Development in Coastal Areas in Ronneby Kommun from 1960 to 2018 : GIS-Based Analysis of LIS Areas in Ronneby Kommun (Blekinge, Sweden) Using Orthophotos

Abstract: Since 2009, Swedish municipalities have the possibility of limiting the coastal protection in rural areas with the LIS-tool in order to promote countryside development there. In 2013, Ronneby Kommun pointed out 28 such areas. The goal of this thesis is to describe the development in the coastal areas in Ronneby Kommun between 1960 and 2018, with a special focus on the recent development in the designated LIS areas since 2013. A proposal for the future application of the LIS-tool in the municipality is an additional goal. For the analysis of the LIS-tool as such, the author conducted two expert interviews and compared the results with the quantitative GIS-based analysis, using orthophotos, of the building activity along the shores in Ronneby Kommun. The data shows very low building activity within the LIS areas and a generally low building activity in the municipality recently. For the further application of the LIS-tool in its present form in Ronneby Kommun, the author proposes to either combine it with other measures to increase the attractivity of the existing LIS areas such as infrastructure improvements, or to wait some more time until the pressure on the housing market increases and thereby the general building activity. The municipality can then evaluate the individual areas independently of each other and adjust them to meet the demand on the housing market. In addition, the author and the experts suggest changing the LIS-tool in order to make it more forceful, independent and regional specific. In general, the results of this thesis are regional specific on Ronneby Kommun and, therefore, this thesis can be a comparison base for other research but does not generalize.