ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the development of the Finnish planning system, examining changes and discussions about legislation, planning instruments used and the way these combine with planning ideologies, the national political context and economic opportunities. There are four major trajectories preceding and explaining the current state of the planning system: the establishment of the zoning system, the establishment of a planning hierarchy, the emergence of the land-use agreement system and the decentralization of the service system. All the master plans in the history of Vantaa have highlighted the strategic subordination of land-use considerations to the international airport, the national highways and the municipal industrial policy. The focus of the land-use planning system has shifted from planning substance to process, and new complementary, unofficial planning instruments are being developed. In general, the decisive role of the local authority has been highlighted within the decentralized Finnish planning system. This enables the system to react to new possibilities flexibly.
