Country Profile · SWEDEN
Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning in Sweden
On this page
National overview
In Sweden, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) are most commonly understood in the context of the work that has been carried out in Sweden over the past 20 years. This work was initially developed under the name TRAST – Traffic for an Attractive City. TRAST has now been superseded by further-developed strategic transport planning approaches and documents that support both local and regional planning. In practice, the municipal transport strategy constitutes the central strategic document and can be regarded as the closest Swedish equivalent to a SUMP.
The Swedish context is based on a well-established planning culture rather than on a single new policy instrument introduced from outside. The guidance and support available for strategic transport planning link transport planning with broader aspects of urban development and support municipalities in developing sustainable transport strategies, plans and programmes. This means that Swedish mobility planning has long been concerned not only with the efficiency of the transport system, but also with issues such as urban quality, accessibility, public space and environmental performance.
An important part of the Swedish model is the strong role of municipalities. Under the Swedish planning system, municipalities are responsible for planning land and water use within their geographical areas, and it is up to each municipality whether to develop and implement a transport strategy. SUMP-type planning in Sweden has therefore developed primarily through guidance, professional practice and municipal application rather than through a general national requirement to produce a standardised document.
At the same time, the Swedish approach has strong support from national institutions. In addition to the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), which is responsible for long-term national transport planning, the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning (Boverket) and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR) have also been important actors in this work.
The first edition of TRAST was published in 2005 and the third edition in 2015, also building on earlier work on sustainable transport planning. This demonstrates that Sweden’s SUMP-related tradition dates back well before the wider European mainstreaming of SUMPs.
In practice, Swedish municipalities apply this approach in different ways and use different names for their planning documents. Some municipalities have dedicated mobility or transport strategies, while others structure their work through broader urban development strategies and thematic mobility plans. What they have in common is the underlying logic: integrated, city-oriented and multimodal planning that is closely linked to broader urban development objectives.
National frameworks or requirements
Sweden does not have a single nationwide legal obligation requiring all municipalities to adopt a SUMP as a distinct planning instrument. Instead, the national context is shaped by municipal strategic planning practice, the Planning and Building Act and the TRAST framework developed for local authorities. In this setting, the transport strategy at municipal level is the planning instrument most closely aligned with SUMP principles.
The most important national reference point is therefore not a dedicated SUMP law, but the broader methodological framework provided by TRAST and its supporting materials. These materials were developed to support local authorities in preparing transport strategies, transport plans and action programmes, and they cover issues such as urban quality, accessibility, integration between modes and implementation.
Funding and contact point
Sweden does not have a dedicated nationwide funding programme for preparing SUMPs as a distinct document type. However, sustainable urban mobility is supported through established municipal planning practice, national methodological guidance and funding instruments linked to the implementation of sustainable transport measures.
A particularly relevant instrument is the Urban Environment Agreements (*stadsmiljöavtal*), through which municipalities and regions can apply for government support for measures that promote sustainable urban environments. These agreements have supported initiatives related to public transport, cycling and, in later developments, sustainable freight transport. They are therefore more relevant to the implementation of SUMP-type measures than to the preparation of SUMP documents themselves.
The most relevant national institutional references are Trafikverket — the Swedish Transport Administration, which is responsible for long-term national transport planning and has played a central role in the TRAST framework, and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, which is also listed in the EU profile as a member state contact.
Contact points: Swedish Transport Administration / Trafikverket
Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions / Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner
Data and monitoring
In Sweden, sustainable mobility planning is closely linked to analytical work, diagnosis and follow-up, although the exact methods vary between municipalities and document types. TRAST is not limited to vision-setting; it also includes supporting material for transport strategies, plans and programmes, which means that the Swedish planning model is intended to connect strategic objectives with evidence and implementation.
Swedish SUMP-type planning is therefore generally based on diagnosis, data and follow-up assessment, while the detailed indicators and reporting arrangements depend on municipal practice and the form of the strategy adopted.