The relation between these two kinds of plans are very important but in a lot of cases we don't have any strategic plan previously to a Spatial Plan. So we need to put a strong strategic component in the spatial plan (normally a Municipal Master Plan). But I think that it is very different.
According to the European Regional/Spatial Planning Charter "Regional/spatial planning gives geographical expression to the economic, social, cultural and ecological policies of society. It is at the same time a scientific discipline, an administrative technique and a policy developed as an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach directed towards a balanced regional development and the physical organisation of space according to an overall strategy."
Spatial planning can be done on a local/ municipality level but also on regional, national and inter-national level.
It is a key step towards implementation of policies.
And, yes, I agree with you, a strong strategic component is needed. Strategy needs to develop a vision for a desirable future, define goals for the near-, mid- and long-term, assess the status quo and define strategic levers to achieve the goals. Thus, strategy is the basis for spatial planning and implementation of policies.
Strategy in spatial planning refers to the necessity of a strategic vision behind the spatial planning. This is a typical approach of smart cities.
I agree with both Elisabeth and Valentina above. However most of the times a strategic vision is imposed by top-down rather than bottom-up processes unfortunately. The European Charter defines spatial planning by emphasising 'expression to the policies of society'. Thus, society and especially local communities' consultation should be the first and most important part of these processes, if we wish to get an inclusive strategic vision.
Strategic planning is a general term. Sometimes strategic planning is discussed in business context or management context, it is not necessarily related to the spatial planning. It can be very different. While Spatial planning is in the field of geography , urban and regional planning.
Thanks Negin for your contribute. In my question both concepts - strategic planning and strategy in spatial planning - are about territory. The main question is, that in some times, before we starting with spatial planning, we already have a strategic plan and, in this conditions, the spatial plan only must follow its recommendations and proposals. In the caso of absence of a strategic plan we must make an additional effort to deepen the strategy in the spatial plane...
If there isn't any strategic plan available,I would think we should look for visions and missions (if thy have been identified otherwise as you mentioned it needs additional effort to study and define them) and based on the existing regulations and policies, we need to design a process for the strategic planning then we get to the spatial planning.
In essence, therefore, strategic planning must of necessity be well-laid out before any serious spatial planning is contemplated. Not only that, spatial planning must be bottom-up not top-down, because as H. Gans (the great sociologist) put it, any plan that fails to carry the end-users along will most likely fail to meet its objectives, or the facilities provided by the planners and policy makers may be ignored or used wrongly. These are key lessons for policy makers!
Strategic planning is a management term that applies to other disciplines besides planning and design, e.g. finance, logistics, risk, actuarial studies. It doesn't always involve space.
I might be radical here and suggest that strategy in spatial planning is design, particularly architecture.
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