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Aalborg University P10: Urban Planning and Management Rethinking governance in planning under shrinkage A case study of strategic rural planning in Vesthimmerlands Municipality Authors: Supervisor: Jakob Hasselgreen Rasmus Nedergård Steffansen Lasse Schytt Nørgaard Morten Kirkeby Petersen June 2020 School of Architecture, Design, and Planning Faculty for Urban Planning and Management Rendsburggade 6 9000 Aalborg http://www.tnb.aau.dk Project: Master Thesis Period: February 2020 - June 2020 Project group Jakob Hasselgreen Lasse Schytt Nørgaard Morten Kirkby Petersen Supervisor: Rasmus Nedergård Steffansen Printed editions: 0 Pages: 112 Appendix: 9 Finished: June 4, 2020 Abstract Rural areas are challenged by continuous urbanisation as people move towards the bigger cities. This puts many rural areas in a state of shrinkage, characterised by a self-reinforcing loop of out-migration. Planning is not adequately suited to address these issues as it has become increasingly growth-centric over the past decades. Because of this planners of rural areas are confronted with the ever relevant question of what to plan for if not growth. Bottom-up reliant approaches are presented as the main solution, which in planning theory relates to ideas of communicative and collaborative planning. These are supplemented by theories of political-administrative systems, interactive governance, and metagovernance are utilised in an effort to understand the inherent possibilities and limitations of different approaches to governance. This leads to the research question How can a municipality transform their governance approach related to the strategic planning of rural communities, in order to better cope with, or even utilise a state of shrinkage?, which is researched in the context of Vesthimmerlands Municipality. Critical realism is applied as the meta-theoretical approach as it shapes the understanding of what can be researched and how. Institutional theory is applied in order to investigate how planning under shrinkage is different from the established contemporary practices. This is supplemented by the use of metagovernance as a tool for reflecting on how and for what reasons practices such as citizen collaboration are carried out. The conclusion is that the first step in transforming the governance approach is to acknowledge shrinkage, and the next is to establish a system of urban governance that encourages bottom-up initiatives and empowers citizens in order to create a sense of ownership that can guide future development. v Preface This report is devised by a group from Aalborg University, 4. semester on the masters programme Urban Planning and Management as the final dissertation in the period February 2020 to June 2020. The group wants to thank Rasmus Nedergård Steffansen for a competent, constructive and flexible supervising throughout the project process. Furthermore, the group would like to give a special thanks to a number of people for participating in interviews: • Merete Bach Hansen, Planner Vesthimmerlands Municipality • August Skovmand, Planner Vesthimmerlands Municipality • Peter Bach Frederiksen, Rural Coordinator Vesthimmerlands Municipality • Britt Dalgaard, Represent of Ranum Citizen association • Doris Lauritzen, Member of Gedsted Citizen Association and member of Vesthimmerlands Municipality City council • Anders Bloksgaard, Director of Limfjordsmuseet and member of Vækstforum Løgstør • Asger Andersen, Chairman and member of Socialdemokratiet Vesthimmerlands Municipality • Jens Lauritzen, Member of Venstre and the City Council Vesthimmerlands Municipality • Connie Mark Skovbjerg, Rural Coordinator Sønderborg Municipality • Kristian Krog, Director of Maltfabrikken Syddjurs Municipality • Carsten Jahn Hansen, Associate Professor in spatial development and planning Aalborg University All of the interviewees have contributed with useful knowledge about their views on the current planning situation in Vesthimmerlands Municipality. All interviews have been conducted in Danish and relevant quotations have been translated by the authors. An overview of the interviews can be found in the appendix along with the different interviewguides used throughout the process. The interviews have also been attached as external soundfiles. References are listed according to the Harvard method, which means they appear as [Surname, Year] in the text, and alphabetically in the bibliography. If two different references share both author and year they are differentiated by the addition of a letter at the end of the year (e.g. 2020a). If no date is apparent in the source the year is replaced by ’n.d.’ [no date]. Tables and figures are referenced with numbers depending on the chapter they are included in and the number of preceding tables or figures in the chapter. vii Contents Abstract v Preface vii Introduction xi Chapter 1 Towards a new understanding of strategic rural planning1 1.1 The role of planning in rural development................... 3 1.2 Conceptualising shrinkage............................ 6 1.3 Mechanisms and actors.............................. 10 1.4 Planning theories and practices......................... 12 1.5 The political-administrative system....................... 16 1.6 Practical examples of citizen-driven planning ................. 21 Chapter 2 Research question 27 Chapter 3 Vesthimmerlands Municipality 29 3.1 Recent development ............................... 29 3.2 Sub-units within the case ............................ 37 3.2.1 Løgstør .................................. 37 3.2.2 Ranum .................................. 38 3.2.3 Gedsted.................................. 40 Chapter 4 Methodology 41 4.1 Theoretical framework.............................. 41 4.1.1 Critical realism.............................. 41 4.1.2 Analysing shrinkage ........................... 43 4.1.3 Interactive governance.......................... 44 4.1.4 Institutional analysis........................... 47 4.1.5 Summary................................. 50 4.2 Methods...................................... 51 Chapter 5 Planning context of Vesthimmerlands Municipality 61 5.1 Plans and strategies ............................... 62 5.2 The planners ................................... 65 5.3 The citizens.................................... 72 5.3.1 Urban renewal project in Ranum.................... 72 5.3.2 Urban renewal project in Gedsted ................... 77 5.3.3 Løgstør .................................. 80 5.4 The politicians .................................. 84 5.5 Institutional analysis............................... 89 ix Gruppe 2 Contents Chapter 6 Discussion 93 6.1 Dilemmas of governance in strategic rural planning.............. 93 6.2 Contextualising shrinkage............................ 99 Chapter 7 Conclusion 103 Bibliography 105 Appendix A Appendix 113 A.1 Interviewguides..................................113 A.1.1 Planners..................................113 A.1.2 Citizens..................................114 A.1.3 Politicians.................................115 A.1.4 Others...................................116 A.2 Interview with Merete Bach Hansen - Planner Vesthimmerlands Municipality116 A.3 Interview with Peter Bach Frederiksen - Rural Coordinator Vesthimmerlands Municipality....................................117 A.4 August Skovmand - Planner Vesthimmerlands Municipality . 117 A.5 Doris Lauritzen - Gedsted Citizens Association . 118 A.6 Britt Dalsgaard - Ranum Citizens Association . 118 A.7 Anders Bloksgaard - Løgstør Vækstforum ...................119 A.8 Jens Lauritzen - Member of Venstre and the City Coucil Vesthimmerlands Municipality....................................119 A.9 Asger Andersen - Member of Socialdemokratiet and the City Coucil Vesthimmerlands Municipality .........................120 A.10 Kristian Krog - Director of Maltfabrikken, Ebeltoft . 120 A.11 Connie Mark Skovbjerg - Rural Coordinator Sønderborg Municipality . 121 x Introduction Urbanisation and political initiated structural reforms are often highlighted as the main drivers for the demographic changes Denmark has experienced in recent decades. Both public and private services, workplaces and cultural institutions have increasingly been centralised in and around the larger cities. This development has left many rural areas in a state of decline where population decline, dwindling services and deteriorating housing stocks at worst are threatening their continued existence. This skewed development where the larger cities experience rapid growth and rural areas are facing decline has been posing challenge for a planning system where enhancing and handling growth largely has been the main focus. Symbolised in the national Danish planning legislation where it is stated that planning should enhance industrial development and growth (Planloven §1 stk 3). The growth-oriented focus of planning stems from neoliberal ideals that has dominated planning in recent years, which in many ways accommodates the current situation of the larger cities but to a lesser extent relates to the state of decline experienced by the smaller villages. The concept of Shrinkage has been paid significant attention in the planning literature and it is highlighted that a shift of focus in planning approaches is needed in such areas. Instead of seeking to enhance growth, planning should focus on a qualitative development driven by bottom-up initiatives. In order to achieve this it entails a political-administrative system that are able to facilitate planning processes based on a bottom-up initiatives and collaboration

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