Can regional planning steer municipalities’ climate action?

About the project

Regional strategies often need to do several things at once: set a common direction, inspire action, accommodate different interests, and leave room for local decision-making.

But flexibility can also create ambiguity.

This project examines how Region Stockholm’s regional development plans are created, interpreted, and translated into local planning – and what this means for sustainable urban development.

Why this matters

Broad policy visions can create engagement and give municipalities room to act. At the same time, ambiguity can hide conflicts between competing goals and different forms of knowledge.

These tensions become particularly important when municipalities must balance housing, infrastructure, population growth, climate adaptation, and biodiversity.

The project therefore studies the relationship between regional sustainability governance, knowledge production, and local planning practice.

What we are studying

The researchers examine:

• RUFS 2050 and RUFS 2060.
• Consultation responses produced during the development process.
• How Region Stockholm works with regional planning.
• How municipalities and other local actors interpret regional objectives.
• How consultants, interest organizations, and other stakeholders influence local planning practice.
• Research design

The project combines document analysis with interviews involving Region Stockholm, organizations that submitted consultation responses, and actors involved in local planning.

The aim is to generate knowledge that can contribute to more effective regional governance at a time of climate change and threats to biodiversity.

Research team

• Project leader: Kristina Tamm Hallström, Associate Professor, Stockholm School of Economics.
• Collaborator: Maria Grafström, Associate Professor, Stockholm Business School and Score.

Status

Ongoing, 2026–2027.