GOVLAND – new research project within land use planning
New project: ‘Legal governance in land use planning. Balance between national and municipal power and between private initiative and public control’ (GOVLAND)
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In December project manager Ingunn Elise Myklebust received funding for a research project under the auspices of the DEMOS Programme of the Norwegian Research Council. The project title is ‘Legal governance in land use planning. Balance between national and municipal power and between private initiative and public control’ (GOVLAND). It has a total budget of NOK 8.9 million, with NOK 5.3 coming from the Research Council.
The projects research staff will consist of a ph.d. student, a solid research effort from Håvard Haarstad, who is a geographer at the University of Bergen, as well as research time from Ingunn and her professor-colleague Sigrid Eskeland Schütz. Two masters theses will also be produced during the course of the project.
Cooperation with partners in Scotland and Canada
As Ingunn says: ‘It’s nice to start the new year with fresh research funding for the purpose of increasing the competence in land use planning at the faculty. There is an array of approaches that we can address within the framework of this project. One goal is to achieve a fruitful dialogue and knowledge exchange with our partners in Scotland and Canada, as well as with researchers from the University of Bergen, Bergen University College, Institute of Marine Research, and not least people with practical experience from local government agencies. ‘
From the project description:
“Legal governance in land use planning [GOVLAND] will examine the core legal instruments for regulating the balance between national and municipal power in Norwegian land use planning. How the legal framework is and should be on land use planning, the interpretation of the rules and day by day management, can have a major impact on living conditions, infrastructure and sustainability. What are the legal requirements for effective, knowledge-based decision processes and what legal protection does local democracy have in a rapidly changing society, marked by Europeanisation, globalisation, privatisation, climate change and population growth? How can democracy and efficiency be balanced in municipal land use planning? The relative strength of public and private actors in the land use context is an integral part of the study.”
Jurists who are interested in the ph.d. position can contact the project manager.
