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Between Daring and Deliberating : 3G as a sustainability issue in Swedish spatial planning

Larsson, Stefan LU (2008) In Licentiate Dissertation Series 2008(02).
Abstract
The thesis shows how different aspects of sustainable development have been handled or not handled in the third generation infrastructure development in Sweden. The difference between the design of the 3G development - emphasizing competition, growth and regional access, based on a strong technological optimism - and the implementation, as the roll out struck the landscape, including the non-handled radiation issue and the legal changes in order to facilitate the roll out, is discussed and analyzed.



The roll out formally started in late 2000 as the licence allocation process, the so called beauty contest, was finished. Four operators were to build partly competing systems within three years, each covering 8 860 000... (More)
The thesis shows how different aspects of sustainable development have been handled or not handled in the third generation infrastructure development in Sweden. The difference between the design of the 3G development - emphasizing competition, growth and regional access, based on a strong technological optimism - and the implementation, as the roll out struck the landscape, including the non-handled radiation issue and the legal changes in order to facilitate the roll out, is discussed and analyzed.



The roll out formally started in late 2000 as the licence allocation process, the so called beauty contest, was finished. Four operators were to build partly competing systems within three years, each covering 8 860 000 persons, more than 99,98 percent of the populated areas. The Post and Telecommunications Agency can sanction operators not fulfilling licence conditions by a considerable fine. The coverage by the end of the period was between 66 and 74 percent of the promised 8 860 000, with only three remaining operators still participating. Not until 1 December 2006 did the first operator report the required coverage, followed by the two remaining operators by 1 June 2007. The municipal permit handling was blamed for the delay, a reason that “could not have been foreseen”, which helped the operators avoid sanctions from the PTA. The thesis shows that a slow municipal permit process can not explain the lack of coverage in some areas of Sweden.



Environmental aspects were not handled at national level but assessed locally in the building permit handling, as well as the regional 12:6 consultations at the County Administrations. This is why the municipal permit process holds many of the keys regarding environmental management and planning. Therefore the permit processes regarding 3G masts has been charted as they developed in time and screened for main issues and conflicts. Public participation can be found in the local context tied to the legal concept of being a concerned party in the permit process, or the 12:6 consultation. In spite of this, the much debated radiation issue is lifted from the participative aspects and legally defined as not relevant.



The theoretical basis of the analysis combines spatial planning and sociology of law, applying the sociological concept of norms as entities controlling action on the discussion of two different paradigms of governance derived from planning theory. The thesis project has been a part of a study within the MiSt programme, an interdisciplinary research programme on tools for environmental assessment in strategic decision making funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.



Supervisors: professor Lars Emmelin, School of Planning, Blekinge Institute of Technology Karsten Åström, professor in sociology of law, Lund University. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
sociology of law, sustainable development, infrastructure development, strategic decision-making, fear of radiation, public participation, the precautionary principle, spatial planning, sustainability issues, UMTS, 3G
in
Licentiate Dissertation Series
volume
2008
issue
02
pages
179 pages
publisher
Blekinge Institute of Technology
ISSN
1650-2140
ISBN
978-91-7295-132-7
project
Law and spatial planning: wind power and 3G infrastructure development
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e6f5d4b5-8f2d-4e67-b46c-f39b0cb7b049 (old id 1042649)
alternative location
http://www.bth.se/fou/Forskinfo.nsf/fdead3e5ec4b0e57c1256690002b940e/3ab1da63bc53db9ac12573fe0051a222/$FILE/Larsson_lic.pdf
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:07:05
date last changed
2023-04-18 20:22:08
@misc{e6f5d4b5-8f2d-4e67-b46c-f39b0cb7b049,
  abstract     = {{The thesis shows how different aspects of sustainable development have been handled or not handled in the third generation infrastructure development in Sweden. The difference between the design of the 3G development - emphasizing competition, growth and regional access, based on a strong technological optimism - and the implementation, as the roll out struck the landscape, including the non-handled radiation issue and the legal changes in order to facilitate the roll out, is discussed and analyzed.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The roll out formally started in late 2000 as the licence allocation process, the so called beauty contest, was finished. Four operators were to build partly competing systems within three years, each covering 8 860 000 persons, more than 99,98 percent of the populated areas. The Post and Telecommunications Agency can sanction operators not fulfilling licence conditions by a considerable fine. The coverage by the end of the period was between 66 and 74 percent of the promised 8 860 000, with only three remaining operators still participating. Not until 1 December 2006 did the first operator report the required coverage, followed by the two remaining operators by 1 June 2007. The municipal permit handling was blamed for the delay, a reason that “could not have been foreseen”, which helped the operators avoid sanctions from the PTA. The thesis shows that a slow municipal permit process can not explain the lack of coverage in some areas of Sweden.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Environmental aspects were not handled at national level but assessed locally in the building permit handling, as well as the regional 12:6 consultations at the County Administrations. This is why the municipal permit process holds many of the keys regarding environmental management and planning. Therefore the permit processes regarding 3G masts has been charted as they developed in time and screened for main issues and conflicts. Public participation can be found in the local context tied to the legal concept of being a concerned party in the permit process, or the 12:6 consultation. In spite of this, the much debated radiation issue is lifted from the participative aspects and legally defined as not relevant.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The theoretical basis of the analysis combines spatial planning and sociology of law, applying the sociological concept of norms as entities controlling action on the discussion of two different paradigms of governance derived from planning theory. The thesis project has been a part of a study within the MiSt programme, an interdisciplinary research programme on tools for environmental assessment in strategic decision making funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Supervisors: professor Lars Emmelin, School of Planning, Blekinge Institute of Technology Karsten Åström, professor in sociology of law, Lund University.}},
  author       = {{Larsson, Stefan}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-7295-132-7}},
  issn         = {{1650-2140}},
  keywords     = {{sociology of law; sustainable development; infrastructure development; strategic decision-making; fear of radiation; public participation; the precautionary principle; spatial planning; sustainability issues; UMTS; 3G}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Licentiate Thesis}},
  number       = {{02}},
  publisher    = {{Blekinge Institute of Technology}},
  series       = {{Licentiate Dissertation Series}},
  title        = {{Between Daring and Deliberating : 3G as a sustainability issue in Swedish spatial planning}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3796864/4407106.pdf}},
  volume       = {{2008}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}