Strategic Planning for High-speed Rail Investments – A Comparative Study of Four Intermediate Stations in Sweden

ABSTRACT

This paper departs from research illustrating that the development effects of high-speed rail (HSR) vary between cities being locations for stations and assumes that strategic planning and geographical contexts matter. It gives an overview of general planning through local authorities for a coming HSR and its station locations in four Swedish cities and settlements. The results show that, although Sweden represents a planning system with strong mandates for local authorities, strategic planning takes form through multi-level governance. The paper discusses how this condition the integration of visions for growth and environmental issues for the general planning on the local level.

KEYWORDS:

• High speed rail
• sustainable development
• strategic planning
• multi-level governance
• Sweden

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).