High hopes for democracy and sustainability are placed on participatory planning. Policy makers and scholars argue that broad participation can revitalise democracy and tackle sustainability challenges. Yet, critics claim that power asymmetries stand in the way of realising the potential of participatory planning. In the everyday practices of planning, this controversy comes to a head. Here, planners interact with citizens, politicians and developers around making choices about places and societies. Planners' practices are contested and they are challenged by the complexity of power relations. They need conceptual tools to critically reflect on what power is and when it is legitimate. Reflective practice is a prerequisite for making situated judgements under conditions of contestation. Yet, the planning theories, which are most influential in practice, have not been developed with the intention of conceptualising power. Rational planning theory, which still is influential in practice, largely reduces planning into a technical power-free activity. Communicative planning theory, which underpins participatory practices, instead suggests that expert power ought to be complemented by inclusive dialogue. This theory criticises hierarchical power relations as domination, without providing elaborated understanding of other facets of power. Hence, the conceptual support for reflective practice is too reductive. The aim of this thesis is to rethink power in participatory planning by developing concepts that can enable reflective practice. I draw on power theory and explore the utility of treating power as a family resemblance concept in participatory planning. Applying this plural view, I develop a family of power concepts, which signifies different ideas of what power is. The usefulness of this "power family" is tested through frame analysis of communicative planning theory and Swedish participatory planning policy and practice. The result of the research is a family of power concepts that can enable reflective practice. 'Power to' signifies a dispositional ability to act, which planning actors derive from social order. This ability can be exercised as consensual 'power with' or as conflictual 'power over'. The latter is conceptualised as an empirical process which, on a basic level, can be normatively appraised as illegitimate or legitimate. This thesis contributes to planning theory and environmental communication by problematising reductive notions of power and, as an alternative, rethinking power as a family resemblance concept. This theoretical contribution matters to planning practice as it can enable planners to develop their ability to be sensitive to what a situation requires, i.e. to acquire practical wisdom (phronesis).
The Swedish government decided in 2012 that the importance of biodiversity and the value of ecosystem services should be integrated in planning and other decision processes latest in 2018. However, it is not self-evident how to implement the importance of biodiversity and the value of ecosystem services in spatial planning practice. The aim of this report is to explore how far Swedish municipalities have progressed regarding the integration of ecosystem services in urban spatial planning and what can be learnt from the efforts so far. The data for this progress re-port was gathered by means of a telephone survey. The results show that the integration of ecosystem services is in an early stage in Swedish planning practice. However, the lack of practical experiences makes many planners hesitant to get started. The overall picture is that most planners seem to regard it as a technical issue that can be solved by experts and assessment/ planning tools. For future spatial planning practice it is recommended that value of ecosystem services should be negotiated instead of assessed by experts.
This paper focuses on how we may balance the health functions of nature and landscape values in development planning. The concept "balance" implies discussing measures to mitigate, minimize and compensate for negative impacts. In this context, negative impact is understood as a disturbance by development projects of resources that improve people's health. The resources may be both existing nature and landscape values and potential, as yet undeveloped, landscape qualities. The health functions are defined using scientific studies in environmental medicine and environmental psychology. This paper presents cases that have applied such scientific results to the planning of housing and infrastructure in two development projects in southwestern Sweden, the towns of Lomma and Åkarp. Evaluations of health functions in these projects constitute an important part of the process of designing and analyzing impacts, and the process of negotiating mitigation measures as conditions for permits granted by the municipalities, the county administration and the government of Sweden. In the long run, this research will hopefully lead to a growing awareness among the public, developers and politicians about improving the health aspect as a parameter for sustainable development.
In all parts of the world the sea is a source of life, of energy, of food, of commerce, of fun. Its water, wind, and waves are all in demand – as a playground for pleasure-seekers and nature-lovers, as a highway for international commerce, as a home for unique communities of wildlife and people. All this is also true for the Bothnian Sea, a part of the northern European Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden. The Bothnian Sea is used by two neighbouring highly developed societies. There are many demands on its resources, and its open spaces are highly coveted areas for developments such as wind power farms. This relatively sparsely habitated corner of the world is also, at least at times, a place of wild seas and ancient heritage. Like planning on land, maritime spatial planning is a process that has to incorporate ideals of the public good and the various politically-anchored ways to define this, taking in to account private development interests as well as the physical realities of limited natural resources and fragile ecosystems. This book provides an introduction to the Bothnian Sea and the ideas around maritime spatial planning for its offshore areas. We have tried to present a balance between the perspectives of competing interests. As this has been a pilot initiative, we have not aimed to give you ready answers, but instead try to provoke further debate. The Bothnian Sea and its future are in your hands. The editor
Local natural resources (LNRs) are essential for the socioeconomy of rural societies. The United Nations (UN) Agenda 21 and "Our Common Future" state that local spatial planning is central for the prospect of balancing ecological, social and economic sustainable development (SuD). Stakeholder participation in spatial planning enhances acceptance and improves preconditions for successful planning outcomes. Consequently, it is important to increase knowledge about LNRs and the use of them and to integrate such knowledge in local spatial participatory planning with a landscape perspective. These opening statements apply to Swedish boreal municipalities and describe the intentions of Swedish municipal comprehensive planning (MCP). The purpose of this work was to examine and analyze the preconditions for integrating MCP with a landscape perspective in rural municipalities. The thesis is based on case studies in Swedish, rural, municipal contexts reported in five papers. In Papers I & II, local businesses in Vilhelmina Municipality were surveyed to describe the societal importance of LNRs. The results showed that LNRs are vital to 78 % of the businesses, of which half are based on forest farming, and there are strong bonds between entrepreneurs, their businesses, the municipality and LNRs. Papers III & IV present and discuss the characteristics of MCP in theory and practice. An e-mail survey was sent to municipal officials in all Swedish mountain municipalities. MCP-stakeholders in municipalities in Bergslagen, in central Sweden, were interviewed. Respondents in both case studies stated a belief that MCP can offer prospects in planning for SuD. However, resources and stakeholder participation in planning are generally scarce, especially in rural municipalities. Paper V illustrates how new knowledge on forest land use (to support MCP) can be gained by combining spatial and temporal data on forest condition, owners and land use values in a geographic information system (GIS). This thesis provides scientific and practical contributions to aid in efforts aiming for SuD. It is done by framing MCP theoretically and contextually and by suggesting that MCP should be extended to include forest land use and by stressing the rural context in local spatial participatory planning. Opportunities in MCP have to be embraced, but local governments need enhanced knowledge about local land use, specifically forest land use. Moreover, stakeholder participation needs to be developed, requiring more resources. In the case of a Swedish rural municipality, it is crucial that efforts are made to develop MCP as a tool, not just in theory but also in practice.
The European Union (EU) is committed to conserving biodiversity, both in terms of natural and cultural legacies, and also to limiting biodiversity loss. Relevant policies have underlined the importance of considering ecological and social issues, as well as the complex relations between the two spheres in conservation of biodiversity. These policies have clear implications for all sectors responsible for planning for biodiversity conservation. In order to be consistent with international legislation, it is necessary to move beyond protected areas and include biodiversity conservation considerations in planning activities of various sectors, and also to involve relevant stakeholders in the planning process. This is in line with the landscape approach to planning that has recently been advocated in research and practical planning. The landscape approach has a holistic perspective that encompasses both ecological and social considerations. This thesis focuses on the implementation of policies regarding biodiversity conservation and public participation; that is, the ecological and social dimensions of spatial planning in landscapes. In particular, I examine the role of people, such as planners implementing policies and other stakeholders who might influence biodiversity conservation. The studies within this thesis concern Poland and Sweden, and three sectors: regional, road and forestry planning. The thesis is comprised of four papers. Paper I deals with planners working to implement biodiversity and public participation policies. Paper II concentrates on the issues of stakeholder involvement in the Environmental Impact Assessment of road planning. Paper III investigates a specific conflict that influenced the conservation of biodiversity in an important biodiversity hotspot. Paper IV is a conceptual paper that discusses the tools used to integrate ecological and social dimensions when implementing the European Landscape Convention. The studies included in this thesis reveal that successfully implementing biodiversity conservation and public participation policies may require more than just ecological knowledge about how biodiversity should be maintained, and more than just formal guidelines regarding how the public should be treated in the planning process. In addition, the role of people who may influence the planning and decision making processes is crucial. Accordingly, there is a need for two key developments. Firstly, planners and the general public should be properly educated about conservation-related issues. Secondly, various incentives should be introduced that influence the behaviour and, in the longer term, the attitudes of the people who may affect biodiversity.
With the industrial revolution, the human utilization of the forest took a new turn as wood became a commercial product (Östlund & Zackrisson 2000). Since then, economical considerations have pervaded the public perspective on forest and forestry. However, the awareness of the need for sustainability in the use of the forest resource has also grown, and during the last decades other values have entered the discussion and the practice of forestry. Today, sustainable forest management (SFM) where economical, ecological and social values are all satisfied, is a core element in the development of acceptable forest management practices. Public participation is strongly related to SFM. In some industrialized countries, e.g. Canada, demands for participation in natural resource management have subsequently been incorporated into the legislation (Chambers and Beckley 2003), but in most countries there is no legal demand for participation. In Sweden for example, the only demand for participation in the Forestry Act is consultation before clear cutting in certain areas of reindeer herding. Forest certification, which is now covering extensive areas in several countries, plays an interesting role in the promotion of SFM. However, its main purpose is not public participation and the integration of social values into forestry (Angelstam et al. 2004). Internationally, there is the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. This convention has been ratified by Sweden amongst other countries, but it is difficult to make a strict interpretation of it. New approaches and methods are obviously needed in forest management planning to incorporate forest values other than timber production and to help solve conflicts of interest. There have been some attempts made by different types of projects. The Canadian Model Forest concept promotes participation in the work for SFM, and has been tried out in Sweden in the Vilhelmina Model Forest project (Svensson et al. 2004). Some of the LIFE projects sponsored by the European Union are also applications of participation with SFM as the objective; the project "Local Participation in Sustainable Forest Management based on Landscape Analysis" is a Swedish example of a LIFE project sponsored by the European Union (http://www.svo.se/minskog/templates/svo_se_vanlig.asp?id=8001, 2007-01-12). A potentially powerful tool in the work for sustainable forest management (SFM) and participation is multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), an approach which can make it possible to handle complex decision situations involving conflicting interests and several stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to clarify concepts related to participation and present methods that are applicable in participatory planning. More specifically the following questions will be dealt with: • What is meant by participation? What methods and techniques are available to participatory planning processes? • What is MCDA and what phases do this approach require? In order to illuminate the state of art of participatory planning in forestry, an analysis of a number of case studies is presented.
This document summarises the outcome of a training workshop, "Inter-active and dynamic approaches on forest and land-use planning", that was organised in Vietnam and Lao PDR during April 1999. The workshop was arranged by researchers from SLU, Umea in co operation with Sida and it's CCB Programme, the National Board of Forestry and concerned government institutions in Lao PDR-the National Programme for Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and in Vietnam-the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The main purposes of this paper are • To review and conclude the outcome of the workshop to all those who have participated or been concerned with it. • To summarise an evaluation of the somewhat unique arrangement, with participants from different sectors, administrative levels, gender and countries. • To present "the APM approach" on land use planning, which was put forward, tested and discussed during the workshop. The input to the working paper originates from participants, resource persons and instructors who took part in the workshop. The editing has been made by Mats Sandewall.
Biodiversity conservation is an important contemporary issue on global, EU and national policy agendas. However, in the face of human economic development, the important question is how to protect, maintain and restore biodiversity, without compromising economic and social dimensions of sustainability. Two sectors that can to a large extent influence biodiversity are forestry and road infrastructure development. Forestry is a sector very important for biodiversity conservation, since a large amount of protected and threatened species resides in forest ecosystems and many natural processes crucial for biodiversity occur in the forest. In addition, forests and woodlands form a network of habitats for many area-demanding species. Due to intensive forest management and fragmentation of forest and woodlands many elements of biodiversity are threatened, including species, habitats and processes. Road infrastructure development is another process that can negatively influence biodiversity. A growing network of transport infrastructure without doubt affects the functionality of the forest habitat networks. Negative effects include traffic mortality due to road collisions and barrier effect for individuals caused by high traffic volume, noise, wide roads and fencing. Cumulative effects of the infrastructure development can also lead to a loss of different elements of biodiversity at the landscape scale. Poland, with a legacy of less intensive forest management and still without a well-developed road infrastructure, is fortunate in terms of biodiversity maintenance. Due to economic underdevelopment of some regions of the country, Poland is rich in natural values including specialized species, functional habitat networks and ecological processes. However, after entering the European Union, Poland has started a process of rapid economic development, mainly with the help of EU funding. Enhancing road infrastructure is presently a key issue of economic development in this country. Dramatic growth in the amount of new roads can have large scale consequences for the biodiversity of the country, and can even influence biodiversity at the European scale. Policies aiming at biodiversity maintenance underline the need for implementing sustainability ideas in the planning and management for biodiversity. Traditionally, economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainability are identified. To be able to balance these three dimensions in the efforts for biodiversity conservation, there is a need to incorporate social dimensions in the nature science research concerning biodiversity. Especially, consideration of local attitudes is necessary in planning for biodiversity conservation. The aim of this thesis is to examine actors' attitudes and underlying values in two situations of conflict related to biodiversity conservation in Poland. One case concerns forest management in a biodiversity hot-spot, Białowieża forest and the other is about a development of a controversial road project of Augustów bypass. The results show that differences in attitudes may have various sources. The knowledge possessed by actors, their values, as well as scale at which they perceived biodiversity issues were identified as the main reasons for different attitudes. It was observed that in general, the actors whose attitudes were more "ecologically oriented" had to a large extent a cognitive view, that is their attitudes were mainly based on cognition (ecological knowledge) while "socially" or "economically oriented" actors' attitudes were more connected to emotions. In addition to differing attitudes, lack of trust was recognized in both cases as a factor escalating the conflict. The results showed also that legal issues are crucial to consider when biodiversity conservation is at stake. The results may have implications for the practical biodiversity conservation, since they show that both learning and legal incentives would be beneficial for the biodiversity conservation in controversial planning cases. This calls for the need for neutral forum for efficient public participation, communication and trust building between the actors and learning about important issues
This document summarises the outcome of a regional training workshop, "Interactive and dynamic approaches on forest and land use planning in Southern Africa". It was organised in December 2001 by the government of Botswana in cooperation with organisations in Zimbabwe and South Africa and with Swedish financial and technical support. The workshop aimed at exposing the participants to new cross sector approaches on strategic forest and land use planning, including the Area Production Model (APM) and concept, and to provide a platform for possible future development work in this field. It concerned such issues as the role of planning in relation to policies and local development, information and data needs in planning, the use of scenario modelling in land use planning, how to narrow the gap between "planning from above" and "planning from below", and the roles and interaction of different stakeholders in the planning process. The workshop had been proposed by the participating countries following an international training programme on policy and strategy development in Sweden. The 18 participants from three countries included central and local government staff concerned with forest and land use planning at the national and sub-national level, researchers and NGOs. The workshop consisted of two weeks of lectures, seminars and field based case studies and a concluding seminar, in which the participants presented their experiences and conclusions about the APM concept to a broader group of decision makers. Some of the main conclusions drawn by the participants were that the APM was a useful tool for promoting dynamic and multi-sector planning. At the same time the Model has a number of technical shortcomings that needs to be addressed. Those shortcomings were identified and discussed throughout the workshop. The need to keep the model simple and transparent was acknowledged. It was proposed that "homes" should be identified for the model in each country. Those homes should build up and maintain capacity to develop and adapt the model to the local conditions and priorities. INTRODUCTION. The workshop "Interactive and dynamic approaches on forest and land-use planning in Southern Africa" was arranged in Botswana in December 2001. It aimed at exposing the participants to new cross sector approaches on strategic forest and land use planning, including the Area Production Model (APM), and to provide a platform for possible future development work in this field. The workshop was the concluding step of a process that had been running for several years. It provides important lessons on approaches to cross-sectoral land use planning in Southern Africa. The process started in 1998, when there were several participants from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe in an annual international course "Development of National Forest Policies and Strategies", organised by the Swedish National Board of Forestry and funded by Sida. Those participants strongly suggested that the Area Production Model, (APM), which had been demonstrated during the course, might be highly relevant in Southern Africa. As a response, the Country Capacity Building (CCB) project (a Sida funded project aiming at forest policy issues), set up a training programme in discussions with the three countries. As a first step, key personnel from the forest authorities in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, underwent a post graduate course at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umea, Sweden. The course took place in March 2000 and was focused on the ideas and applications of the APM. In a second step, a workshop designated for a wider audience, including governmental as well as non governmental organisations, was planned for mid 2000. The workshop was originally intended to be a two-phase arrangement. The first phase to be arranged in Zimbabwe, focusing on model theory with only limited field work, and a second phase, were the participants would split up and work a realistic case in a designated study area in each of the three countries involved. Unfortunately, the political situation in Zimbabwe during spring 2000 made it necessary to postpone the workshop. About a year later, in spring 2001, it was agreed among the interested countries to move it to another country in the Region, after the Ministry of Agriculture, Botswana, had generously accepted to host the workshop. The two-phase design of the workshop was by now reduced to a single event, with the joint study-area around Serowe in the eastern part of Botswana. The APM is a simulation model developed by Professor Nils-Erik Nilsson in co-operation with FAO. The Model, including an application concept, has been further developed by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Department of Forest Resource Management and Geomatics. The Swedish team of resource persons in the Botswana workshop have all been instrumental in the previous development work of the Model. The APM has been field tested on numerous occasions in South and Southeast Asia. This workshop, however, is the first occasion the model is used in Southern Africa. In spite of the simplicity and flexibility that characterises the model, the new setting was considered a major challenge when planning the workshop. The workshop results have given new and partly unexpected results in terms of both usefulness and applicability of the model. The Country Capacity Building project focuses on forest policy development. In modem terminology, nfp (national forest programmes) is a highly relevant term. Key strategies include support to demand driven processes, investment in human knowledge and, not least, a belief that personal commitment is as important for success as political commitments. On behalf of the organisers, I would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture, Botswana, and the key persons from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Without their commitment and enthusiasm, the positive outcome of the workshop would not have been possible.
The aim of this thesis paper is to integrate three important thematic aspects i.e., improve qualities in the urban ecological situation, provide ideas for handling stormwater flooding and ideas to improve socio-economic aspects for inhabitants. The integration of ideas is illustrated in a masterplan program-sketch in three phases. Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. Dhaka is a densely populated fast developing city. The chronological changes of the natural setting due to rapid growth of urbanization in Dhaka city creates an imbalance with nature and disrupts urban ecology. The green and blue structures are replaced with built areas and hard surfaces. The situation for urban ecology in the city of Dhaka affects storm water flooding and social wellbeing. The methods used for background knowledge to this proposal are literature reviews, document searches, interviews, GIS analysis and a study of role models from different countries and contexts where a variety of solutions, proposals and functions inspired me in my own sketching. The methods and the background for this thesis were used to formulate guidelines to support the overall program-sketch for the three phases in a masterplan. The first phase program-sketch includes redesigning the informal settlements in Karail into better living conditions for the dwellers according to Patrick Geddes theories by keeping the overall road- and block structure and provide new shelter, job opportunities and adding recreational values to the area. The second phase concentrated on re-establishing of water streams in a green park according to the philosophy of Fredrick Law Olmsted, and in the third phase the former airport Tejgaon to become a large green area for social meetings, recreation activities for the Dhaka city inhabitants and provide job opportunities for the informal dwellers. The discussion on strengths, limitations, challenges, and further development ends with a conclusion that it is of great importance to work integrated with the three thematic aspects urban ecology, storm water flooding and social wellbeing on an overall level and with understanding of the issues among both specialists, politicians, and inhabitants to be able to implement necessary change towards sustainability.
