The right of public access in Sweden : Rural and urban aspects

• In Sweden the so-called Right of Public Access is of fundamental import for the public's visits to and presence in the countryside in the form of outdoor life activities, recreation and nature-based tourism. Similar – although not identical – relations apply in Norway and Finland. The basic principle for the Swedish Right of Public Access is that it is the existing landscape with its characteristic features and traits and associated enjoyment that is "accessible", as long as the tolerance limits for what one can and cannot do, principally "disturb not, destroy not", are not transgressed. Although the Right of Public Access is named as a concept in both The Environmental Code and the Swedish Constitution, its content is not specified. In principle, the Right of Public Access can be seen as the "free space" that is formed between the different laws' terms of reference, in the main: economic interests, privacy and nature preservation/conservation. The terms of reference relating to the Right of Public Access' free space are thus to be regarded as relatively broad grey zones in terms of what one can do, what one ought or ought not to do and what one cannot do. The bottom line is that the landowner has to accept that other people temporarily visit or cross his/her land and water, providing that no economic damage is done or that privacy is infringed. Government agencies are expected to enforce and safeguard nature protection/conservation with the aid of e.g. various national park/nature reserve provisions and regulations and legal protection. The fourth demarcation – the landscape itself and its use – means that the fact that agricultural land, forestry, infrastructure etc., disappears or is accrued according to the landowner's interests, legislation, government agency plans etc., is to be regarded as given from a public access perspective. Thus, with regard to the Right of Public Access, with very few exceptions is it possible to maintain that the landscape should or should not be made use of in certain ways. All in all, this means that it is the landscape itself that must "tell" the user about the possibilities and limitations of things like land use and time of year (e.g. how vulnerable the land is); weather (e.g. for lighting fires); visibility (e.g. how close one can be to a house) etc. Like with all stories, though, one has to learn to read, listen and interpret; something that is of course challenged in today's highly mobile and multicultural society. Apart from reviewing the growth and basic content of the Right of Public Access as outlined above, aided by current studies this presentation will focus on: today's position and role of the Right of Public Access, including the public's views, knowledge situation and its role for their outdoor life; differences between those living in towns and in the countryside; tourism entrepreneurs' views of the Right of Public Access in relation to their work and activities; and issues relating to change and the future.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Social och ekonomisk geografi -- Kulturgeografi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Social and Economic Geography -- Human Geography (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Right of Public Access

recreation

tourism

rural aspects

urban aspects

Sweden

allemansrätten

rekreation

turism

Sverige

Kulturgeografi

Human Geography

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)