the
end of each stage the participants reached solutions on the relevant issue, including (i) potentials
and needs for the development of the zone; (ii) a vision for complex development; and (iii) identi-
44 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
fication of individual projects (infrastructural and “soft”) as part of an integrated project and ways
of financing. The different stages allowed the participants to analyze the advantages of the site
and its urban context, so that the proposals reflect the characteristics of Gabrovo and offer a vision
for complex renewal to be implemented by interconnected projects. As an overarching theme,
participants considered and outlined the potential for utilizing existing territorial resources in the
city center and creating a quality living environment in accordance with the principles of climate
neutrality.
Box 9. Case Study: King’s Cross and St. Pancras Station Area Regeneration Plan
King’s Cross Central is one of London’s busiest train stations, with six tube lines passing through and
running across the city, multiple intercity connections, and the HS1 high-speed train section connect-
ing London and Paris. It is currently one of the busiest and most iconic places in the city, housing the
offices of international companies such as Google. However, at the end of the twentieth century, the
area around King’s Cross was a symbol of despair that carried memories of long-gone industrial pros-
perity. The initiative to regenerate this place began in 1990, and so far, includes nearly 320,000 square
meters of office space and nearly 2,000 new homes (of which 42% affordable), 46,000 m2 of retail space,
a hotel, and educational sites.
The change began when the Department for Transport invested £2 billion in the construction of the
high-speed stretch to Paris (HS1). It was followed by a £250 million investment to build 20 new streets,
10 public spaces, and 5 squares with a total area of 3 hectares. Additional funding is aimed at building
public centers and launching programs to help those in need.
The project was implemented through the public-private partnership, “The King’s Cross Central Limit-
ed Partnership.” The company, which is the sole owner of the land in the station area, is formed by three
groups: The investor “Argent“ owned 50.0% of the assets; the state agency Continental Railways Limited
(LCR) owned 36.5% of the ownership and was represented the Ministry of Transport; and DHL Supply
Chain owned 13.5% of the company’s shares.
An important point here is that the project was expected to bring economic benefits to all sides by
increasing the market value of the land as a result of improving accessibility and building an attractive
urban environment. The partnership made a shared initial capital investment of £250 million between
2009 and 2014. These funds initially freed up an area of 5–6 hectares, allowing the start of new con-
struction. After clearing the site, part of the investment went for the construction of new roads, public
spaces, pedestrian bridges, a new pedestrian environment along the cargo channel, and an energy
center to provide new buildings with technical infrastructure. For the construction of new housing, the
state-owned Homes and Communities Agency provided £42 million of public funds in the form of a
grant scheme to secure social housing, while banking institutions made a loan of nearly £300 million to
cover the costs of building new homes and offices.
The Department for Transport granted financing and construction rights. In the initial contract, the
ministry was to receive a share of the investment return of the entire project. Argent investors expected
the funds generated by the sale of new homes and offices to generate profits covering construction
costs and public fees paid to local municipalities. At the same time, by law, the local authority had the
right to demand from the investor financial compensation for the load on the territory, which in turn
ensures the financing of public projects. Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act allowed
administrations to negotiate with investors financial or nonfinancial bonds that represent compensa-
tion for the secondary effects that new buildings will cause—increased traffic, the need for additional
kindergartens, rising property prices, and so forth.
45
Figure 33. Stakeholders and Partnerships in the Redevelopment Scheme around King’s Cross
Source: Suzuki et al. 2015.53
53
uzuki, H., Murakami, J., Tamayose, B. C., AND Hong, Y. (2015). Financing transit-oriented development with land values:
53 S
adapting land value capture in developing countries. Urban development series. Washington, D\C: World Bank Group.
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/468551468165570019.
46 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
5. Foundational Element:
Capacity Building And Convening
Local government capacity is essential for achieving development objectives because this is the level re-
sponsible for implementing and delivering many of the basic services that communities need to thrive,
including basic infrastructure. Strong local government capacity means that a local government has the
knowledge, skills, and resources needed to plan, implement, and manage these services effectively. Local gov-
ernments in Bulgaria operate in a very complex planning, financing, and delivery environment (see section 1.4
for spatial and strategic planning landscape), and this places an even heavier burden on the local level to oper-
ate within the legal boundaries of the system while meeting the needs of local residents.
The lack of local capacity is often sighted across Bulgaria and the European Union (EU) as a reason for slow
absorption rates or slow progress toward development results. But capacity does not have a single meaning
and does not refer to a single challenge; it can take the form of administrative capacity ( the ability to carry
out administrative tasks efficiently and effectively), human resource capacity (having the correct number and
quality of staff), financial capacity (ability to generate revenue, manage budgets, and access funding), and legal
and regulatory capacity (ability to understand and comply with a legal framework and make local regulations
within that framework). While this project did not conduct a capacity assessment in the realm of compact cities,
it was clear when the project was designed that pursuing a compact cities approach would require a range of
capacities from the local government and its officials. This ultimately informed a multidisciplinary approach to
identify tools, content, and even the invitation of participants.
The fundamental approach to this project was to deliver a pragmatic, hands-on, capacity- building program
that regularly convened local and other key stakeholders to learn through practice. The chosen approach
to holding the events was a balanced combination of presentations and group work in which participants could
explore the application of presented best practices by engaging in creative discussions on selected case studies
from the host city. An important element of the workshops were the site visits designed to utilize the sites as a
canvas for application of newly introduced tools and approaches and to enable more informal interactions and
peer learning.
The first part of each event generally focused on introducing the specific topics and tools that were to be
used by the participants during the events. However, presentations, although an indispensable element in
the program when presenting new information, remain a rather passive form of engagement and were there-
fore limited to make up only about one-third of the duration of each seminar. Even in this first part of the work-
shop, presentations were mixed, with relevant discussion sessions on topics of high professional interest to the
participants. Each presentation included time for questions, with feedback encouraged with interactive online
tools such as Mentimeter54. Most importantly, selected activities and their sequence in the program all aimed to
provide an environment for stimulating collaboration and creating a peer learning network and connections—
both between officials from the same municipalities working in different areas, and between officials from dif-
ferent municipalities working in the same sector.
Free online tool: https://www.mentimeter.com/.
54
47
Box 10. Sample Workshop Agenda (Brownfield Regeneration)
Day 1
Time Activity
13:00 - 14:00 Arrival and registration
14:00 - 14:10 Opening
14:10 - 14:40 Icebreaker activity
14:40 - 15:10 Presentation: Introduction to brownfield regeneration
15:10 - 15:45 Presentation: International case studies
15:45 - 16:45 Discussion: Challenges to brownfield regeneration in Bulgaria (World café format)
16:45 - 17:15 Presentation: Sliven cases (abandoned military site and hotel in the city center)
17:45 - 18:00 Closing remarks
19:00 Dinner
Day 2
Time Activity
9:00 - 9:30 Check-in
9:30 - 11:30 Site visit (military site and hotel in the city center)
12:00 - 13:00 Lunch
13:15 - 14:00 Presentation: Examples from Romania
14:00 - 14:30 Presentation: Examples from Bulgaria
14:30 - 17:30 Discussions: New face for military site and hotel in Sliven (group work using the char-
rette format to sketch ideas about the sites)
17:30 Closing remarks
17:45 - 18:00 Closing remarks
19:00 Dinner
Day 3
Time Activity
9:00 - 11:00 Discussions: New face for military site and hotel in Sliven (group work using the char-
rette format to sketch ideas about the sites)
11:00 - 12:00 Discussions: New face for military site and hotel in Sliven—presentation of ideas by
each group
12:00 - 12:30 Closing remarks
12:30 Event closes
48 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
Learning materials were presented in a manner that was accessible to a wide audience and included a high
number of practical examples of best practice from Bulgaria and globally. The presentation of each specific
tool, in addition to its detailed description, included a rationale for its selection as well as good practices for its
implementation.
A number of approaches for encouraging creative discussions such as World Café (see Box 11) and the
charrette planning process (see section 4.2.3 above) were applied. The World Café is an easy-to-implement
method that helps create a living space for collaborative dialogue around important work topics and issues.
The presumptions of the World Café are that the necessary knowledge and wisdom are already available in the
group, and collective ideas are born when we give space for individual sharing, connecting different opinions,
active listening, and discovering common themes and questions.
Figure 34 . Group Work under the World Café Format
Box 11. World Café Discussions Format
How does it work?
The format of the World Cafe is flexible and can be adapted to different circumstances. The “cafes“ as
forums are set up for sessions ranging from 70–90 minutes to conferences lasting several days. They
can represent a stand-alone module or part of a larger meeting. The basic steps are:
Put four to seven people at tables (preferably round).
repare successive, building (usually three) stages of conversation of approximately 20–30 minutes
P
each.
Groups investigate a question or problem that is essential to their lives, work, or society.
49
ncourage both table hosts and members to write down, scribble, and mark their main ideas on the
E
paper left on the table.
fter the first stage of the conversation is over, ask one of the participants to stay on the table as the
A
“host“ while others must move to another table in their role of travelers or “ambassadors of thought.”
Travelers convey key ideas, topics, and questions in new conversations.
sk the host of the table to say “welcome“ to all new guests and briefly share the main ideas, themes,
A
and questions from the first stage. Encourage guests to take ideas coming from their previous con-
versations as well as listening carefully and working together.
y allowing people to move through several stages of the conversation, ideas, questions, and topics
B
begin to connect to each other. At the end of the second circle, all the tables or places to talk will
have “passed through“ views revealed in previous conversations.
n the third stage of the conversation, people can return to their original places (tables) to summarize
I
their findings and can also take a “journey“ to a new table, leaving the same or a new “host“ on the
table. Sometimes for the second or third stage of the conversation, a new question is asked, which
can deepen the study of the problem.
fter several rounds of conversation, share the findings and insights between all group members. It
A
is in these town-forum-style conversations that methods of action can be identified, opportunities
for action emerge, and common knowledge increased.
Guidelines for Table Work: Focus on the essentials. Contribute your way of thinking and ideas. Listen to
find out. Connect the different ideas. Scribble, draw, draw.
Participants confirmed the effectiveness of the chosen approach for conducting the workshops and rated
the events very high in the post-events feedback survey. All participants in the survey unanimously assessed
(100%) the preparatory work and preliminary information received about the event as completely sufficient for
them to feel prepared for their participation in the three-day training. All presentations and discussions during
the event were rated for their usefulness in the daily work, as overwhelmingly (over 50%) a six or five (on a scale
of 1 to 6, where 1 is the lowest rating, and 6 the highest rating).
Box 12. Workshop Feedback
Some of the comments received:
Every idea born at the seminar deserves attention and realization! Thank you for this opportunity
“
and I would be happy to be part of more such meetings.”
Excellent organization and presence of speakers and moderators. Interesting and useful topics,
“
approach to them, presentations and really inspiring work in groups.”
I am impressed by the attention to the participants and the extremely hospitable hosts. Recom-
“
mendation—let there be more such seminars!”
Very good seminar! Different, interesting, current, having potential and future. All of us who partic-
“
ipated in this project are looking forward to a new meeting with friendships already made and new
challenges to come. We hope that at least a small part of our projects will be realized in the future.”
50 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
Some suggestions for additional support to implement the compact cities approach:
Additional seminars involving more municipalities to build a larger network.”
“
It will be interesting to discuss the topic of restrictive measures for urban sprawl, including nor-
“
mative. It would be possible to introduce more criteria that would require a serious argument for
expanding the construction boundaries of settlements. One can also reflect on policies for the man-
agement of peri-urban territories, which balance the economic interest for investments and their
preservation from excessive urbanization. Promotion of the modeling tool among municipalities. It
can be used in creating the criteria limiting the expansion of building boundaries.”
New green construction Circular economy projects. Innovations in building materials, used prod-
“
ucts and energy efficiency entering our country. Practices from Europe and the world.”
Any examples of municipalities from abroad that you have come across would be welcome. Per-
“
sonally, I am mainly concerned about Bulgaria’s problems with the aging, migrating and inactive
young population. As an example, I give the city of Burgas—thanks to European programs and the
municipality, many interesting objects and projects were created for the development of the city
and the attraction of young and active people. I am interested in whether other municipalities in
Germany, Italy, France, Austria, etc., have such a problem and how they deal with this problem, if so.”
51
6. Conclusions
This project focused on introducing tools and methodologies to address urban sprawl and its negative im-
plications for urban climate ambitions. Particularly, the project tested and introduced stronger evidence-based
and spatially explicit planning approaches to local governments. The direct engagement with multiple local
governments further highlighted systemic challenges in terms of spatial and infrastructure planning, as well as
opportunities for improvement. High-level conclusions are presented under key headings below:
ursuing Compact City policies can deliver climate results and improve local government financial sus-
a. P
tainability
The Urban Growth Scenario modelling showed that the implementation of more ambitious compact develop-
ment policies would yield significant positive results. For both cities, the modelling results for planned scenarios
(i.e., cities implementing their current spatial and infrastructure plans) point to higher energy demands, and
carbon emissions, as well as significantly higher annual municipal service cost. In addition to positive model-
ling results for these indicators in the vision scenarios, it further points to significantly lower capital investment
needs should the more ambitious policies be implemented. Low carbon development can be achieved through
preserving and recovering natural land, promoting compact growth, implementing densification strategies,
and reducing energy consumption from buildings.
here is a need to move toward stronger evidence-based spatial and strategic planning practices at the
b. T
local level
In order to better plan in line with prevailing trends and toward greater sustainability, it is important for local gov-
ernments to understand public needs as well as current development pressures. This includes considering data
and indicators relating to population change; demand for new homes, offices, or industrial floorspace; number of
vacant units; level of motorization; and so forth. Current practice points to development planning based on growth
aspirations and not informed by data. The geographic information system (GIS) and other geospatial technolo-
gies provide a platform for digitization and evidence-based planning, allowing for the integration, analysis, and
visualization of geographical data. Free, open, or low-cost data sources have proliferated significantly in recent
times and allow specialists managing processes in municipalities to have access to data in real or near real-time,
and indicators related to air quality, the state of green infrastructure, and other important measurements for the
population. Using data and modelling in GIS allows users to see the interrelationships between the elements of
the territory and carry out smart planning that considers all important factors for decades to come.
pportunities for a more enabling policy environment to support compact cities, urban regeneration,
c. O
and particularly brownfield redevelopment priorities
As there is currently no preferential path for brownfield redevelopment, it remains more attractive for private de-
velopers to pursue less complicated development options, often in peri-urban areas. Global examples of options
available to governments (local and national) include:
he provision of incentives for developers, including tax breaks for property owners who clean up contaminat-
T
ed sites or for developers who invest in economically depressed areas
hanges to zoning laws to encourage more mixed-use development or reduce restrictions on the types of
C
businesses that can operate in certain areas
52 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
lanning and regulatory reforms to allow for simpler and streamlined permitting processes for specific types
P
of desirable developments
brownfield remediation fund that could cover cleanup costs of contaminated sites (where this cost is a sig-
A
nificant constraint to development)
rivate property owners could be encouraged to redevelop derelict buildings through similar mechanisms
P
as brownfields redevelopment, but punitive options such as additional taxes in case of derelict status could
also be considered.
neighborhood or precinct-level focus offers opportunities for improved integrated planning and proj-
d. A
ect delivery at local levels
The current practice of projectization of investments, driven largely by calls for proposals and available funds,
results at times in disconnected investments not yielding the expected development results. A focus on a
slightly larger scale (neighborhood or precinct level) and approaching specifically green and climate-related
investments in these areas in a more integrated manner is expected to yield multiplier effects from infra-
structure investments. This approach involves taking a holistic view of the community; considering its social,
economic, and environmental characteristics and needs; and developing a customized plan that reflects the
community’s unique features and aspirations. A neighborhood-level planning approach often involves com-
munity engagement and participation, as the residents and stakeholders of the community are key partners
in the planning process. This approach aims to create a more inclusive and collaborative planning process that
reflects the community’s vision and priorities.
The move toward a greater focus on integrated approaches in the regional policy environment is encouraging.
It would be important to ensure that projects supported under the future Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI)
approach is truly integrated, either across space (i.e., multiple jurisdictions) or across multiple stakeholders. It
further offers a unique opportunity to integrate financing sources for more holistic project development and
implementation, and it is recommended that national authorities simplify the joint financing options to the
largest extent possible, given the capacity challenges at local levels (discussed further below).
here is significant demand for capacity building at local levels, and a convened peer learning method-
e. T
ology offers multiple benefits
The capacity building approach based on tailored, interactive and multidisciplinary peer learning workshops on
various topics offers much greater effectiveness in creating understanding and garnering support among gov-
ernment officials and experts. It supports the building of informal connections and a network for cooperation
among civil servants, which supports the longer-term application of knowledge and skills developed during the
learning events. Work on this pilot project and feedback received from representatives of various administrative
structures (mainly municipal administrations, but also ministries and agencies) indicate that there is a clear
need, as well as demand, to strengthen knowledge, understanding and, accordingly, capacity to apply various
instruments for green policies.
vent-based capacity building, focused on active participation and experiential learning, should supple-
f. E
ment consultancy-based technical assistance.
Technical assistance involves providing specialized expertise and guidance to address a specific technical issue
or problem. In the context of European Union (EU) programs, this often takes the form of contracted consul-
tancy services. Technical assistance is usually short term and focuses on a specific task or objective. Capacity
building, on the other hand, involves developing the overall capacity of a local government to achieve its goals
and objectives over the long term. This includes building knowledge of staff, strengthening organizational sys-
tems and processes, and promoting leadership and governance. Given capacity constraints at local levels, both
53
these types of support are important and needed. These should be deployed in targeted and complimentary
ways to ensure accelerated local development. While external technical assistance used to date could be useful
in addressing specific problems, the utilized collaborative, peer-learning approach has proven to create more
sustainable administrative capacity and support for continued action, and has attracted strong interest from
government officials at different levels.
In conclusion, the results of this project confirm the crucial link between urban expansion and sprawl and
the sustainable futures of cities in Bulgaria. Ambitious national and local climate targets are unlikely to be
met without a significant shift toward more compact urban development, and the continued urban expansion
further jeopardizes the longer-term financial sustainability of cities. There are significant opportunities to sup-
port more compact urban development, including the redevelopment of well-located brownfield sites, and the
adoption of integrated neighborhood-level approaches coupled with better integrated project planning and
financing approaches. Local government leaders and officials have demonstrated throughout this project that
they are eager to receive pragmatic guidance and support to better plan and develop their cities.
The tools and techniques applied and packaged through this project can easily be replicated and rolled
out, at scale, across all cities in Bulgaria. This starts at the national level, recognizing that compactness must
be a fundamental principle in all urban planning if a sustainable future will be achieved. Next should follow ac-
tions to enable and support local governments to conduct evidence-based spatial and urban planning (through
capacity building programs and utilizing the tools demonstrated here). Finally, with minor enabling policy ad-
justments, a set of incentives and fast tracked development could unlock significant development in well-locat-
ed areas.
54 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
Appendix A:
Growth Scenario Modelling:
Technical Details
Policy Levers for Sliven
1. The objective of the policy lever is to BAU 2050: Economic and social devel-
Brownfield enable compact urban growth by pro- opment coupled with the exploitation of
development moting new construction within the natural resources. Population density will
in Sliven city boundaries and repurposing aban- decrease in the urban footprint and the
doned or underutilized buildings. In scattered new urban areas will have low
addition, the approach enhances social densities. New infrastructure development
inclusion, connectivity, and economic in the city will not take advantage of the
activities by fostering mixed land use. underused or abandoned infrastructure.
Plan 2050: Medium efforts in local regu-
lation and a slow decline in the rate of de-
forestation. Planned efforts permit flexible
land use, and new constructions are autho-
rized in peripheral areas of the city. Mixed
land uses are integrated into the urbanized
areas of the city, while future urban expan-
sion holds low densities.
Vision 2050: Strong regulation toward
compact growth avoids environmental de-
terioration, promotes a sustainable path,
and protects areas of Natura 2000. Under
the vision scenario, the municipality pro-
motes infill growth and reconversion of ex-
isting buildings and areas into new urban
amenities and housing projects. Thus, pop-
ulation density increases in areas close to
the city center.
2. This policy lever supports creating new BAU 2050: No development of new urban
New urban education and health centers, public facilities.
amenities spaces, sports centers, working hubs, Plan 2050: Development of 2 new public
and disaster relief shelters. In addition, spaces, 1 new sports center, 3 new com-
the provision of amenities in strategic mercial or industrial areas, 3 new health
neighborhoods can generate urban centers, and 1 new shelter.
advantages that encourage population Vision 2050: 12 new urban amenities with-
density and economic activities. The in the city boundaries of 2020. Additional
location of the planned and proposed efforts seek to reach education and health
amenities have been mapped. goals of the European Union.
55
3. The objective of the policy lever is to en- AU 2050: Sliven maintains current resi-
B
Affordable able planned urban growth to improve dential projects, without affordable hous-
housing housing accessibility, reduce vulner- ing.
ability, and provide more opportuni- lan 2050: Development of social hous-
P
ties for low-income groups. Adequate ing in 4 neighborhoods. The planned proj-
housing projects and strategic urban ects maintain population density in the 4
planning improve proximity to services, neighborhoods.
urban amenities, and employment op- ision 2050: Development of social housing
V
portunities. This policy lever defines in 4 neighborhoods within the city bound-
the projects that advance equal access aries. The policy encourages strategic den-
to contemporary housing conditions, sification areas, with affordable, accessible,
social integration, and active inclusion energy-efficient, and decent housing solu-
of vulnerable groups. tions for low-income households.
4. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: No development of new public
B
Mobility enhance the capacity of the public transportation routes, cycling lanes, or pe-
transport system and improve connec- destrian measures.
tivity. Measures seek to prioritize public lan 2050: Planned transport systems, in-
P
transportation and active mobility over cluding 3,190 m2 parking lots, and 20 km of
private vehicles. rehabilitated roads.
ision 2050: Development of an integrated
V
transport system with 3,190 m2 of a park-
ing meter system in touristic spaces, 20 km
of complete corridors (with cycling lanes,
sidewalks, and green areas), and a new
route of public transport (52 km).
5. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: Sliven does not consider invest-
B
Electrification boost the transition from motorized ments in the electrification of transport.
of transport public and private vehicles to electric lan 2050: Sliven does not consider the
P
means of transport. The expected ben- purchase of new electric buses.
efits of the electrification of transport ision 2050: The municipality promotes
V
include improving air quality, reduc- the electrification of 5% of private vehicles
ing energy consumption, and lowering (2,500 vehicles) and an additional 19% of
carbon emissions. public buses (21 new buses).
6. Local green The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: No development or implemen-
B
building code improve energy and water efficiency tation of new renewable energy projects.
in residential and commercial build- lan 2050: The share of renewable energy
P
ings. The municipality sets standards sources would reach at least 25% by devel-
for new buildings and develops incen- oping a 5 MW wind project and 26 MW of
tives to encourage the improvement photovoltaic systems.
of the energy and water efficiency ision 2050: The share of renewable en-
V
of commercial and residential build- ergy sources would reach at least 27% by
ings through passive and active mea- promoting the installation of solar panels
sures. Examples of energy-efficiency on rooftops of residential and commercial
measures include (i) replacement of areas. Investments include 5 MW of wind
windows and doors; (ii) thermal in- generation and 26 MW in photovoltaic sys-
sulation of the walls, ceiling, and/ or tems.
floor; (iii) energy-saving measures
56 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
in equipment; (iv) renewable energy
sources; (v) improved lighting systems;
and (vi) energy-efficient heating instal-
lations. In addition, water-efficiency
measures examples include (i) rainwa-
ter harvesting, and (ii) low-flow taps
and showerheads, among others.
7. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: No development or implemen-
B
Renewable increase renewable energy generation tation of new renewable energy projects.
energy and promote distributed generation. lan 2050: The share of renewable energy
P
sources would reach at least 25% by devel-
oping a 5 MW wind project and 26 MW of
photovoltaic systems.
ision 2050: The share of renewable energy
V
sources would reach at least 27% by promot-
ing the installation of solar panels on roof-
tops of residential and commercial areas. In-
vestments include 5 MW of wind generation
and 26 MW in photovoltaic systems.
8. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: Sliven does not consider further
B
Green public improve energy efficiency in public update of technology for luminaries.
lighting lighting through LED technology and Plan 2050: Sliven does not consider further
renewable energy. The city saves ex- update of technology for luminaries.
penses and energy by replacing tradi- Vision 2050: The municipality reaches 100%
tional public lights with more efficient of luminaries with LED technology and
technology. changes 50% of the streetlamps to solar
technology.
9. The objective of the policy lever is to in- AU 2050: No development or implemen-
B
Green crease recreational spaces and infiltra- tation of new green areas.
infrastructure tion areas that receive rainwater from lan 2050: Continue the development of
P
surface runoff. Green infrastructure is the Asenovska River as a green corridor
a nature-based solution that mitigates (209,179 m2).
urban flooding, supports biodiversity ision 2050: Continue the development
V
in urban spaces, controls temperature, of the Asenovska Riveras a green corridor
and improves air quality. (209,179 m2), 60,953 m2 of new green areas
in the rehabilitated boulevards, and protec-
tion of Natura 2000 (45 km2).
10. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: No reforestation campaigns in
B
Reforestation implement a nature-based solution for hazard-prone areas.
in hazard landslide risk management. The strate- lan 2050: No planned reforestation cam-
P
prone areas gy focuses on soil bioengineering tech- paigns in hazard-prone areas.
niques to increase soil stability and re- ision 2050: Reforestation of 685,000 m2
V
duce the likelihood of landslides. Plants in hazard-prone areas to reduce the likeli-
such as grasses and shrubs, especially hood of occurrence and decrease the pop-
deep-rooted species, are the key struc- ulation exposed to landslides.
tural component in reducing the risk of
slope erosion.
57
11. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: The municipality of Sliven de-
B
Wastewater mitigate pollution impacts from res- velops sewage networks for the new urban
management idential and commercial sewage. areas.
Wastewater can be treated for reuse lan 2050: Sewage networks for the new
P
purposes, such as irrigation of green urban areas are developed, and a wastewa-
areas or crops, street-cleaning, and re- ter treatment plant is improved.
storing groundwater sources. ision 2050: Sewage networks for the new
V
urban areas are developed, and a waste-
water treatment plant is reconstructed to
comply with the European Union Directive.
12. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: No development of waste man-
B
Solid waste improve solid waste management sys- agement infrastructure or projects.
management tems to divert waste from landfills, pre- lan 2050: New sorting plant to reduce 25%
P
vent illegal dumping, recover landfill of the waste sent to landfills.
gases, and reduce GHG emissions. ision 2050: New policy to separate ma-
V
terials from the source (commercial and
residential buildings) to reduce 30% of
waste sent to landfills by implementing a
new recollection scheme and a new sort-
ing plant. Further gains are achieved by the
development of waste-to-energy, such as a
biodigester.
Policy Levers for Vratsa
1. The objective of the policy is to enable AU 2050: Economic and social develop-
B
Brownfield compact urban growth by promot- ment, coupled with the exploitation of re-
development ing new construction within the city sources and deforestation. The city experi-
boundaries and repurposing aban- ences inefficient population distribution,
doned or underutilized buildings. The as the overall population density in the city
approach enhances social inclusion, decreases and disperses in the new urban
connectivity, and economic activities areas.
through mixed land use and the in- lan 2050: The urban expansion considers
P
crease of population density in strate- that urban sprawl is aligned to the Master
gic neighborhoods. Plan, even though the population trend in
the city is declining. Planned efforts pro-
mote the expansion of commercial and
recreational areas, increasing land con-
sumption, and reducing densities.
ision 2050: Strong regulation toward
V
compact growth to avoid environmen-
tal tradeoffs, promote a more sustainable
path, and protect areas of Natura 2000. The
city implements policies to promote the
utilization of inner-city underused space
and abandoned buildings to increase the
58 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
number of urban amenities, commercial and
residential units within the city. Population
density increases in the city center and in the
northwest, enhancing access to economic
activities.
2. This policy lever supports creating new AU 2050: No development of new urban
B
New urban education and health centers, public facilities.
amenities spaces, sports centers, working hubs, lan 2050: Development of 1 new public
P
and disaster relief shelters. The provi- space, 3 new sports centers, 1 new com-
sion of amenities in strategic neighbor- mercial or industrial area, 1 new education-
hoods can generate urban advantages al center, 1 new health center, and 1 new
that encourage population density and shelter.
economic activities. ision 2050: 8 new amenities and addi-
V
tional efforts in strategic compact growth
to reach education and health goals of the
European Union.
3. The objective of the policy lever is to en- AU 2050: Vratsa maintains current resi-
B
Affordable able planned urban growth to improve dential projects, without affordable hous-
housing housing accessibility, reduce vulner- ing.
ability, and provide more opportuni- lan 2050: A new social housing project is
P
ties for low-income groups. Adequate developed.
housing projects and strategic urban ision 2050: Development of new social
V
planning allow services, urban ameni- housing projects and strategic urban plan-
ties, and employment opportunities to ning increases population density and
be available. proximity to commercial and industrial ar-
eas.
4. The policy lever’s objective is to in- AU 2050: No new transportation routes,
B
Mobility crease public transport capacity and nor active mobility initiatives.
improve connectivity. Measures seek lan 2050: Construction of 7 km of bike
P
to prioritize public transportation infra- paths, and 3 km of rehabilitated roads.
structure and active mobility over pri- ision 2050: Development of an integrated
V
vate vehicles. transport system with 10 km of bike paths,
3 km of bus lanes, and the development
of a Transport and Mobility Master Plan to
promote active mobility in the city design.
5. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: Vratsa does not consider invest-
B
Electrification boost the transition from motorized ments in the electrification of transport.
of transport public and private vehicles to elec- lan 2050: Vratsa does not consider the
P
tric means of transport. The expected purchase of new electric buses.
benefits of the electrification of trans- ision 2050: The municipality promotes
V
port include improving air quality and the electrification of 5% of private vehicles
reducing energy consumption and (1,500 vehicles) and an additional 14% of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions public buses (7 new buses).
59
6. Local green The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: No investment in energy and
B
building code improve energy efficiency and water water-saving measures.
efficiency consumption in residential lan 2050: Financial incentives encourage
P
and commercial buildings. The munic- 30% of energy savings in 100% of city build-
ipality sets standards for new buildings ings.
and develops incentives to encourage ision 2050: Financial incentives encour-
V
the improvement of the energy and age 50% of energy savings and 40% of wa-
water efficiency of commercial and res- ter savings in 100% of the city buildings. In
idential buildings through passive and addition, the green building code promotes
active measures. Furthermore, Vratsa efficient heating systems to reduce energy
incentivizes updating appliances to im- consumption related to heating by 30%.
plement an energy and water-efficient
housing retrofit or new construction
guidelines. Examples of energy-efficien-
cy measures include (i) replacement of
windows (windows and doors); (ii) ther-
mal insulation of the walls, ceiling, and/
or floor; (iii) thermal insulation of the ceil-
ing/roof; (iv) thermal insulation of exter-
nal walls; (v) energy saving measures in
equipment; (vi) renewable energy sourc-
es; (vii) improved lighting systems; and
(viii) energy-efficient internal heating in-
stallations. In addition, water-efficiency
measures examples include (i) rainwater
harvesting, grey water usage, and small-
er cisterns for toilets; and (ii) low-flow
taps and showerheads, among others.
7. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: No development or implemen-
B
Renewable increase renewable energy generation tation of new renewable energy projects.
energy and promote distributed generation, lan 2050: The share of renewable energy
P
for example solar power on rooftops. sources would reach at least 21% by devel-
oping a 2 MW photovoltaic system.
ision 2050: The share of renewable ener-
V
gy sources would reach at least 27% by pro-
moting the installation of solar panels on
rooftops of housing units and commercial
buildings.
8. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: Vratsa does not consider further
B
Green public improve energy efficiency in public updates of technology for luminaries.
lighting lighting through LED technology and lan 2050: Vratsa does not consider further
P
renewable energy. The city saves ex- updates of technology for luminaries.
penses and energy by replacing tradi- ision 2050: The municipality updates
V
tional technology with more efficient 100% of the luminaries to LED and converts
technology. 5% to solar technology.
60 Bulgaria:
A Toolkit for a Compact City Approach to Support Climate Action
9. The objective of the policy lever is to in- AU 2050: No development or implemen-
B
Green infra- crease recreational spaces and infiltra- tation of new green areas.
structure tion areas that receive rainwater from lan 2050: Development of 5,907 m2 of
P
surface runoff. Green infrastructure is green areas in and around the city center.
a nature-based solution that mitigates ision 2050: Development of 5,907 m2 of
V
urban flooding and landslides, supports green areas around the city center and pro-
biodiversity in urban spaces, controls tection of Natura 2000 (33 km2).
temperature, and improves air quality.
10. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: No development or investment
B
Wastewater mitigate environmental impacts from of water measures.
management residential and commercial sewage. lan 2050: A new wastewater treatment
P
Wastewater can be treated for reuse plant.
purposes, such as irrigation of green ision 2050: Development of a wastewater
V
areas or crops, street-cleaning, and re- treatment plant in line with the European
charging groundwater sources. Commission guidelines to promote reuse
purposes and align parameters with the lo-
cal green building code.
11. The objective of the policy lever is to AU 2050: No development of new waste
B
Solid waste improve solid waste management sys- management projects.
management tems to divert waste from landfills, pre- lan 2050: New composting plant to re-
P
vent illegal dumping, recover landfill duce by 25% organic waste sent to landfills
gases, and reduce GHG emissions. and 4 new waste collection trucks.
ision 2050: A new composting plant, a
V
waste-to-energy plant, and a sorting plant
to reduce by 70% the waste sent to landfills.
Additionally, 4 new waste collection trucks
have been added to the city service.
61
Appendix B:
Additional Materials
Additional project materials available upon request include:
rowth scenarios modelling:
G
Event workbook, presentations, and event summary report;
Excel-based modelling tool and guidebook;
Summary of modelling results for Vratsa and Sliven; and
Final report on overall modelling exercise.
Urban regeneration and brownfields:
Event workbook, presentations, and event summary report; and
Case studies (in various formats):
Vienna;
Razgrad;
London; and
United Kingdom brownfield land registers.
ntegrated project planning and financing:
I
Event workbook, presentations, and event summary report; and
Case study:
King’s Cross.