Urban ecosystem services in strategic planningin Swedish municipalities

Research to date on urban ecosystem services has mainly been conducted in large cities, particularly in China, the USA and someEuropean countries. This study examined the provision of urban ecosystem services in a Swedish municipality context, based oninterviews with municipal stakeholders in strategic management and planning from six municipalities and a review of existingpublications readily available to practitioners. The analysis focused on (1) the ecosystem services explicitly covered, (2) whethermultifunctionality was covered and specific synergies and trade-offs identified and, (3) the spatial scale and context used forecosystem services (valuation/mapping, planning, design or maintenance) in practical application. The results showed thatregulatory services are very much the focus in municipal operations as well as in publications available to practitioners. Thisis reflected in the implementation of the concept through problem solving often related to regulatory services, usingmultifunctionality and win-win situations in ecosystem service supply. These findings contribute to the growing body of workexploring how the concept of ecosystem services is adapted and utilised in practice