@misc{9220376,
  abstract     = {{Climate change, manifested through flooding, landslides, and erosion, poses increasing challenges for the built environment. In Sweden, nearly 90 percent of the population resides in urban areas, which were planned under past climatic conditions and are often difficult to adapt retroactively.

Spatial planning plays a crucial role in addressing this issue, with municipalities holding central responsibility under the Planning and Building Act. In 2018, an amendment required municipalities to assess climate-related risks to the built environment in their comprehensive plans, as well as how such risks can be reduced or eliminated. Previous research suggests that legislation can support the organisational integration of climate adaptation, but that challenges remain. In this context, studies are needed to examine the practical implementation of this specific requirement.

This study addresses this gap through a mixed-method approach combining an analysis of comprehensive plans with interviews with municipal planners. It explores how municipalities in three climate risk-exposed regions have responded to the amendment and how they perceive the process of integrating climate-related risks into comprehensive planning.

The results show that hazards and overarching strategies are reported to a greater extent than risks and specific measures. The results further indicate that planners generally view the requirement as supportive, while emphasising that factors such as existing exposure to climate-related risks have a greater influence on adaptation efforts than the legislation itself. The integration of climate risks into comprehensive planning is described as challenging, due to limited resources, political prioritisation, legal responsibility, and uncertainties.

By comparing municipalities with significant climate risks, the study contributes knowledge about challenges at the municipal level and the role of legislation as a steering instrument for climate adaptation. The findings highlight potential areas for improvement to strengthen municipalities’ capacity to manage increasing climate risks through spatial planning.}},
  author       = {{Källström, Victoria}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Klimatrelaterade risker i översiktsplanering: En studie av svenska kommuner i riskområden}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}