Ecological information in the political decision making of urban land-use planning

The objective of this paper is to examine what factors determine the importance of ecological information in political decision making of urban land use in Helsinki, southern Finland. Results from the interviews of politicians and city officials show that ecological information becomes more important if there are significant conservation values connected to a plan area, contacts and appeals from plan participants, strong media attention or if a decision maker focuses more on the issue due to personal interests and values. Balancing the weight of recreational and cultural values may be one of the most difficult tasks for decision makers to handle.