New Building Act and Compulsory Planning in 1965
Coordinated physical and economic planning was introduced and extended in Norway through The Building Act in 1965, put into effect January 1, 1966. The earlier Act of 1924 was intended only for towns, and for those rural municipalities that chose to implement it for their built-up areas (villages). There was only one type of plan, "town plan" or local plan. The legal planning was in other words a physical planning for urban form.
The new law made planning compulsory for the whole country, through master plans for the municipalities and regional plans for two or more municipalities. Planning was more strongly politically directed since only elected political bodies were given authority to vote on plans. Functional land use and zoning was formalized as a planning principle. In the implementation of the act, physical and economic planning was bound together both in content and institutionally.
My interest in a study of the first years of master planning in rural municipalities through the new Act had two starting-points.
First, I was curious about how the early planning in rural municipalities had worked. The planning criticism, which began at the end of the 1960s and formed many opinions afterwards, sharpened my interest. As Chapter 2 shows, the criticism was basically directed against the politics for economic growth and prosperity. In physical planning it was directed against the contents of the plans, the ideals behind them, the methods of modernistic planning, the "neutral" planner role, the idea of planning as tool for development, and the planning process as it was carried out. Master planning did not deal with or solve the kinds of problems rural municipalities were facing.
Secondly, I had access to the planning material of Nic Stabell from his work as a planning consultant, which he was putting into order at the end of his career. Stabell worked at Department of Town and Regional Planning from 1956 to 1990, and had his own practice on the side for a long period, doing planning for more than 40 muni-cipalities and regions.
My study contains two main parts:
1. In Part II I explain and discuss the political and professional basis for the Planning Act of 1965, and the State’s intentions with the Act and the first implementation of it.
2. Part III contains a study of the early physical and economic planning in practice, through the master plans for the municipalities Eid in Sogn og Fjordane, Saltdal in Nordland, Stranda in Møre og Romsdal, Tinn in Telemark, and Ørland in Sør-Trøndelag as examples. (See map in Chapter 4.3 and Appendix 1)
The State’s Intentions with Planning
Behind the Building Act and its implementation, one can see a political and a professional dimension. Chapter 5 describes how the political dimension developed, from economic liberalism with some responsibility for common welfare around 1900, to the growth of social democratic ideology and ambitious building of the welfare state, especially after Word War II. The professional dimension developed from early town planning under the influence of the Garden City Movement and Functionalism, among other things, through the first comprehensive planning in some urban regions after World War I, forward to physical and economic planning as a tool in welfare building and regional policy. In this we can see an integration of some old traditions of architects and engineers with an economic tradition with roots in the inter-war period. As time went by other professionals also took part in the planning process.
In Chapter 6 the preparation and implementation of the new Act are discussed. The ambitions for planning increased through the 11-year long process of designing the Act. At the beginning only some minor changes in the existing Act were being considered. There were doubts about whether the Act should apply in rural municipalities. The result was a new Act, which can be seen as one of the important tools for developing the welfare society. Together with other measures and especially regional policy planning, the Act was aiming to help the growth and regulation of trade and industry, housing, public service, infrastructure etc. by means of control of land use.
Physical and Economic Planning in Practice
The five municipalities had both similarities and differences. Tinn is located in the inland, while the other ones are located at the coast or in fjords. Tinn had about 8.000 inhabitants and the population was declining. The other ones had between 4.300 and 5.300 inhabitants, and the population was stable or increasing.
The municipalities were in a period of rapid change in trade and industry and development of welfare arrangements. There was need for land and economic resources for both public and private tasks. Especially Tinn was in a difficult situation because of the reductions of Norsk Hydro’s operations in the village of Rjukan.
Some Aspects of the Contents of the Plans
More than building plans for urban settlements
The staring point for planning was for the most part to prepare for increased welfare through growth in trade and industry, and developing public service according to the policies of the State at the time. Partly the plans stated that increasing population was not a goal in itself. The most important was to offer good living conditions to all inhabitants.
The plans include the total area of the municipalities and a broad spectrum of issues. Settlement in several parts of the municipality was desired, as was preservation of agriculture and local schools. This required housing, daily service, areas for small industries etc., also in the smallest villages. Otherwise, scattered housing should be reduced. Compared with the State’s strategy for decentralization, the plans seem to go further in developing small local communities.
The plans emphasize land use and building tasks, but include more than just physical issues.
In the analysis of nature and landscape and in the land use plans one can see an interest in protecting natural resources. Protection of agricultural land was motivated by production of food and securing employment. The interest in nature conservation was built on the value of flora and fauna, in landscape esthetic arguments, and in the values of the tourist industry and outdoor life in general. Culture and conservation of buildings were important too. In addition to the traditional historical and cultural heritages, there was interest in old building settings, while perhaps individual houses were not so valuable. One can see an increasing interest in the past, maybe as a reaction to modernism.
The interests in conservation determined to a great degree which areas were chosen for building. Thus it was seen as a better solution to use the least valuable agriculture land near and inside the villages, rather than scattering the new developments.
Big building tasks required large areas
Housing required the most land. With the help of an active housing policy good dwellings should be provided to all inhabitants. Providing prepared building sites was also a strategy for attracting new inhabitants. The plans discuss alternatives to the traditional one-family house. The argument was reduced use of land and lower costs. The plans show principles for good housing environment with playgrounds, outdoor areas, assembly rooms, traffic safety and short distances to schools, local service etc.
Industry was the other function that requires large areas. Areas of different sizes were planned in order to have attractive offers to different industries, in total much more area than was calculated as needed. Behind this lay both optimism in relation to the State’s policies and an element of competition between municipalities in attracting industries.
As part of the welfare policies the municipalities had already come far in developing school systems and building institutions, dwellings and other services for elderly and sick people. However, in the case of kindergartens, it looks like the consultants argued for stronger efforts than the politicians were willing to make.
The development of prosperity would also mean more commodity trade and demand for more space for shops, but there was usually room for extensions within the existing business and center areas.
Ideal of denser "villages" 1
The plans show an ideal of "denser" villages2, based on rational arguments about technical and economic relations and protection of agricultural land. Denser building would in addition mean shorter distances between various functions.
Only larger industries should be located further away from villages and housing areas, partly because it was difficult to find areas without conflicts and partly because industry could produce noise and pollution. In some cases housing areas were located some distance away from the center as a compromise between the village ideal and the motive of protecting nature.
The zoning plans showed the residential areas, the industrial area, the center area, the by-pass roads, and the pedestrian and bicycle paths. But zoning was not complete, even as a planning ideal. Mixed-use was seen as desirable in two ways. Effective land use and short distances should connect the dwellings to the center, and mixing of dwellings, shops, restaurants, work places, and cultural institutions should give more life to the center. In this can be seen an architectural ideal of the dense townscape. However, industrial areas were seen as purely industrial.
The plan maps showed land use, but behind this was concern about architectural form. The adjustment of buildings to the terrain and landscape and the choice of types of houses and density were important elements.
Building of roads and technical infrastructure
Few questioned the extensive use of private cars. By-pass roads were according to common principles, and often what the Road authorities wanted. Local people, however, were often sceptical because the by-pass roads could have negative effects on trade in the center. Nevertheless, in some places extensive plans for new main roads were introduced, sometimes beyond what was shown in The Norwegian Road Plan.
At the same time problems caused by traffic, like accidents and noise, were pointed out. The road systems were based on principles of differentiation and separation, and noise barriers were suggested. The principles were modified and adapted to the local situation. Traffic safety and good environment were arguments for positioning of functions within short distances. Pedestrian and bicycle paths were important in most of the plans. They were located parallel to the roads or in parks and sports fields.
Public transportation was a necessary part of the transport system, but mostly as a supplement to private cars, for instance as more effective ferry connections. Buses were necessary for people who did not own their own cars. Use of railways was of interest mostly for transportation of goods. When airfields were mentioned in the plans, there was optimistic thinking about the volume of air transport in the future.
The municipalities had to build systems for water supply and sewage in order to improve the existing situation and to prepare for development in the villages. The systems for garbage collection also had to be improved, perhaps in cooperation with neighboring municipalities.
Some Aspects of the Planning Tools and Planning Process
The planning had synoptic-rationalistic ambitions
There were synoptic ambitions in the desire to relate the plans to greater geographical areas and to see many issues and factors in relation to each other. The rationalistic ambitions lie in the goal orientation and the use of systematic methods in the planning.
In addition to dealing with the total areas of the municipalities and many considerations and tasks for future development, the plans tried to look at the municipality in the perspective of expected development in the region and the county. Based on investigation and analysis comprehensive plans were presented for trade and industry, population, housing, public service etc. all over the municipality.
In this way the plans had formulated goals, for the total municipality, for the zoned areas, and for different sectors or tasks. Systematic methods were used to find needs and solutions according to the goals.
In the use of methods and in the structure of the plans, the "economic-base" model was essential. It coordinated possible development in trade and industry, population, economics, and the needs and tasks the plans were to deal with. In the evaluation of alternative development patterns, systematic analysis of commodity trade was used. In addition the choice of pattern was based on judgement and political conside-rations. As a basis for the land use plans, systematic analysis of existing land use and
qualities was done. Identifying conflicts of interest, especially in relation to agriculture, was important for the choice of building sites.
The general approach and use of methods are in accordance with the Anglo-Saxon planning tradition, based on physical planning and dealing with themes and considerations that are relevant to land use plans.
Public organizations were active in the planning
It is understandable that planning was criticized for using ”scientific” and complicated methods, especially for the analysis of trade and industry and population. On the other hand it is difficult to see how it could have been done in any other or easier way to create a solid basis for the goals and long term plans.
The view that the municipalities bought a more or less complete plan proposal from the consultant is not correct. Political and administrative boards were important participants in the planning. In the most cases the planning committee was active, and some places the municipal council discussed important issues during the process. The planning committee often had important politicians as members. The municipal engineer had an important role, and was in some cases responsible for parts of the planning. The agriculture authorities' contribution to the analysis of land use was decisive for the design of the plan. Other authorities in the municipality and on a higher level gave contributions. The contacts with the County governors planning department, the road authorities, and the region planning office, were especially important.
Private actors were to a lesser degree involved in the planning, apart from some contact with business leaders in discussions about future development, and with land-owners in discussions about land use plans. Ordinary people were more concerned about specific concrete projects and site plans. In the descriptions of the planning pro-cess, the public inspection of the plan proposal on its way to final decision is emphasized. Few initiatives were taken to broader participation in the planning; so the criticism of lack of democracy may be correct.
The planning took a long time
Up till about eight years elapsed from the planning started until a plan proposal could be presented. One common cause was the lack of maps. In some cases the work halted because planners had to wait for clarification of various issues. However, it seems like the municipalities were interested in getting the planning done. The exception may be Tinn, where economic development work had priority and finalizing of the master plan was delayed.
Especially in Saltdal there was disagreement about how comprehensive the planning should be. In this one can see a suggestion that the synoptic ambitions were per-haps too high and that the planning did not concentrate enough on the most important problems in the municipality. At the same it should be remembered that all necessary data had to be developed from scratch.
When the Ministry eventually advised limiting the scope of the plans, this was not so simple, as they were supposed to be consistent and serve as good tools for the municipality at the same time.
The plans show signs of strategic thinking
The view that the plans were static and standardized is not correct. The point of the analyses of relations between employment, population, need for building sites, and need for services, was to show what was necessary to steer the development in a desired direction, and to prepare for the development that was expected.
The land use plans were to prepare for and guide building when and if it might take place. There was a strategic thought behind the large allocations of land, greater than calculated need, especially for industry. This gave municipalities flexibility and reserves of land for the future.
The plans emphasized the need for up dating of the plans according to changes in needs and conditions. The municipalities were to do the future planning themselves.
The criticism of the plans as static and standardized stands in contrast to the view of the same plans as schematic and divided in zones, without thought for form. In this view can be seen a wish for the plans to go even further in determining concrete design than the zoning plans did.
The plans show will to realism
I have examined the realism of the plans in relation to the information one could have at the time the planning was taking place and based on the methods used.
The extensive registration and analysis shows will to found the plans on as solid a base of information and facts as possible.
The goals for population growth at 1-2 % each year in the five municipalities can be seen as unrealistic. At the time, many municipalities had overly optimistic prognoses for growth. However, many rural municipalities believed in ”vitamin injections” from an active regional policy, and based their prognoses in addition on rates of birth that had been common up until then.
The will to realism is obvious in the coordination between prognosis, calculations of needs, and analysis of the municipality’s economics, action plan and long term budget. Here is also a connection between physical and economic planning. When the plans account for the limitations in the municipality's possibilities in directing authorities on a higher level, or private trade and industries, this is an expression of a realistic attitude.
Politicians had a tendency to decide more optimistic goals than the consultant recommended. This reflected political will and optimistic belief in the future and in regional policy.
Planning better than its reputation
In the years after, it can be seen that the plans were in use for a long time, even beyond the plan period. Of course, all municipalities except for Eid had lower population growth than expected, for many reasons. Industries did not develop in the way the plans suggested, more women took jobs, and birth rates declined. In agriculture there was stability for a few years, but then the number of farmers declined in the municipalities that had a difficult organization of farm area. In the public sector the number of employees increased because of an increase in required municipal administration. In the private service there has also been growth due to increased prosperity.
The land use plans have been mostly followed with rather minor changes and additions, even in the smaller villages. Despite lower population increase, the small villages contain a reasonable part of the population, and building has mostly been carried out according to the plans. However, there has been less building, generally because of the population trend, and the planned areas in most cases have been sufficient up until now. Roads are only partly built; in some cases new plans have been made or earlier plans have been changed. Many industrial sites and some center and business areas have not been developed.
In summary, my conclusions are that the master planning was useful for the municipalities I have studied, and probably in many rural Norwegian municipalities. A great deal of the criticism is not pertinent to the planning that was carried out, nor to the State’s intentions in planning.
The requirement in the Planning Act of 1985 that the master plan should include social and cultural issues, and from 1997 also the esthetic development, is in reality nothing new in the light of the plans I have studied. However, the formalization of these requirements is a sign of expanding ambitions in the direction of the American tradition; comprehensive planning as a way of "planning social life."
It is thought provoking that the Planning and Building Act extended the ambitions for planning at the same time as dominant policies turned away from publicly decided development and toward free market liberalism and deregulation
