ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Commons card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 2 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaEnvironment & resources
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence2 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Environment & resources

Commons

Resources accessible or owned by everyone

The beach, the forest, the air and the water are things you use without owning. The right of public access (allemansrätten) is mentioned in the constitution, the shoreline protection (strandskyddet) keeps the shores open, and the municipality's parks are as much yours as anyone's. All of this rests on decisions, and decisions can be influenced.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · parks, exemptions & green spaces · approx 35 %
  • State · right of public access, shoreline protection & law · approx 50 %
  • EU · water and air rules · approx 15 %

The central government owns the rules on the right of public access and shoreline protection, but the municipality (kommun) makes many of the everyday decisions. The general election decides whether shoreline protection is tightened or loosened.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe park & the exemption
The regionOn the side
Central governmentThe rights & the law · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige), the building committee (byggnadsnämnden) and the parks administration.
The region has no formal role over the commons.
The Riksdag, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (Havs- och vattenmyndigheten) and the County Administrative Boards (Länsstyrelsen).
What do they decide?
Parks and green areas, most shoreline protection exemptions (dispenser), and local rules for the shared commons.
No formal role, but outdoor recreation and cycle trails can be part of the regional development mandate.
The right of public access and shoreline protection in the Environmental Code, the national parks, and the oversight of municipal exemptions.
Where are decisions made?
In the committees and the municipal council, with public documents.
In the regional council (regionfullmäktige), when outdoor recreation is weighed into regional development.
In the Riksdag and at the County Administrative Board, which reviews every shoreline protection exemption.
Who pays?
Municipal tax: park maintenance, bathing sites and outdoor areas.
Regional tax, but not for the commons as such.
The central government budget: nature protection, outdoor recreation policy and supervision.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election A citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag) about the park, a comment to the building committee about an exemption.
Regional election The regional election influences things mostly indirectly, via public transport out to nature.
General election A referral response (remissvar) when shoreline protection is reviewed, a report to the County Administrative Board.
EUThe EU's Water Framework Directive and air quality rules protect two of the largest commons: the water and the air. Influenced 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 A jetty is tested against shoreline protection
  1. State

    The law keeps the shore open

    The shoreline protection in the Environmental Code normally applies 100 metres from the shoreline, in some places 300. The purpose is twofold: everyone's access to the shore and protection for plants and animals. The right of public access is also mentioned in the constitution.

  2. Municipality

    The neighbour applies for an exemption

    Anyone who wants to build a jetty or a sauna by the water applies for a shoreline protection exemption (dispens), usually from the municipality. Special grounds are required under the law, and the decision is an official document.

    Point of influence

    The documents are public. You can read the application and submit comments to the committee.

  3. State

    The County Administrative Board reviews

    Every municipal exemption is sent to the County Administrative Board, the central government's arm in the county, which can review and overturn decisions that breach the law. It is one of the clearest forms of national oversight of the municipalities.

    Point of influence

    Certain non-profit associations, such as nature conservation and outdoor recreation organisations, have the right to appeal exemptions.

  4. State

    The court decides

    If the decision is appealed it ends up in the land and environment court. The court weighs the private interest against the public, and your right to walk along the shore weighs heavily.

  5. Your everyday life

    The shore is still yours

    You can still turn off down to the water, swim and land your kayak. The shore being open is not a natural state, it is a decision defended year after year.

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. Which commons do you use in an ordinary week, and who looks after them?

  2. When does the right of public access clash with the landowner's interests in your area, and how should it be resolved?

  3. Should shoreline protection be equally strict across the whole country, or different in cities and sparsely populated areas?

  4. What happens to a shared resource that no one feels responsible for, have you seen an example?

  5. Which shared place would you defend if it were threatened, and how would you do it?

Glossary

Allemansrätten
Your right to move freely in nature, with a responsibility not to disturb or destroy.
Strandskydd
A ban on building near shores, normally 100 metres, for everyone's access and for the sake of nature.
Dispens
An exception from a ban, granted only if the law's special grounds are met.
Allmänning
A resource owned or used in common, such as air, water, parks and fishing waters.
Överprövning
When a higher body, often the County Administrative Board, reviews and can change a decision.

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.