The private in the public: The case of Norwegian private zoning plans

Abstract

This paper investigates the Norwegian practice of private regulation planning (or private zoning plans), seeking to discern if and how the processes and resulting plans align with the acknowledged benefits of public private partnership (PPP). To assess the topic, we have employed a mixed-methods case-study approach, combining document studies with stakeholder interviews. Two cases were studied in two different municipalities in mid-Norway. We focused on the role of participation and the adaptation between private zoning plans and the holistic ambitions in the local comprehensive plans. Public participation is mandated by law in all municipal planning but the incentives to develop the role of participation might be neglected in private plans. Another observation is the challenge with aligning private initiatives with the overall ambitions phrased in the local comprehensive plan. As a general conclusion we state that these observations and the fact that the Norwegian planning system allows for private actors to take an active role in the planning process, could trigger more studies on the effects of the public-private partnership in the Norwegian planning system.