Urban Planning and Public Transport

Purpose and goal

Ultimately the objective for project Public Transport in Municipal Planning is to double the number of passengers in public transport by 2020. The goal is to make public transport the norm in municipal planning. The ambition is that the municipalities cautiously shall plan for public transport when developing new housing districts, new work places and locations for services and shopping. To achieve this objective construction of knowledge and mapping of methods based in best practice are necessary. The ambition with the research project is to increase our knowledge and awareness of the case study methodology developed within the project The Attractive City (Den Goda Staden).

Results and expected effects

The research project consists of two parts. First a literature review based in national and international experiences and with a special focus on bus systems. Second, case studies of the planning process in the three municipalities engaged in the project (Karlstad, Sundsvall and Uppsala) will be carried out. The case studies will focus on strategic decision-making in issues concerning urban planning and planning for public transport. The case studies will also be utilized in the process for structured exchange of experiences between the parties involved. The outcome of this exchange will be included in the evaluation and documentation of the project.

Approach and implementation

The project is organized in three phases: 1. Start up phase: In this phase a joint seminar will be held. The objective is to map the state of the art of knowledge and to decide on modes for exchange of knowledge and criteria for evaluation. The literature review will be submitted to all partners. This phase will have duration of 2-3 months. 2. Pilot studies (Case studies) in this phase pilot studies will be carried out in the municipalities. The evaluation will be carried out in parallel to the pilot studies and results will be reported continuously to the municipalities. Two seminars will be held for exchange of information between the partners. The pilot studies are carried out under a period of 6-10 months. 3. Evaluation and conclusions In this phase experiences and lessons from the three municipalities are summed up. Also a focus will be placed on experiences from other municipalities and projects at the forefront of innovative thinking when it comes to public transport. The evaluation and the final report are expected to be completed within 12 months from the commence of the project