Sustainable growth is a shared challenge for the Öresund Region. The European Union (EU) has stressed the importance of sustainable growth (Lisbon Strategy) while simultanously striving for decoupling growth and transport increase and unblocking congested parts of the urban transport network. This is an important motivation for the development of regionally coordinated planning data, tools and methodologies.

Due to the complexity and interplay of the driving forces it is often difficult to predict the lasting effects of large infrastructure investments and other significant changes to the transport system, land use and settlement patterns in growing regions such as Öresund. Effects and results are often evaluated based on complex system analyses and mathematically derived formulas wich are only understood by experts. This, combined with the lack of coordinated facts, maps and tools on which alternative development scenarios are formulated and large investment decisions are ultimately based, constitutes a considerable difficulty for planning authories across the region, both on local, regional and national level.

The overall motive of Project VISÖ, Visualization of Infrastructure and Sustainable development in Öresund, is therefore to contribute to and enable a more effective planning and decision making process which considers the effects in a regional perspective.

This is achieved through the joint development of coordinated planning tools and methodologies - based on synchronized facts, maps, indicators and visualization models - from which alternative development scenarios and strategic infrastructure choices and their effects can be understood, communicated and visualized in pedagogic illustrations and purposeful dialogues across the region.

This platform will enable not only the involved partner organizations but also politicians, affected communities and individuals to better understand and shape decisions regarding the development which improves the quality of life and strenghtens the economic development while simultanously improving the service quality in the regions build environment.

Project VISÖ is a collaboration between Swedish and Danish state and regional planning authorities within the Öresund Region. The Swedish Transportation Authority (Vägverket) is the Lead Partner and the Danish Road Directorate (Vejdirektoratet) is the coordinating partner. The partners are responsible for implementation of the planning tools and methodologies within respective as well as other relevant organizations and are thus responsible for ensuring that the result of the project is used and incorporated into future regional planning initiatives.