Sustainability and statutory holism – Norwegian planning legislation in an evolutionary perspective
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Date
2016
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AESOP
Abstract
In 2008 the Norwegian Parliament adopted a new Planning and Building Act. A few years after its implementation, the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation commissioned an evaluation of the act's planning section, in compliance with established management routines. The task was conveyed by The Research Council of Norway, and formulated as a research based evaluation. Through this research project, which the authors of this paper are involved in, the efficiency of the new planning system will be investigated by analyzing its basic parts, and studying them in isolation. However, the act's emphasis on comprehensiveness requires a methodology that treats the system as more than the sum of its parts. The aim of this paper is to discuss what can be gained by investigating the behaviour of the new system studied as a whole.
Evaluation research is generally undertaken in order to identify areas of improvement. Law evaluation specifically addresses juridical efficiency with respect to the legislator's intention. A question, then, is what the legislator meant to improve by adjusting the system design. By digging into the background of the act, one quickly finds that it answers to more than particular needs; it is the legacy of a long history of innovations, criticism and adaptations. In this evolutionary perspective, the design of the act may be seen as an expression of shifting relations between fundamental values, the legal structure adjustments, and the role of planning in the government system.
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Proceedings of the IV World Planning Schools Congress, July 3-8th, 2016 : Global crisis, planning and challenges to spatial justice in the north and in the south
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