Planning Cultural Exchange Across Borders : First Steps Towards a Common Comprehension of Planning Paradigms in the Greater Region?

Caesar, Beate and Becker, Tom and Honecker, Leah and Pallagst, Karina and Pauly, Jonas and Rouchet, Hélène (2026) Planning Cultural Exchange Across Borders : First Steps Towards a Common Comprehension of Planning Paradigms in the Greater Region? JOURNAL OF ADVANCED STUDIES ON BORDERS COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, 2 (1). pp. 19-42. ISSN 3057-9872

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Abstract

Cross-border spatial development poses distinct challenges where differing planning cultures and paradigms meet at national borders, a reality that is particularly evident in the Greater Region. We present an innovative, intercultural planning game developed by the UniGR-CBS Spatial Planning Working Group, which serves as a science-policy interface with a dual purpose: it functions as a data collection methodology drawing on discourse analysis of stakeholder reasoning, and as a training format for spatial planners in cross-border contexts. The results highlight planning cultural differences and similarities as expressed by French, Walloon, German and Luxembourgish participants. These observations are followed by a reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of the planning game methodology, considering both its capacity to generate evidence on planning paradigms and its potential as a continuing professional development tool. Together, these two dimensions point toward the broader argument that sustained intercultural exchange and mutual understanding are not only academically valuable but politically necessary especially when the foundation of cross-border cooperation in spatial planning is being challenged.

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