MAL-suunnittelun ja maakuntakaavoituksen koordinaatio

In this thesis, the aim was to examine the coordination between MAL and regional planning in Finland. Since the establishment of the MAL procedure in the 2010s, this strategic planning instrument at the city-regional level has had an ambiguous relationship with statutory regional land use planning. The soft-hard dynamic between MAL and regional planning complicates this relationship, as MAL, as a soft planning instrument, can be used in various ways between different city-regions. To support this research, the effects of different governance structures behind both planning instruments, classical-modernist and networked, are examined and combined with the theories of strategic planning and policy coordination. This thesis answers two research questions: how are MAL and regional planning coordinated, and should this coordination be improved, and how. These are studied using qualitative content analysis with abductive and hermeneutic characteristics. The materials used in this study were eight thematic semi-structured expert interviews, which were analysed alongside a few official reports. In this thesis, three case regions were examined: Helsinki and Uusimaa, Tampere and Pirkanmaa, and Lahti and Päijät-Häme, which are three city-region-official region pairs in Finland. It was recognized that coordination does exist between MAL and regional planning in all case areas, but it varies in form and effectiveness. In Lahti/Päijät-Häme and Tampere/Pirkanmaa, more cohesive and integrated governance structures worked better to facilitate coordination than in the Helsinki/Uusimaa area, where coordination is hampered, e.g., by institutional ambiguity and differences in the power levels of institutions, contributing to worse coordination between MAL and regional planning. Also, proposed changes to the Land Use Act and increased political involvement can be factors affecting coordination performance. This thesis suggests that the ambiguous relationship between MAL and regional planning should be clarified by clarifying their roles and integrating their process both organizationally and temporally. Designating a central coordinator for this integrated strategic framework is vital to its success in reducing complexity and political involvement. Overall, this thesis contributes to research on soft-hard dynamics in planning and their coordination in networked governance systems.