Country Profile · SWEDEN
Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning in Sweden
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National overview
In Sweden, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans are most commonly understood through the national planning approach known as TRAST — Transport for an Attractive City. Rather than developing a completely separate SUMP tradition under that name, Swedish local authorities have for many years worked with transport strategies and related planning documents based on the TRAST framework. In practice, the municipal transport strategy is treated as the core strategic document and can be regarded as the closest Swedish counterpart to a SUMP.
The Swedish context is built on a well-established planning culture rather than on a single new policy instrument introduced from outside. TRAST combines transport planning with wider urban development considerations and supports local authorities in preparing sustainable transport strategies, plans and programmes. This means that Swedish mobility planning has long been linked not only to transport efficiency, but also to questions of urban quality, accessibility, public space and environmental performance.
An important feature of the Swedish model is the strong role of municipalities. Under Sweden’s planning system, local authorities are responsible for planning land and water use within their territories, and it is up to them whether to prepare and implement a transport strategy. As a result, SUMP-type planning in Sweden has developed mainly through guidance, professional practice and municipal application rather than through a universal national obligation requiring one standard document.
At the same time, the Swedish approach is strongly supported by national institutions, especially the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), which is responsible for long-term national transport planning and has played a central role in developing and disseminating the TRAST framework. The first edition of TRAST was published in 2005 and the third edition in 2015, building on earlier sustainable transport planning work such as the MaTS concept. This shows that Sweden’s SUMP-related tradition extends back well before the wider European mainstreaming of SUMPs.
In practice, Swedish cities apply this approach in different ways and under different document titles. Some municipalities use dedicated mobility or transport strategies, while others structure their work through broader urban strategies and thematic mobility plans. What remains consistent is the underlying logic: integrated, city-oriented and multimodal planning closely linked to wider urban development goals.
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.