Med människan i fokus : En studie om sociala konsekvensbedömningar inom svensk trafikplanering

Sammanfattning: The social dimension of sustainability has for a long time been relatively unexplored within traffic planning. Instead, there has been an emphasis on aspects such as reduced climate change impact and increased economic growth. However, it is possible to identify an increased interest in the social dimension of sustainability within traffic planning. SIA (Social Impact Assessment) is a tool that can be used to handle the social aspects of planning in a systematic way. The purpose of this study is to outline how SIA is used today in traffic planning in Sweden, and to see what potentials exists in its use as a social sustainability tool. To achieve this purpose, a content analysis of four SIA reports and 12 semi structured interviews have been conducted. The study shows that a general opinion is that social sustainability is difficult to handle because of its abstract and complex nature. SIA could be a way of making it more manageable through exemplifying what social sustainability could mean in specific projects and in a traffic context. SIA can also contribute to an increased focus on humans in the planning process. The study shows that there are a wide range of approaches to SIA in Swedish traffic planning, with several different locally customized tools and SIA processes which vary in time and scope. This variation creates an uncertainty. A mutual approach to SIA would be desirable in many ways, one of which is to lift the status of the tool. If a common framework for SIA were to be developed, it is important that the framework is flexible, and could be adjusted to local conditions and goals. One conclusion that can be drawn from the study is that more experience of working with SIA is needed before the identified development proposals are to be relevant.