This thesis discusses how children's perspectives are implemented in the municipality's physical planning in Sweden in relation to the statutory UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The thesis seeks to answer how the planners express their views on the participation, as well as their views on the child and childhood. The study is based on three research questions. The aim is examined in relation to comprehensive planning and use the Norwegian context as a comparison since the country has progressed further in the implementation of the convention. The theoretical framework consists of a research overview regarding social sustainability, and the concepts of child and childhood. An historical review of children’s geography is also conducted. In addition, previous research regarding children’s participation in planning, as well as participation models lays ground for the theoretical framework. The small-scale case study of three municipalities is carried out by six qualitative interviews with physical and strategical planners, as well as professionals with experience in citizen dialogue. In addition, the empirical analysis includes a small document study of the municipal frameworks for citizen participation. Key findings are that children's perspectives are lacking in municipal planning processes, especially in relation to the comprehensive planning. In the three cases in this study, the efforts to incorporate children’s perspective into the planning process seems to be largely guided by the planners' own knowledge and interests. The implementation work with the Convention on the Right of the Child varies somewhat between the municipalities, where one of them stood out and had come further than the other two in connection with the physical planning. The planners view of the child shaped the opportunities for the children to participate in the planning process. The lack of formal guidelines is also described as a reason for the children's lack of participation. An ambivalent picture of children is found among planners and decision makers. These split images create a difficulty in creating a uniform picture of children's participation in the municipalities, as well as finding suitable methods for participation. However, many of the interviewees expressed a strong interest in involving children in planning to a greater extent, and to gain access to more knowledge in the subject.

In recent years, Sweden has undergone urbanization, with cities growing and the population increasing. At the same time, there is a great shortage of housing and a great need to expand. As Swedish cities grow, densification has been used as a planning ideal and strategy. This is because densification is in many ways seen as a sustainable way of building. At the same time, research shows that densification can have negative health effects. Therefore, this thesis has investigated whether health aspects are safeguarded in densification processes and how they are safeguarded in three Swedish municipalities, Gothenburg, Malmö and Jönköping.  The study was done through interviews with urban planners at each municipality and by analyzing the municipalities' comprehensive plans. The result of the thesis shows that the municipalities work with the health perspective in planning and the planners are aware of the importance of health issues in the planning process. The municipalities point out that there are health risks with densification, such as loss of green areas, but mention that densification can also have positive health effects such as increased opportunities for mobility. Even if municipalities are proactive, health issues are often de-prioritized in densification processes due to economic or political interests. Mental health issues also receive less attention in the planning process than physical health issues. The conclusion for what needs to be done is that planners need to take a clearer role and address mental health more in densification processes. More research on the health effects of densification is necessary in order to provide planners and decision-makers with clearer guidelines on how planning can safeguard health aspects.