Overview of road infrastructure planning process and the use of environmental assessments in the Netherlands and Sweden

There is a need to include life cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the early stages of the road infrastructure planning process in which the decision on road localisation and route is taken. This means that not only the direct emissions from vehicles should be assessed, but also the indirect emissions from the construction, maintenance and operation of the road infrastructure. However, in order to consider life cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the early stages of the road infrastructure planning, that process need to be better understood. The main aim of this study is therefore to compare the road infrastructure planning process and the use of Environmental Assessments (i.e. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)) in the planning process in the Netherlands and Sweden. The specific objectives of this study are: (1) to identify the stages of the infrastructure planning process related to the main decisions on modality, localisation/route, construction type, and construction design; (2) to benchmark the use and content of Environmental Assessment in the road infrastructure planning process; and (3) to investigate the current and potential use of a life cycle perspective throughout the planning process. Data was collected through literature review and interviews. The results from literature review and the interviews were verified with the information in EIA reports and during the workshop "Life Cycle Considerations in EIA of Road Infrastructure". The analysis of the interviews was based on content analysis, in which the responses were grouped according to comparison categories divided in procedural aspects of the planning process and methodological aspects of road SEAs and EIAs.

• Record URL:
  http://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:553113/FULLTEXT01.pdf
• 
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/16525442
• Corporate Authors:

  KTH. fms — Avdelningen för Miljöstrategisk analys, Sweden

  Stockholm,   Sweden 
• Authors:
  • Kluts, Ingeborg
  • Miliutenko, Sofiia
• Publication Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 57
• Serial:
  • TRITA-INFRA-FMS
  • Issue Number: 2012:6
  • Publisher: KTH. fms — Avdelningen för Miljöstrategisk analys, Sweden
  • ISSN: 1652-5442

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Environmental impact analysis; Habitat (Ecology); Planning; Road construction
• Geographic Terms: Netherlands; Sweden
• ITRD Terms: 2436: Environmental impact assessment study; 2428: Life cycle assessment; 8078: Netherlands; 143: Planning; 3665: Road construction; 2436: Strategic environmental assessment; 8109: Sweden
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; I15: Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01582144
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)
• Files: ITRD, VTI
• Created Date: Nov 25 2015 11:13AM