Inclusion and exclusion of environmental aspects in early-stage planning of transport infrastructure projects: A Swedish case study

Abstract

Sustainable development of the transport system increasingly requires integration of land-use and transport planning practices. To identify and implement measures that maximize synergies between transport, land-use and environmental issues are essential to achieve sustainable outcomes of transport planning. The strategic choice of measures (SCM) approach, applied in early-stage planning of transport infrastructure projects in Sweden, constitutes a platform for collaboration between transport and land-use authorities for better coordination of the different practices in a specific context. This paper aims to analyze SCM processes from a systems perspective to illuminate consequences of system boundaries on how environmental aspects are considered and what aspects are included or excluded. A case study approach is applied, based on observations and document studies of two cases in Stockholm region. The result shows that coordination of transport and land-use planning practice in the SCM process, implies handling of conflicting views of development in the project area. In order to create shared objectives and visions, constructive dialogue and collaboration are two key features. Moreover, it is a challenge to handle all the different problems and measures in the SCM. It is essential to understand synergies as well as how problems and measures in different planning processes relate to each other. A systems perspective as a support when analyzing problems in an SCM can enable the detection of links between transport, land-use and environmental problems. The systems perspective could contribute to the identification of measures with synergetic effects and subsequently the implementation of multi-functional solutions.