Regional Planning

The plan wants greater control and planning from society's side of building and places primary responsibility for housing investments on the state. A binding regional planning level that makes all municipalities in a region take responsibility for housing supply serves that purpose and the plan's goal of breaking up segregation. The plan simultaneously guards municipal self-government, but subordinates it to a cohesive country.

• societal planning of buildingdecisive»Med större kontroll och planering från samhällets sida, kan byggandet både öka i takt och bli miljösmart och lagra kol istället för att släppa ut koldioxid.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“With greater control and planning from society's side, building can both increase in pace and become environmentally smart and store carbon instead of releasing carbon dioxide.”
• state primary responsibility for building»Staten behöver ta huvudansvaret för att stärka investeringarna i byggande, upprustning och energieffektivisering av hyresbostäder.« (party programme ↗)“The state needs to take primary responsibility for strengthening investments in building, upgrading and energy efficiency of rental housing.”
• break up segregation»Vi vill bryta upp segregationen och skapa en blandning av hustyper och upplåtelseformer, för att bygga städer där människor möts i vardagen.« (party programme ↗)“We want to break up segregation and create a mix of housing types and tenure forms, to build cities where people meet in everyday life.”
• active land policy»Vänsterpartiet vill se ett statligt byggbolag, investeringsstöd för ökat bostadsbyggande och en aktiv markpolitik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party wants to see a state housing company, investment support for increased housing construction and active land policy.”

The election manifesto explicitly requires all municipalities, even the well-off ones, to take their share of responsibility, and the party programme makes housing provision a societal responsibility. A binding regional planning level is a means to that precisely when the housing market does not follow municipal boundaries. The regional level itself is not mentioned in the documents, which makes the conclusion derived.

• all municipalities take responsibilitydecisive»Alla kommuner, även de välbeställda, ska ta sin del av ansvaret.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All municipalities, even the well-off ones, shall take their share of responsibility.”
• societal responsibility for housing»Därför anser vi att det är ett samhälleligt ansvar att trygga« (party programme ↗)“Therefore we consider that it is a societal responsibility to secure”
• combat overcrowding»Trångboddheten ska bekämpas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Overcrowding shall be combated.”
• mixed housing types»Boende- och upplåtelseformer ska vara blandade.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Residential and tenancy forms shall be mixed.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's guiding principle is decentralization: decisions should be made as close to those affected as possible and the party is explicitly skeptical of centralized control that shifts power from people. A regional planning level that bindingly governs how many dwellings each municipality builds is precisely such a shift. The plan simultaneously admits that housing policy needs measures at the national level, which makes the position uncertain.

• decisions close to citizensdecisive»Beslut bör tas så nära medborgarna som möjligt.« (party programme ↗)“Decisions should be taken as close to citizens as possible.”
• skepticism towards centralized control»skepsis mot centralstyrning och beslut som flyttar« (party programme ↗)“skepticism towards centralized control and decisions that shift”
• increased municipal influence»kommuner ges ett ökat ansvar och inflytande över de« (party programme ↗)“municipalities are given increased responsibility and influence over”
• measures also at national level»En fungerande bostadspolitik måste omfatta« (party programme ↗)“A functioning housing policy must comprise”

The plan establishes that decisions shall be made close to those affected and that decisions affecting only the local level shall not be moved to a higher level. The counter-proposal instead wants to create a regional planning level with binding control over municipalities' planning and over how many homes each municipality builds. More homes should according to the plan instead come from simple rules and strong incentives to invest. Therefore the plan rejects the demand.

• decisions close to those affecteddecisive»Decentralisera mera. Människor ska få bestämma mer själva, och politiska beslut ska fattas nära dem som berörs.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decentralize more. People shall get to decide more themselves, and political decisions shall be made close to those affected.”
• local decisions stay local»Beslut som endast berör en mer lokal nivå, eller bara individen själv, bör inte flyttas upp till en högre nivå« (party programme ↗)“Decisions that only affect a more local level, or just the individual themselves, should not be moved to a higher level”
• consistent decentralization»inom alla områden och på alla nivåer, att verka för decentralisering av beslut« (party programme ↗)“in all areas and at all levels, to work for decentralization of decisions”
• more homes nationwide»En förutsättning för utveckling är att det finns tillräckligt med bostäder i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“A prerequisite for development is that there are enough homes throughout the country.”

The plan wants to increase residential construction by using the municipal planning monopoly more actively and through simplified building standards, not through a new binding regional level above the municipalities' planning. The counter-proposal's requirement for regional control of how many homes each municipality shall build goes against that line. The plan's scepticism towards increased public power claims points in the same direction.

• municipal planning monopoly protecteddecisive»I samhällsplaneringen ska det kommunala planmonopolet användas i högre grad« (party programme ↗)“In urban planning the municipal planning monopoly shall be used to a greater degree”
• developer-driven planning»Byggherrar ska ges rätten att utarbeta detaljplaner som sedan prövas av kommunen.« (party programme ↗)“Developers shall be given the right to develop detailed plans which are then tested by the municipality.”
• simplified building rules»Byggnormerna bör förenklas« (party programme ↗)“Building standards should be simplified”
• limited public power»sund skepsis mot ökade offentliga maktanspråk« (party programme ↗)“sound scepticism towards increased public power claims”

The plan requires strong municipal self-governance and places the burden of proof on whoever wishes to deprive a lower level of its tasks; a binding regional planning level that directs how many apartments each municipality builds does precisely that. What a community can manage appropriately, it should also be allowed to manage. The plan also places the social responsibility for housing supply on the municipalities.

• strong municipal self-governancedecisive»Den kommunala självstyrelsen ska vara stark« (party programme ↗)“Municipal self-governance shall be strong”
• burden of proof in centralization»Denna princip innebär att bevisbördan vilar på dem« (party programme ↗)“This principle means that the burden of proof rests on those”
• subsidiarity»sköta ska den också få sköta.« (party programme ↗)“manage should it also be allowed to manage.”
• municipal housing responsibility»Kommunerna ska ha det sociala ansvaret för att« (party programme ↗)“The municipalities shall have social responsibility for”

The counter-proposal demands a regional planning level with binding control over municipalities' planning and over how many homes each municipality builds. The plan is based on decisions being made at the lowest possible level, municipalities and regions being allowed to choose different paths, and decentralized decision-making making society more robust. Increased construction should be achieved through reforms, not through regional coercive control. The plan therefore rejects the demand.

• decisions at the lowest leveldecisive»Beslut ska fattas på lägsta möjliga nivå, så nära medborgarna som möjligt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decisions should be made at the lowest possible level, as close to citizens as possible.”
• municipal freedom of action»tillåta att olika regioner och kommuner väljer« (party programme ↗)“allow different regions and municipalities to choose”
• decentralization creates robustness»Decentraliserat beslutsfattande gör samhället mer robust« (party programme ↗)“Decentralized decision-making makes society more robust”
• increased construction through reforms»Vi vill genomföra reformer som ökar byggandet av såväl hyressom bostadsrätter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to implement reforms that increase construction of both rental and owner-occupied dwellings.”

flags: citat_migrerat

The party programme regards municipal self-determination as a central part of democracy and establishes that decisions should be made at the lowest appropriate level. A regional planning level that bindingly directs how many homes each municipality should build moves power upward and contradicts this. The plan furthermore defends municipal veto in other areas and wants to achieve increased building through regulatory simplification, not through regional control.

• municipal self-determinationdecisive»Vi betraktar det kommunala självbestämmandet som en central del av demokratin« (party programme ↗)“We regard municipal self-determination as a central part of democracy”
• decisions close to citizens»fattas på lägsta ändamålsenliga nivå.« (party programme ↗)“be made at the lowest appropriate level.”
• municipal veto»Värna det kommunala vetot vid etablering av vindkraft« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Protect municipal veto on wind power establishment”
• regulatory simplification before control»Anpassa och förenkla regler och processer för planering och byggnation« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Adapt and simplify rules and processes for planning and construction”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.