National Planning Agency
Regional planning
This website uses automatic translation for English content, which may not fully capture the original meaning. For complete accuracy, refer to the Icelandic version, which is the official source.
Regional planning is a plan of two or more municipalities on issues of common interest and regional priorities, such as regional development, transport or water conservation.
Regional planning shall cover an area that forms a geographical, economic and social whole and may thus include parts of the country or other larger wholes.
The capital region is obliged to draw up a regional plan, but in other parts of the country, the regional planning is voluntary.
Information on the status of regional planning in Iceland.
Making regional planning
Where regional planning is underway, the local authorities concerned shall establish a joint regional planning committee. It shall carry out the processing, presentation and approval of regional planning under the supervision of the local authorities.
A regional planning committee shall also be employed where a regional plan is in force. It shall carry out the implementation and changes of the regional plan and shall evaluate, at the beginning of the term of office, whether there is cause for a revision of the regional plan.
The zoning plan is subject to approval by all relevant local authorities and confirmation by the National Planning Agency.
The cost of drawing up a regional plan is paid to half by the municipalities concerned and the Planning Fund.