Planning for Lasting Rurality

Sammanfattning

Sweden's rural landscape faces significant challenges as contemporary planning practices increasingly favor urban development, leaving villages and small settlements underserved. This thesis investigates how supplementary planning documents can support sustainable rural development in southern Sweden, specifically examining the potential of Village Guides as participatory planning tools. The research explores current Swedish planning frameworks and their limitations in addressing rural contexts, analyzing how historical patterns of urbanization have created monocentric tendencies that concentrate resources in major cities. The thesis develops into the "By-Guide för Skåne" (Village Guide for Scania), a practical framework designed to empower local village associations to initiate their own development processes. This tool emphasizes “low-threshold, high-impact” interventions that bridge the gap between individual action and municipal planning. The guide presents simple steps, from understanding place identity to sustaining long-term engagement, grounded in established theories of community development, asset-based planning and collective efficacy. The thesis argues that strengthening rural planning in Sweden requires both structural and cultural shifts: creating accessible tools for participation while recognizing rural communities as active partners capable of shaping their own futures. By positioning rural development on equal footing with urban planning, this research contributes to broader debates about spatial equity, regional resilience and the future of Sweden's polycentric development.