Necessary co-ordination
For certain regions in Sweden it is necessary to have physical planning that extends beyond municipal boundaries. In the Stockholm region, for example, regional planning has existed in one form or another since the 1930s. Initially it was for traffic planning in the expanding metropolis. At present it is the Stockholm County Council that is responsible for working out and adopting regional plans. In the Malmö-Lund region there is a council of nine municipalities that deals with regional planning. The corresponding body in the Göteborg region is a council of eleven municipalities. No formal regional plan, either in the Göteborg or the Malmö region, has been adopted in accordance with the Planning and Building Act.

The aim of this regional planning is to solve major problems which are common to a group of municipalities such as the infrastructure (traffic and public transport, water and sewage, refuse disposal and so on), housing and the labour market during the coming 10-15 years, with long-term forecasts for 20-30 years ahead. It should, however, be pointed out that it is the municipalities that have the final word concerning their land. Thus, if a regional plan is to be realised, the municipalities concerned have to consider it sufficiently important to carry it out.

Read more about General and Detailed Planning in Sweden