Regionalverband Südlicher Oberrhein Planning. Consulting. Developing.

Foundation / history
The Regionalverband Südlicher Oberrhein was founded in 1973 as one of twelve Regionalverbände (regional planning authorities) in the Land Baden-Württemberg. Located in Freiburg its area of responsibility comprises 126 municipalities in four administrative districts: Stadt Freiburg im Breisgau, Landkreis Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Landkreis Emmendingen and Ortenaukreis.

Legal structure / form of organisation
The elements of this public body are the Verbandsversammlung (regional assembly) and the Geschäftsstelle (administration).
The Verbandsversammlung is the main decision-making body. Its 80 members, the Regionalräte (regional councillors), are elected from the district councils mentioned above. They represent the geographical variety and the political spectrum of the region. This regional "parliament" assigns its (honorary) president for five years and the managing director for eight years

The Region Südlicher Oberrhein
The Region Südlicher Oberrhein (Southern Upper Rhine Area)
is situated in the south- western part of the Land (federal state)
Baden-Württemberg. With approx. 1.1 million inhabitants
and approx. 0.63 million jobholders it is one the most prosperous regions within Germany. The territory of the Region Südlicher Oberrhein ranges from the Rhine Valley to the Black Forest and covers a surface of around 4,062 square kilometres.

Tasks and objectives
The statutory tasks of the Regionalverband comprise regional planning, landscape planning on regional level as well as regional development, promotion of co-operation between public and private institutions, and the co-ordination of measures with spatial relevance.
As a communal agency the Regionalverband supports and advises the municipalities in all matters related to regional planning and development. In dealing with institutions on federal and state level the Regionalverband represents interests of supra-local importance - serving as an organ for the concerns of the region.

Cross-border cooperation
In accomplishing these tasks, the Regionalverband regularly cooperates with planning institutions in the neighbouring parts of France and Switzerland. This cooperation comprises the coordination of projects with cross-border relevance, e.g. in the field of large retail facilities or infrastructure. Furthermore, the mutual information and participation in planning procedures - even at an early stage - as well as common projects are standard practice in the Upper Rhine area.
Due to the participation in several trinational working groups and in the European Programmes on Territorial Cooperation (INTERREG) the Regionalverband is well integrated in cross-border cooperation. Moreover, it plays an active role in the further development of these structures, aiming at the establishment of a "Trinational Metropolitan Region Upper Rhine".