ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to reveal how regional design is ‘stepping into the sea’ and how the emerging field of Maritime/Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is being carrying forward, in new and interesting ways, in what Neuman and Zonneveld (2018) describe as the ‘disruptive force’ of regional design. The chapter starts with a discussion of the new conditions of urbanisation that are highlighting the need for new scales of spatial strategy formation and application for the sea. Here marine parallels are drawn with the urbanising forces that are prompting a resurgence of regional design interest and activities on land. The objective is to illustrate that the drivers of change on land, and in the sea, have much in common and are interlinked in many ways. The discussion then reviews the evolution of MSP as an internationally recognised new tool in spatial strategy and spatial management for the sea. Subsequently, case study examples of the ways in which MSP are being tailored to different contexts are presented. In conclusion, MSP as a ‘disruptive’ regional design force that can inform the future of established patterns of land use planning and spatial governance more generally is explored.
