The presentation looks at the issues of environmental (impact) assessment, urban and land use planning and decision-making. Environmental assessment is often seen as a tool that, when applied correctly and expertly, will make planning and development more environmental, environmentally benign, or even environmentally optimal. The presentation critically discusses environmental assessment and its functioning – especially in urban planning and public decision-making. Whilst it can be seen as concerned with predicting future impacts of decisions on the environment, assessment can be characterised it as a reactive tool, rather than a proactive one. Environmental (impact) assessment is also closely connected to the political processes of public policy and decision-making and the presentation attempts to point out a number of caveats when assessing policy or political decisions.
Presentationen analyserar och diskuterar miljökonsekvensbeskrivning/-bedömning (MKB), planering och beslutsfattande. MKB ses ofta som ett verktyg som skall göra planering mer miljövänlig och hållbar. Presentationen diskuterar detta antagande och analyserar kopplingarna mellan MKB och beslutsfattande. MKB, miljökonsekvensbeskrivning, beslutsfattande, planering, fysisk planering