ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the history of land policy and urban planning. Gradually the municipalities built up large organizations of their own for land procurement, national physical planning, credit supply, development of utilities and so on. The government introduced subsidized national housing loans and grants and defined cost ceilings for the award of State support. Special State organizations supervise the environment, and court orders are required for certain types of environmental interference. The emphasis of environmental work has shifted more and more from the rectification of past transgressions to the prevention of new ones. Successive enactments have supported this by stressing the conditions for long-term ecological, social and economic interests in connection with urban expansion. A government committee has proposed gathering all environmental legislation into a separate code, to underline the importance of environmental issues. The government and the Riksdag also laid down new guidelines for housing renewal, to the effect that buildings were to be refurbished rather than demolished.
