Transnational Air Quality Improvement: A Management Tool for Regional Planning
The TAQI project will create a regionalised, transnational, up-to-date emission data information base for long-term planning decisions, such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) by linking environmental data with spatial information. Through EU enlargement the eastern region of Austria with its adjacent regions in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary has developed a new significance in Central Europe. The project area is undergoing major economic and infrastructural changes. Transit traffic is increasing to unprecedented levels on the most heavily loaded roadways in Austria. Since air pollution does not stop at national borders, strategies at national level are insufficient to stabilise and reduce air pollution. Therefore, regarding environmental and economical policies, spatial planning and health politics, strategies have to be extended to co-ordinated cross-border measures. There is the need for defining new goals for the future especially for economic and environmental matters and spatial planning in order to maintain a sustainable way of regional development. The transnational TAQI project is addressing these challenges by discussing and implementing several measures at cross-border level. The project originates from a co-operation of the majority of the project partners in former projects and the awareness of political and administrative bodies that relevant problems are better tackled in a transnational context and co-operation.