This paper describes the integration of environmental assessment in Swedish municipality
comprehensive planning through a chosen case study. The implementation of a new EGdirective in Swedish law, concerning Assessment of the effects of certain plans and
programmes on the environment, should lead to some changes in the way Swedish
municipalities' deals with environmental issues in their comprehensive plans. This could later on lead to new preconditions for municipality comprehensive planning.
The purpose of this study was to investigate how the planning organisation in the municipality adapts to new regulations for impact assessment of comprehensive plans required by the Planning and Building act. Secondly the purpose was to partly participate in the early stages of the planning process and thereby indicate and identify possible environmental impacts regarding the aspects of land and water. This was done as a case study in a well defined part of the process. The case study was performed within the municipality of Tierp and their process in developing a new comprehensive plan. As an example a specific piece of land was defined as a hypothetical developing area for performing of the impact assessment. Two hypothetical scenarios of the future development of this area were discussed. My own understanding of the process with impact assessment increased hopefully by doing this.
The process with developing the comprehensive plan was a very open process both internally
and externally. The planner needs to mediate between politicians and citizens as well as
leading the process with planning and impact assessment, assisted by a working group of civil servants within the municipality. All kinds of planning and environmental issues were continuously discussed, formal and informal, within the municipality. All drafts and
suggestions were displayed on a notice board in the office to stimulate discussions among the civil servants in weekly held open planning meetings. The planning process is initiated from two future visions in order to discuss in consultation and given an opportunity to choose the final contents and directions of the comprehensive plan to come. It would have been desirable with a clearer scope of the most important forthcoming environmental impacts at this early stage, together with a brief impact assessment for the future visions.
Scenarios are useful tools, especially in the early stages of the planning process, to predict possible environmental impacts and the plan might stand out clearer with different
perspectives of what it can lead to in the future. The use of scenario technique on a realistic example gives you a certain freedom in setting up a study without loosi...
