Approaching Sustainability in Local Spatial Planning Processes: A Case Study in the Stockholm Region, Sweden

Abstract

The quest for cogent responses to sustainability goals challenges local spatial planning practices across growing metropolitan regions to develop planning approaches that enable transformative capacity in increasingly complex settings. Based on a case study conducted in the Stockholm region, this paper explores the design and organization of local planning processes to provide a basis for a discussion of alternative approaches that may enhance sustainability in plan and project development. More specifically, it aims to analyze the conditions for embedding and consolidating sustainability issues in local planning processes. The results show that the municipalities need to create conditions for an effective interplay between the planning work carried out in individual projects and the organization of resources, knowledge, and skills on which the projects depend to handle sustainability issues. This study contributes to the understanding of the challenges associated with putting sustainability into practice at the local level by identifying and conceptualizing three important barriers. By acknowledging the temporal, locational, and procedural dimensions of knowledge in local planning processes, planning practices may become better at knowing when, and in what ways, different forms of knowledge can become created, introduced, and used in a synergistic manner to aid the realization of sustainability goals.

Municipal Practices for Integrated Planning of Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Development in the Stockholm Region

“…The first, ISSUE (Integrated Sustainable Strategies for Urban Environments), is a transdisciplinary research project that studied local planning practices for sustainable development in urban and peri-urban areas. Through the collaboration between researchers and practitioners, knowledge was collected in a series of focus group discussions [39] regarding existing challenges and preconditions for novel planning practices that enhance sustainable urban development [40]. These focus group discussions took place in different thematic think-tanks, among which one focused on social sustainability and another on planning practices for sustainable development.…”

“…The think tanks met three to four times per year over a period of three years to discuss predefined questions on the basis of ongoing sustainable urban development projects within the participating organizations. The co-production of knowledge was based on an incremental and iterative approach that included a sequence of research activities to deepen the understanding of key issues related to sustainable urban development [40]. In addition, a series of semi-structured interviews [41] were conducted with 17 representatives from the municipalities of Täby, Upplands Väsby and Nacka (i.e., environmental planners, urban planners, development engineers and building permit officers) and private developers (i.e., business developers and specialists), to collect individual opinions on tools and approaches to strengthen the ecosystem services in detailed development planning [42].The focus group discussions and interviews were documented by participating researchers.…”

“…The conceptualization and design of NBS in urban planning requires multi-disciplinary cooperation to bridge different fields of expertise [15], and to let ecology become a frame for decision making [81], relevant expertise needs to be represented in the planning process. When and how different competencies or municipal departments are involved in urban planning depends on the internal routines, which vary between municipalities [40]. In the municipalities of Täby and Upplands Väsby, these routines ensure that environmental planners partake in the detailed development planning, but their involvement in early and more informal phases of the planning process is in most projects not secured [42].…”

Are Local Authorities Building Their Capacity to Plan for Reduced Climate Impact? A Longitudinal Analysis of Swedish Comprehensive Plans

“…Planning and governance are largely decentralised in Sweden, with the 290 municipalities possessing a high level of autonomy [32]. This autonomy is manifested in municipalities' responsibility to both provide services to citizens (e.g., education and elderly care) and carry out local planning (e.g., spatial planning, energy planning, waste planning) [33,34].…”

Change processes and driving forces behind urban spatial development in four Norwegian municipalities

“…The contents of urban spatial planning, judged against sustainability criteria, have been investigated in various world regions and especially in Northern Europe (e.g., Naess et al 1998Naess et al , 2013Naess, Strand, Naess & Nicolaisen, 2011;Högström et al, 2013;Metzger & Olsson, 2013;Holgersen & Malm, 2015;Nordh & Olafsson, 2021). In general, these studies show the environmental merits of compact urban development policies but also the conflicts with social sustainability criteria (notably housing affordability) as well as local environmental amenities.…”