<p>A qualitative study is presented concerning children’s participation in the local decisionmaking in Swedish municipalities. The study also aims at finding out what are considered to be successful factors and obstacles connected to the implementation of children’s participation in local decision-making. The study contains a summary of the convention on the rights of the child, focusing on article 12, as well as previous research findings concerning children’s participation and factors enabling respectively hindering participation. Method has been interviews with a purposive sample of politicians, civil employees and children from municipalities regarded as prominent in their work with children’s participation. Either through a formal or informal implementation model. The results have been analysed in the light of Roger Hart’s eight-step “ladder of children’s participation“, where position one is considered Manipulation from adults and position eight is Child-initiated and shared decisions with adults. The results show that the investigated municipalities are considering the voice of the children in the local decision-making. Depending on different variables in focus, the position on Hart’s ladder varies between four and seven. The study concludes that successful implementation of children’s participation in local decision-making commands parallel work with organizational structures, systematic and adult’s attitudes.</p>

A qualitative study is presented concerning children’s participation in the local decisionmaking in Swedish municipalities. The study also aims at finding out what are considered to be successful factors and obstacles connected to the implementation of children’s participation in local decision-making. The study contains a summary of the convention on the rights of the child, focusing on article 12, as well as previous research findings concerning children’s participation and factors enabling respectively hindering participation. Method has been interviews with a purposive sample of politicians, civil employees and children from municipalities regarded as prominent in their work with children’s participation. Either through a formal or informal implementation model. The results have been analysed in the light of Roger Hart’s eight-step “ladder of children’s participation“, where position one is considered Manipulation from adults and position eight is Child-initiated and shared decisions with adults. The results show that the investigated municipalities are considering the voice of the children in the local decision-making. Depending on different variables in focus, the position on Hart’s ladder varies between four and seven. The study concludes that successful implementation of children’s participation in local decision-making commands parallel work with organizational structures, systematic and adult’s attitudes.

I takt med att allt fler kulturhistoriskt värdefulla byggnader rivs i landets kommuner utarmas Sveriges kulturarv enligt Riksantikvarieämbetet. Vilken betydelse har då en kulturhistorisk värdebeskrivning i den kommunala beslutsprocessen? Lidingö stad valdes som fallstudie eftersom man där beslutat att riva öns landmärke, en fackverksbro av järn och nitad stål, Gamla Lidingöbron, invigd 1925. Bron är med sin karaktäristiska konstruktion och stora bågspann ett starkt etablerat signum vid öns infart. Den har flera likheter med Gamla Årstabron i Stockholm som till skillnad från Gamla Lidingöbron är statligt ägd, utsedd till byggnadsminne och därmed skyddad. Det framkom i denna studie att Gamla Lidingöbrons kulturhistoriska värde inte hade diskuterats inför rivningsbeslutet 2012 samt att en för ändamålet beställd värderingen saknades i beslutsunderlaget. Planarbetet för en ny bro, ”Lilla Lidingöbron”, som senare lades fram fick kritik från alla remissinstanser som yttrade sig om kulturmiljö eftersom de ansåg att den äldre stålbron borde bevaras. Kommunen uppmanades att ta fram ett bevarandealternativ. Kritiken ledde inte till någon omprövning trots existerande alternativa förslag.  Det enda som skedde var att beskrivningen av brons värde till slut skrevs in i den nya detaljplanen med ordalag tagna ur värderapporten. På vissa ställen dock vända till sin motsats (sid 20-25). Det tillades även där att den kulturhistoriska värderapporten hade använts inför inriktningsbeslutet 2012 trots att det inte var så. Beslutet visade sig ha rötter till tidigt 2000-tal vilket beskrivs i en bilaga.  En utblick görs mot beslutsprocessen för Gamla Danviksbron i Stockholm, byggd 1922, i syfte att exemplifiera hur ett redan taget rivningsbeslut faktiskt kan ändras efter att kulturvärdet åberopats av remissinstans. Till skillnad från Lidingö kommun samarbetade man därefter med de sakkunniga i byggnadsvård för att bevara Gamla Danviksbron.  Slutsatsen är att en kulturhistorisk värdebeskrivning är viktig då den informerar och vägleder om vad som är värdefullt, vad man bör bevara och varför. Dock kan en sådan rapport förlora sin mening när det finns politiska intressen som favoriserar andra lösningar. Likaså när tjänstemän och politiker helt enkelt inte har kunskap om kulturhistoriska värden eller saknar kompetens att samordna olika aktörers intressen när det kommer till att integrera kulturvärden, miljö och innovativa lösningar (bevara och förnya) – med ekonomi och funktion. / As more buildings with established cultural-historical value are being demolished around the country, Sweden's cultural heritage risks being depleted according to The Swedish National Heritage Board. What then is the impact of a cultural-historical value report in the municipal decision-making process? The municipality of Lidingö was chosen as an example because of its decision to demolish the island's landmark bridge; the Old Lidingö bridge (Gamla Lidingöbron), an iron and steel truss bridge from 1925. This bridge, with its characteristic construction, and large arched span, is a strongly established symbol for the island. It has several similarities with the protected state-owned Old Årsta bridge in Stockholm. In this study, it emerged that an existing cultural-historical report, describing the bridge’s high value, was not taken into consideration as a basis for the decision made by the municipality in 2012. During the planning work for a new bridge, Little Lidingö bridge, the municipality received criticism from concerned parties (e.g. Stockholm County Administrative Board) that commented on the cultural value, because they felt that the bridge should be preserved. The municipality was encouraged to develop a conservation-focused alternative. In response to the criticism, the officials did not reconsider the decision. They merely included more of the content of the cultural-historical value report in the detailed development plan. In some of the added paragraphs the meaning of the words was reversed (page 20-25). The development plan also states that the report had been considered prior to the demolition decision, although it had not been. Indications that the 2012 decision had its roots in the early 2000s are included in the appendix. To compare with similar decisions, a brief look is also taken at Stockholm municipality, where the decision-making process regarding the Old Danvik Bridge, built in 1922, is given as an example of how they instead changed direction, and collaborated with experts in cultural conservation.In conclusion, a cultural-historical value description is extremely important. It provides a basic description of what is valuable, what should be preserved and why. However, such a report may lose its impact if there is a political agenda moving in another direction. Another reason that this type of document might be devalued is if officials and politicians lack knowledge of cultural history, or the skills to coordinate the interests of different actors; integrating cultural values, the environment, and innovative solutions (preserving and innovating) – with economics and function.