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DEMOS-Demokratisk og effektiv styring, planlegging og forvaltning

Planning for sustainable second-home development

Alternative title: Planlegging for bærekraftig fritidsboligutbygging

Awarded: NOK 9.1 mill.

Second homes in Norway have undergone rapid growth and modernization in the past years. This increasingly represents an important sustainability challenge including both environmental protection and climate change. However, planning which has a great potential to steer the development towards being more environmentally- and climate-friendly has not yet been able to meet this challenge. Against this background, SECPLAN aims to strengthen the role of planning in making second-home development sustainable. The project carries out the following investigations: (1) conceptualize theoretically sustainable second-home development and planning; (2) assess how current second-home planning has considered sustainable development; (3) identify barriers, challenges and potentials for developing sustainable second-home planning and propose needed changes; (4) compare Norway and Denmark to gain insights into the impacts of planning systems on sustainable second-home development; (5) develop national, regional and municipal planning strategies for sustainable second-home development. Our research patterns include University of Agder, Telemark Research Institute, and Aalborg University. We also collaborate closely with national, regional and local planning authorities and policy makers, including Vestfold and Telemark County (VTFK), Valdres Nature and Culture Park (VNKP), Øystre Slidre Municipality (ØSK), the Norwegian Environment Agency (Mdir), and the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS). VTFK, VNKP, and ØSK serve as cases in the project. Department for Planning in the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation (KMD) joins in the reference group. We use several methods in the investigation: literature review of studies on relevant fields, document analysis of policies, guidelines and plans, interviews with relevant actors, workshops with user partners, and seminars with national and international researchers.

SECPLAN centres on second-home planning in Norway with the aim of promoting environmentally sustainable development. Second homes in Norway have undergone rapid growth and modernization in the past years, which increasingly represents an important sustainability challenge including both environmental protection and climate change. However, planning which has a great potential to steer the development towards being more environmentally- and climate-friendly has not yet been able to meet this challenge. Our project responds to the societal need of strengthening the role of planning in making second-home development sustainable. This will be done through close collaboration between networks of national, regional and local planners, policy makers and researchers, and a comparison of second-home planning between Norway and Denmark. The project will produce novel knowledge and insights regarding (1) how to frame second-home development and planning from the perspective of sustainable development; (2) how municipal second-home planning practices affect second-home development with higher or lower sustainability performances; (3) how current institutional settings and planning system need to change to make second-home planning efficient and effective in addressing environmental and climate considerations; and (4) what planning strategies can be developed for sustainable second-home development.

Funding scheme:

DEMOS-Demokratisk og effektiv styring, planlegging og forvaltning