Abstract

Urban development is a comprehensive practice, especially today considering the modern ambitions of city densification. Managing risks associated with spatial planning are vital for a sustainable and safe societal growth, yet is often subject to challenging trade-offs between efficiency and safety. This thesis is a pioneering attempt to streamline the procedure of risk management in urban development by integrating risk management with land allocation competitions, a frequently used method for spatial planning of municipal land. Based on a case study of the development project of Västra Roslags-Näsby, a couple of essential elements for a successful risk management within spatial planning was identified, and subsequently applied to construct a model for how land allocation competitions can be used as a risk managing tool. The study suggests that the stages risk analysis, risk evaluation and risk reduction of the risk management process are to be incorporated within different phases of the land allocation competition concept to utilize a more risk managing efficiency in future urban development. Furthermore, proactive risk assessment, risk cooperation, risk considerations in the competition description and innovative risk managing solutions are recognized as a few means to realize an efficient – and safety oriented – risk management in spatial planning.