ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Cities & towns card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 105 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaPlaces & infrastructure
  • Centre of gravityThe municipality
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe municipal election
Places & infrastructure

Cities & towns

Everything around urban life

Most of the electorate lives in a city, and most of what you meet there, the parks, the schools, the streets and the residential areas, is steered from the town hall. The municipal election is the city's most important election, but central government and the EU set frameworks that reach all the way to the pavement.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · planning, streets & services · approx 60 %
  • Region · transport & healthcare in the city · approx 15 %
  • State · laws, police & frameworks · approx 20 %
  • EU · air quality & procurement · approx 5 %

The centre of gravity lies clearly in the town hall, through the planning monopoly and the municipality's responsibility for most of the cityscape. The municipal election decides.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe town hall · centre of gravity
The regionTransport & healthcare
Central governmentThe framework
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige), the municipal executive board and committees for urban planning, technical services, culture and social services.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and its committees.
The Riksdag, the Government, the County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen) and the Police (Polismyndigheten).
What do they decide?
Detailed development plans (detaljplaner), streets, squares, schools, libraries, housing companies and the city's budget.
The public transport that ties the city together, and the hospitals and health centres in it.
The planning and building act, the local government act, the public order act, the work of the police and environmental requirements that govern the city's air.
Where are decisions made?
In the town hall: the council is open, the documents are public, many meetings are broadcast online.
In the regional council and the committees.
In the Riksdag and at the agencies. The County Administrative Board reviews the city's plans.
Who pays?
The municipal tax, charges and fees: the largest part of the city's everyday life.
The regional tax plus ticket revenue and patient fees.
The central government budget: targeted central government grants, the police and infrastructure investment.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election A citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag), consultations (samråd) on plans, contact the committee politicians.
Regional election The consultation (samråd) on the public transport plan, views to the committees.
General election A referral response (remissvar) and contact with members of the Riksdag.
EUThe EU's air quality rules and procurement rules reach into the city's decisions, from low-emission zones to bus contracts. Shaped in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case The city introduces a low-emission zone
  1. EU

    The EU sets limit values for the air

    The EU's air quality directive states how much exhaust and particles the city air may contain. If the values are exceeded, Sweden must act, and the matter eventually lands on the city's table.

  2. State

    Central government gives the city the tool

    The Riksdag and the Government have made it possible for municipalities to introduce low-emission zones through the traffic ordinance. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) tracks the air data and the County Administrative Board watches that the requirements are met.

    Point of influence

    The general election shapes which tools the cities get. Proposals for new rules go out for referral (remiss).

  3. Municipality

    Investigation and debate in the town hall

    The administration investigates where the zone should run and which vehicles are affected. The matter sparks debate: business owners, residents and commuters have different interests, and the committees' mailboxes fill up with views.

    Point of influence

    Submit your views to the responsible committee, write a letter to the editor, contact members directly.

  4. Municipality

    The council decides

    The municipal council, the elected members in your municipality, makes the formal decision on the zone's boundaries and start date. The decision can be challenged in court if someone considers it unlawful.

    Point of influence

    The municipal election decides which majority votes. Members of the municipality can request a judicial review (laglighetsprövning) of the decision.

  5. Your everyday life

    The air on your street is measured and noticed

    The measuring station on the main street shows the curve. Which vehicles get to drive past your window was decided in three elections and one council decision.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. What makes a city good to live in, and who should decide that?

  2. Which groups are heard most in your city's debates, and which are almost never heard?

  3. How should the city weigh accessibility against clean air and quiet streets?

  4. What in your city would you change if you sat on the council for one term?

  5. Is your city growing in a way that benefits those who already live there, or those who move in?

Glossary

Kommunfullmäktige
The elected members of the municipality, the city's highest decision-making body.
Planmonopol
The municipality's sole right to decide how land may be built on.
Laglighetsprövning
Municipality members' right to have a municipal decision reviewed by the administrative court (förvaltningsrätt).
Miljözon
Area where the municipality limits which vehicles may drive, to protect the air.
Nämnd
Group of politicians responsible for a field, for example urban planning or technical services.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.