| Summary: | Abstract The requirements for interactive land use planning, a statutory function of municipalities, are based on the Land Use and Building Act. The objective of land use planning is to promote a high quality living environment and ecologically, economically, socially and culturally sustainable development. Ideally, planning consists of an interactive process in which aspects of administration, residents, economic life and policy making are interconnected. The everyday planning practices of municipalities are significant in implementing interactive planning. This thesis analyses the interactive planning practices and collaboration cultures of the municipalities, the ELY Centres, and the Regional Councils, together with the representatives of mining companies, and consultant planners. The realisation of planning practices was specifically studied within the scope of land use planning and mining due to the fact that there are several ongoing ore exploration and mining projects in the municipalities of Northern Finland. The study focuses on municipal planners’ experiences in interactive planning. The thesis is based on a mixed methods approach, integrating both qualitative and quantitative data. The main research material, which is qualitative data, is comprised of interviews with municipal planners, representatives of ELY Centres, Regional Councils, and mining companies, as well as consultant planners. The quantitative data was generated from a survey directed to municipal planners working in the Northern municipalities. The qualitative data was supplemented with workshop material collected through participatory action research, which was carried out in order to study and develop the interactive planning process. The findings of this thesis demonstrate that the municipalities in Northern Finland have generally fulfilled the statutory minimum requirements in their interactive planning practices. The results indicate that interaction based on statutory and informal municipality policies would increase the ...
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