SBEUT - Sustainable Built Environment and Urban Transition Conference

Modernize or Ecologize? Following the footsteps of Bruno Latour into the City of the Anthropocene

2023-12-19T10:22:15+01:00

Cities were main drivers in the geological shift from the Holocene to the Anthropocene through the ‘Great Acceleration’ beginning in the 1950s. Cities also should be main drivers for the remedy of anthropogenic disasters such as climate change, biodiversity decline etc. The Keynote speech will explicate the reasoning behind Bruno Latour’s option for an ecological and not a modernizing approach to such questions.

Urbanization, Cities, and Deep Decarbonization Nexus: What it Means to Limiting Warming to 1,5 degree C?

2023-10-13T11:01:44+02:00

Taking an Urban Approach to Wellbeing Research: How and Why to Involve Communities

2023-10-13T10:55:07+02:00

What Significance does the Forest have for Human Well-Being and Health?

2023-10-13T16:10:17+02:00

Urban Biodiversity, Human Health and Well-Being

2023-10-13T16:03:58+02:00

Multi-functionality and Cost Analysis of Urban Blue-Green Infrastructure

2023-04-13T14:09:35+02:00

As urban areas are expanding and densifying, applications of blue-green infrastructure (BGI) are proposed as a panacea for both social and environmental urban challenges. However, BGI includes a great diversity of individual subtypes. From hedges to streams, flowerbeds to green walls, urban forests to single street trees, each subtype comes with specific potential of improving environmental and social conditions. Whilst there is an ever-growing body of literature of the performance and planning of BGI subtypes for specific environmental or social benefits - for example, parks for recreation, and rain gardens for stormwater management – integrated approaches between subtypes and potential benefits are lacking. Thus, it is difficult for planners to compare how different BGI subtypes may provide solutions to the problems facing their local context.

In an attempt to integrate the potential of BGI subtypes to provide heat stress reduction, stormwater management and recreation with the associated short- and long-term fiscal costs, a tentative cost-benefit analysis is presented. Different BGI subtypes potential for reducing heat stress, stormwater management and recreation in an urban Nordic context has been ranked based upon systematic literature reviews for each of the blue-green infrastructure subtypes. Moreover, the paper in which theses assessments will be published (currently under review) provides steps towards integrating the potential benefits frameworks with the costs of construction and maintenance – as the benefits can only be garnered if BGI elements are both constructed and maintained at the appropriate levels. Due to lack in the BGI literature concerning construction and maintenance costs, the costs were estimated by suitably qualified planners within the author’s local context.

It is this integration between assessment of potential benefits with the estimated costs for construction and maintenance that brings novelty to the paper, as well as the combination of physical (stormwater management and heat stress reduction) and social benefits (recreation). Yet it is this novelty which has thrown up a number of challenges which has led the authors to question a great diversity of different issues whilst conducting the research. It is these questions, rather than the outcomes of the forthcoming paper, that will be discussed within this presentation.

When? Temporality was questioned throughout both the literature review assessments and the cost approximations. Whilst temporality was inherently built into the assessment of heat stress, over daytime and nighttime, the seasonality of trees to provide potential recreational and aesthetic benefits was questioned. The general assessment was that the recreational and aesthetic benefit of trees was greater in the summer, but issues of temporality and seasonality were not made explicit within the majority of research papers. Moreover, it was difficult to ascertain the time scales at which the approximations of maintenance costs were made by the respondents. For example, lawns require a great deal of summer maintenance, but mowing is relatively inexpensive, compared to the manual pruning of trees, yet this is only undertaken once or twice a year.

Where? Spatiality, at all scales, is of critical importance to not only the potential benefits that different BGI elements can provide, but also the construction and maintenance costs. At a country scale, the literature review focused on research conducted in countries that were ‘relevant’ to the Nordic context, loosely, this meant research conducted in Western, industrialised countries. However, at the local scale, the construction and maintenance costs may vary considerably dependent on the geographical context in which the BGI element is to be situated. For example, the costs of constructing a pond or waterway may differ dependent on bedrock and existing groundwater environments; the costs of planting a street tree may be different when subsurface conditions such as pipes or soil types are considered; and maintenance costs of a lawn or meadow may vary depending on the slope of the ground. Moreover, it has become evident through this research that BGI subtypes often provide the greatest number of benefits when used in combination with each other – that is that BGI subtype benefits are often more than the sum of their parts. This, however, is an area that requires further research and consideration, beyond the scope of the paper that is currently under review.

Who? The research papers included as part of the literature review were written from a diverse range of academic perspectives, from water system engineers to sociologists, from medical doctors to architects. As such, each paper was written with a different purpose, audience, and reasoning in mind, which made comparison between them and assessment of potential benefits challenging. Moreover, it was unclear as to who the audiences they were aiming at, not only because this is rarely explicitly articulated within research papers, but also because there is not only one person, profession or department who are responsible for making decisions about what BGI subtypes to include in any geographical context. Furthermore, minimal attention was put on discussing for whom the recreational aspects of BGI are intended for (the users), due to the scope of the study.

Why? Whilst multifunctionality is considered the panacea for many urban problems, in itself it is not without its issues. In this context multifunctionality refers to the ability for the same BGI subtype’s potential to provide a number of different benefits, yet in order to do that they may need to be constructed and maintained differently. Moreover, one benefit may always outweigh another. The balance of potential benefits, and the reasoning for using one BGI subtype over another, may also be influenced for a great number of reasons, for example, the origin of any funding, a requirement of a certain population group or geographical location, or the preference of an individual decision maker. However, this critique is underdeveloped in the current literature, and would require further exploration.

Whilst within the forthcoming paper we aim to present a tool which planners can use to evaluate how different blue-green infrastructure subtypes that meet the needs of their physical environments and citizens in terms of heat stress reduction, stormwater management and recreation. This presentation will explore some of the, often unspoken, issues and questions which the authors wrestled with in coming to their conclusions. As such, the realisation of the proposed multifunctional panacea from BGI is discussed and questioned.

Biochar Improves the Growth of Urban Sweet Cherry

2023-04-22T20:25:58+02:00

The use of biochar in urban green infrastructure is increasing in cities. Creating a carbon sink by using biochar is a working technique that is available for the city planners and has been viewed as an attractive soil remediation solution. Biochar is mainly used to improve the soil conditions for urban trees and the long-term effect on tree growth is important to evaluate. Soil amended with biochar may have increased water and nutrient holding capacities, the soil texture may be improved, and the microbial community may change. These characteristics are more or less permanent and the long-term effect on the growth of the trees is important to evaluate. Biochar was added to the construction soil when sweet cherry trees were planted alongside a road in a suburban residential area in Sweden. The growth of the trees was determined for six years after establishment. Trees growing in the biochar-amended soil grew faster than the other trees. The circumference was 35% greater after six years. The N level was higher and the P level lower in the trees growing in the soil with added biochar, indicating that the growth increase may be due to increased N availability in the soil as a response to the biochar addition.

Urban Contribution to Optimized Energy Transition Pathways: a Pilot Study over the Canary Islands

2023-05-02T13:13:10+02:00

Solar and wind powers play a pivotal role in the transition toward decarbonized electricity systems, serving at the cornerstone of climate change mitigation strategies. However, their integration in the energy mix faces significant challenges due to the intermittency of production caused by weather and climate variability. To address this challenge, an open-access step-wise model called CLIMAX has been recently developed (Jerez et al. 2023; http://climax.inf.um.es/). This model provides actionable strategies for deploying wind and solar photovoltaic facilities that exploit their spatio-temporal complementarity (e.g. solar and wind power curves typically exhibit inverted daily and annual cycles, as well as asymmetric responses to the main large-scale teleconnection patterns over different regions) in order to reduce the volatility of their combined production (Schubert & Fahl, 2013).

In this context, the Spanish Government, through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, by Next Generation EU, specifically contemplates the investment in "C7.I2 Sustainable energy on the islands". Through an Agenda for Energy Transition on the Islands, the aim is to achieve greater penetration of the renewable energy in island systems. These investments add up to a wide range of specific energy policies in the Canary Islands, both for the promotion and implementation of Citizen Energy Communities, as well as a Energy transition plan for the Canary Islands (PTECAN). In particular, this energy transition plan foresees to reach a total installed renewable capacity of 3,41 GW in 2030 (with a distribution of 2,04 GW in wind, both on-shore and off-shore; 1,31 GW in photovoltaics).

CLIMAX model has been used in this work to generate optimized scenarios of wind and solar installations over the Canary Islands. On the one hand, insulated systems need to be self-sufficient, and, on the other hand, their usually large climatic heterogeneity gives room for wind-solar complementarity to work. For their generation, several constraints are considered, namely the inclusion of operative units, discarded areas due to environmental, accessibility or feasibility reasons, the regulated minimum of a 7.5% of the rooftop area with solar panels, and the maximum capacity density for each technology (Tröndle et al. 2019). The optimized scenarios guarantee the best fit of the daily wind-plus-solar production to the electricity usage in the region both at day- and nighttime, reducing the undesired fluctuations of the production around 30% as compared to the outputs from a random spatial distribution of the facilities.

Subsequently, under the umbrella of these scenarios, we evaluate the role of the urban areas in promoting the stability of the Canary energy mix while enlarging the penetration of both variable renewable energies, wind and solar. Given the scarcity of practicable non-urban areas on the islands, the results show that maximizing the rooftop area for utility photovoltaic development would have a twofold positive impact: (1) the leadership of urban areas in leveraging the stability of a renewable-based energy system, and (2) the transformation of idle into profitable land uses for the clean energy transition to achieve net greenhouse gas neutrality.

These results should be taken with care as regards the stability, accuracy and feasibility of the scenarios, i.e. their social acceptance and economic pros and cons, their dependence on the training period, the impacts of climate change on the abundance and variability of the resources, changes in the demand side, the reliability of the simulated climate data and the simplicity of the assumptions made for modeling the capacity factors. Nevertheless, these results undeniably underscore the need for continued efforts to navigate a well-thought transition toward net-zero emissions. They also emphasize the relevant role of urban areas in facilitating such transition.

An Investigation into the Impact of Green Buildings on Swedish Municipalities’ Built Environment

2023-08-22T15:00:04+02:00

Objectives: this paper aims to assess the economic, social and environmental impacts of the green buildings projects that were financed by Swedish municipalities through the green bonds scheme in Sweden.

Data: residential units characteristics as well as geographical information are collected by relying on municipalities’ reports. Such characteristics include the environmental impact, as measured in terms of avoided emissions, and the financial impact, as measured in necessary investments. Proximity to basic services is assessed by relying on the OpenStreetMap initiative.

Methodology: environmental impact is assessed by focusing on the emissions reduction potential of each project. Economic impact is assessed by looking at the sources and dimensions of the financial needs of each project. Social impact is estimated by considering the distance of the residential units from basic services and goods providers. Results from the social impact are aggregated using the Shimble Index.

Findings: large heterogeneity is observed across the three assessments. While some municipalities have been able to make an efficient use of the resources, as measured in emissions avoided per unit of currency, others have failed to do so and faced high investments costs to be able to reduce the emissions from their green buildings projects. The accessibility index shows a large variance as well: some of the projects have been able to supply housing units that allow people to access basic services as goods within reasonable distances while others have failed to do so. Accessibility to services and goods must be improved in the latter case to make possible for these projects to increase inclusivity and prevent exclusion and isolation.

The Emergence of Polycentricity in Urban climate Governance: Lessons from Cities in India

2023-08-30T11:53:48+02:00

Climate change and urbanization challenges have empowered Indian cities to shift from a top-down hierarchical governance approach to becoming sites of climate leadership and experimentation. Polycentric governance, with its decentralized, networked, and participatory nature, has gained traction in urban governance in India. Cities in India have developed climate action plans, integrated adaptation, mitigation, and resilience, while also joining global climate alliances to commit to targets, report progress, and foster collaborations. This paper argues that Polycentricism can help build capacity for urban climate governance by involving a diverse range of stakeholders in decision making process. How can elements of polycentricity in urban climate governance facilitate experimentation and innovation, and help in developing networks to build knowledge and skills? Can Polycentric approach to governance enable cities to respond quickly to changing circumstances by allowing flexible and responsive decision-making. This paper aims to explore these key questions using explorative and descriptive research methods, focusing on climate policies in two Indian cities, Indore, and Ahmedabad. While the concept of polycentric governance in Indian cities is relatively new, it presents significant potential in promoting sustainable urban development and enhancing city resilience in response to climate change.

Integrating Digital Tools in One-Stop-Shop Business Models for Climate-Smart Single Family Home Renovation in the European Union

2023-04-24T09:14:59+02:00

The ageing building stock in the European Union (EU) is not adequately equipped to deal with the changing climate, posing a significant challenge for climate change mitigation and adaptation. This has driven governmental institutions and private firms to expediate their renovation efforts; integration of one-stop-shop (OSS) regimes for encouraging higher rates of renovation could stimulate the rate of renovation by up to 6% annually, the aimed rate for the 2030 Renovation Wave by the European Commission. While OSS solutions present a great opportunity for addressing the challenges posed by climate change by allowing older homes to become better prepared through climate-smart retrofitting, these solutions have had mixed results in the past. Given the urgency of the situation as predicted in various scenarios by the IPCC, it is imperative to assess the effectiveness of OSS solutions in accelerating the rate of renovation. This research aims to investigate how digitalisation of aspects of the customer journey of an end user participating in an OSS home renovation platform can lead to overcoming challenges faced by previously implemented instances of it.

To answer this question, first a systematic literature review of previous OSS schemes implemented in Europe, digital tools commonly applied for renovation, and state-of-the-art strategies and models for the purpose of facilitating customer journeys were studied. Through a characterisation of these mechanisms, opportunities for integration of digital tools were identified and suggested for each stage of the customer journey. It was found that through utilisation of technologies such as application programming interfaces (API), for increased access and real-time updating; blockchain infrastructure for information transparency and symmetry, and urban building energy modelling for predictive assessment, some important pitfalls of OSS implementation can be addressed. This study is expected to contribute to the renovation sector, ultimately leading to improving buildings' adaptive capacity, which is critical for the EU's sustainable development objectives going forward.

Policy Tools for Electric Vehicle Adoption in Curitiba City

2023-04-17T13:02:19+02:00

The role of electric vehicles (EVs) in more sustainable cities is widely recognized, with their adoption increasing rapidly. Most governments have targets for continued EV adoption rate growth, and some plan to ban fossil-fuelled vehicles altogether. Yet, in most countries, including Brazil, the proportion of EVs among new vehicles sold remains low. EV adoption poses multiple technological, economic and social challenges that require targeted policy mechanisms. This study assesses policy measures to expedite EV adoption for road transport decarbonisation and sheds light on the critical role of EVs in sustainable urban development. We explore electric mobility challenges in urban areas, focusing on the case of Curitiba City in Brazil. We investigate existing challenges and barriers to policy implementation in Curitiba and successful interventions in cities worldwide to identify suitable policies for Curitiba. The study uses in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders to examine policy tools, including financial, legal, knowledge-based, and societal instruments. The study recommends complementary instruments and measures to accelerate their adoption in Curitiba. Overall, the study's results, which identify criteria for policy design and implementation towards complete transport decarbonisation, should be valuable for decision-making in transport and mobility planning.

A Comparative Study of the Size and Management of Standalone Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Remote Locations in India

2023-04-17T22:13:39+02:00

Electrification of rural areas is a challenging task, as it is more expensive than in urban areas. This study aims to identify the most efficient and sustainable combination of hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) to meet the energy demands of rural areas cost-effectively. The research focused on the size optimisation of standalone hybrid photovoltaic–wind turbine–biogas–battery systems using HOMER software based on the availability of the sources at the study location. Different HRES combinations are compared based on technical performance, costs, and electricity production. The findings of the study for the most economical HRES configuration are compared with each other to provide a reliable and cost-effective solution. In this work, the COE per unit for the various combinations has been calculated following the analysis of the resources. Combining PV, a WT generator, and biogas is the least expensive and most practical alternative, with a battery storage system having a COE of around ₹17.24/kWh.

Typologies of Business Models of Integrated Home Renovation Services: Accelerating Energy Efficient Renovations for Homeowners Associations in The Low Countries and France

2023-04-12T14:17:03+02:00

The need for energy efficient buildings has become increasingly important in the context of climate change mitigation. Across the European Union (EU), 41,2% of the population resides in multiple ownership apartment buildings with figures rising in some countries as high as 65%. A majority of these buildings are in need of energy renovation. Integrated home renovation services (IHRS) have emerged as a potential solution to accelerate highly energy-efficient renovations for Home-Owner Associations (HOAs). The question arises: How do the business models of current integrated home renovation services address highly energy-efficient renovations by HOAs? This paper explores the current state of IHRS from the viewpoint of the Low Countries and France. The methods used are desk research and interviews. Four business models of service providers in the Netherlands, Flanders, and France were analyzed, to define their strategies within the regional context. The analysis categorizes and compares IHRS business model (BM) typologies to increase knowledge about IHRS functioning and capacity to bring innovation to home renovation processes. The results show that the BMs of these providers share some similarities and differ in other aspects. Regarding the similarities, all four providers share the value of offering customized energy renovation packages, also in terms of customer segments, by addressing the specific needs of HOAs. They slightly differ in terms of the channels used, customer relationships, key resources, key activities and key partners. They differ in revenue streams and cost structure, owing to context-specific aspects of the type of organization. The outcome of this study can help inform the development of effective and targeted IHRS initiatives in the EU.

Developing a social space coefficient for urban public spaces. Case study: Karlstad's city-center pedestrian corridor

2023-05-02T08:51:17+02:00

Was there a way of gauging the carrying capacity of city public spaces? Or regulating it? How many people is too many? How many seats are too few? How much area does the public space need to set aside for social activities? According to the researchers, the size of public spaces and their utilization were shown to be roughly correlated, with popular public places having more social activity spaces than less popular ones. The researchers indicate that, the absence of qualitative characteristics makes this link weak, thus the researchers investigated weighting the quality in terms of points to better match, for instance, the association between popularity and sittable space. The study's objectives were to find a means of gauging the carrying capacity of urban public spaces by calculating the social space coefficient for Karlstad's pedestrian-only streets in addition to quantify this approximate relationship while accounting for the weighting factors on a point basis with quality. The social space coefficient refers to the link between the amount of social spaces and the size of the public area as a whole. The method first ascribed qualities to seven social activities that occur on Karlstad's pedestrian-only streets in order to calculate the weighting factors for those activities and their social spaces. These qualities were taken from well-known placemaking toolkits, transportation toolkits, and quality standards from more than 110 academic studies and references. By theoretically examining and objectively evaluating these seven activities' accessibility, traffic, social infrastructure, security, meeting location, senses and experience, architecture and aesthetics, development and maintenance, management, and programming, the weighting factors and effective social areas were determined. Moreover, this determination prompted the creation of a method for calculating the carrying capacity and figuring out the social space coefficient of Karlstad's pedestrian-only streets. Additionally, eight quality-control tools were created in this article to analyze seven social activities in public places. In terms of social space's carrying capacity, the coefficient was 0.37. Municipal planners may utilize these quality-control tools to assess the advantages and disadvantages of public places and implement improvements. Additionally, they will be able to decide the ideal amount of spaces for social activities in the public places. Furthermore, by using this methodology, future study will be able to determine a social area factor that is comparable to the green area factor.

Integrating Novel Solar Technology into Urban and Rural Spaces

2023-04-22T12:01:35+02:00

Solar energy has been an attractive alternative to conventional sources of energy ever since the oil crisis of the 1970s. The driving factor for solar energy today is the need to combat global warming and support the electrification now underway in Swedish society. Solar energy systems (heat and electricity) are expanding rapidly. However, space requirements and low efficiencies of conversion are hurdles to be overcome.

The Nyroj system is a novel idea for tracking the solar energy efficiently into a Concentrating Photovoltaic System (CPV) for electricity production. The system consists of transparent tubes (solar generators), composed of large, vertically suspended units of “integrated concentrator solar modules" (referred to as lenses in the article). With a novel and simple mechanism, the system is able to pivot these lenses to track the movement of the sun across the sky, focusing its rays on high-efficiency solar cells. Besides vertical constructions on the ground, it is also possible to integrate the system into facades and for street lighting.

Coastal areas and islands in the south of Sweden are examples of locations suitable for pilot installations, which will enable one to monitor and study the role played by these systems in harnessing solar energy, along with other sustainability criteria like social acceptability and economic feasibility. This system will play a part in the ‘Energigemenskap’ (energy community) – a concept which is being promoted in the country by avid supporters of green energy and the efficient use of the same.

Adopting Space Sufficiency Interventions as a Means for Accelerating Energy Renovation: Swedish Homeowners’ Perceptive.

2023-04-24T08:48:04+02:00

Residential energy consumption remains a significant driver of CO₂ emissions in European buildings, demanding urgent action in the face of the climate crisis. While prevailing efforts have predominantly concentrated on enhancing energy efficiency and integrating renewable sources, addressing the climate urgency and resource constraints necessitates a paradigm shift towards sufficiency principles.

Swedish statistics on Single-Family Houses (SFH) show that more than a third of households inhabit oversized spaces in aging buildings needing renovation. Sufficiency-oriented renovation strategies—optimizing or reducing living areas per capita— present a promising avenue to achieve substantial energy reductions. This approach also opens the potential for space rentals, yielding combined energy and space efficiency advantages. In addition, the literature highlights reduced maintenance costs and potential urban housing crisis mitigation. However, practical implementation faces multiple obstacles.

This paper investigates SFH owners' attitudes towards space-sufficiency interventions, focusing on living size preferences and identifying barriers and opportunities for sustainable housing. Through focus group sessions with SFH owners in November-December 2022, qualitative content analysis revealed that reducing living space per capita faces multifaceted challenges, despite potential benefits. These challenges encompass not only personal and psychological considerations but extend to economic, infrastructural, and policy barriers, including issues such as the potential breach of privacy, disruptions due to noise, dilemmas related to ownership and independency, disruptions to work-life dynamics, inadequate familiarity with sufficiency principles, and uncertainty imposed by space constraints. Strategic integration of sufficiency principles into energy-renovation policy alternatives necessitates a holistic approach that addresses these barriers, and some form of incentives may be needed to catalyze the adoption of sufficiency principles effectively.

The CERAMIC Project: Designing for, with and by Youth

2023-04-22T19:24:39+02:00

Introduction

During the last decades, there has been an increased policy interest in enhancing children and youth participation in development processes. According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989, and which became a Swedish law in 2020, children and youth have the right to participate in development processes that affect them, which is in line with the precepts of participatory design (Björgvinsson et al., 2012, Hansson 2021). Also, policies like The New European Bauhaus Initiative (2020), and The Swedish Policy for Designed Living Environment (2022) puts particular emphasis on the participation of all in the development of living spaces.

Scholars have modeled children’s participation in society in different ways. One of the most well-known models is Roger Hart's (1992:8) Ladder of Children's Participation which in turn revisits Arnstein’s (1969). According to this ladder, different levels of participation can be distinguished from the lowest ones – manipulation and decoration – to the highest one - “child initiated with shared decisions with adults”. This ladder and other normative models categorize and rank different participation schemes, but they say little about how children’s (intended and designed) participation unfold in practice and what are the conditions and consequences of such participatory processes. The interest and practices of children’s and youth’s participation in developing living environments can also be inserted in the long tradition of participatory design in Scandinavia (Ehn and Kyng, 1987).

Our contribution focuses on a case where design and craft were used to involve young adults in the shaping of a recreational peri-urban area in Gothenburg, called Linnarhult, and aims at unpacking how the participatory process actually unfolded around a specific craft material, namely clay. Our study shows a process in which participatory design materializes through fast and slow prototyping that emerges and develops over time (Hansson and von Busch 2022). Socially embedded tools – that is tools embedded in and at the same constructing the specific sociality of a place - are developed, making participation possible (Hansson and von Busch 2023). The participatory design process in which we engaged also tried to move away from a “design for design” approach and set up a "design infrastructuring" approach (e.g., Binder et al., 2011, Hillgren and Seravalli, 2011, Björgvinsson et al., 2012), targeting the design situation taking place after the project and to produce “something from which future opportunities can emerge” (Hansson 2021:72). In this paper, we tweak the STS notion of boundary object (Star and Griesemer, 1989) and conceptualize how clay becomes a boundary material - flexible and robust, mobile and rooted at the same time - around which not only youth’s participation in the making of Linnarhult but also their access to many other urban areas develops.

The case study and methodology

Our case study is located in Linnarhult, a recreational area in the peri-urban North East of Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city. It follows a youth-initiated project, between January and July 2022. The project was organized for, with, and by youth and included eight participants from 15 to 26 years of age. The project emerged as a result of previous research activities taking place in Linnarhult, in which the leader of the youth group was actively involved (Hansson and von Busch, 2022; Hansson and von Busch 2023). Kultur Ungdom, a non-profit organization supporting youth projects in the region, funded the development of the youth-organized project where different art forms were explored with Linnarhult as a base. The group also received other types of infrastructural support from local actors. Part of this project developed around creating ceramics from locally found clay, which is in focus here. After the Kultur Ungdom-funded project ended, the leader of the youth group got into other life-changing engagements, like job and marriage, and the youth’s group was discontinued as financial and time resources to engage the group were lacking (e.g., for coordination, professional support, and food). Thus, one of the authors (Hansson) decided to “stay with the trouble” (Haraway, 2010), and sustain the work. A new project named “The community cup” was initiated where the focus is to re-connect and deepen the relational ties that were established during the clay project. This time, an invitation is made to a broader audience, and the Linnarhult home organization, EAC, is acting as the host to make possible a more long-lasting process.

Results and discussion

The research shows how a local natural resource, clay, became a "boundary material" (cf. boundary object, Star and Griesemer, 1989) that brought several actors together: the youth, a civic organization, an artist in the surrounding network, public cultural organizations and academia. A social and material “construction site” was formed (Latour, 2005:89), where policies were put into shape. Not only was the clay shaped, but also through the clay new social relations, agencying the youth in new ways, were created. The designer's role was to help shape this construction site and form these linkages.

When the project ended and funding was over, the group started to dissolve and the construction site stopped. With the discontinuation of the public funding and the enrolment of the group leader in other engagements that competed with clay-making timewise, the objects created remained, but the process established to create them was interrupted. In other words, the boundary material clay solidified into ceramics stopped working as a boundary material, losing flexibility and rootedness (in Linnarhult) and closing down the range of potentialities of what clay could be and become for, with, and by the youth. Ceramics could not engage funders as much as clay had done. The continuation of the project went back to clay shaping, to remobilize a wide range of actors and played intentionally on the relation between malleable and solidified clay (clay and the cup), between grass-root and institutionalized organizations, and between voluntary and payed-for work. Our case, therefore, points at the shortcomings of a project-based organization of youth’s participation in the city which, rather than shaping and nurturing the relational ties of a lasting infrastructure, establishes a short and performance-driven time horizon.

Our interactive, practice-oriented contribution will be presented in the Tiny House on Wheels, parked on the Växjö campus at the time of the conference. Making cups of clay, while drinking coffee in ceramic mugs made in Linnarhult, will allow us to engage with both plastic and solidified clay as a mobile boundary object in a new context.

SEAWEED House 2.0: Methods and Techniques to Harmonize and Improve the Living and Urban of Future Cities, Imitating Nature

2023-04-24T08:55:11+02:00

The question arises of appropriate solutions to mitigate climate change within homes and human settlements. Spirulina seems to be the most promising seaweed, with adaptive capabilities, trying to merge Architecture, Urban Planning and Nature, generating sustainable and recyclable environments.

Future Thinking for Urban Utopias: How to Transform Mindsets

2023-04-24T09:57:20+02:00

Treating climate change not merely as a technical problem, but as an adaptative challenge requires a new way of viewing both problems and solutions which includes technical aspects, but also recognizes the importance of mindsets.

The European Commission has developed the GreenComp, a sustainability competence framework which aims to foster a sustainability mindset by helping learners develop the knowledge, competences and attitudes to think, plan and act with empathy, responsibility, and care for our planet. One of the four areas is “Envisioning sustainable futures”.

A “Futures thinking workshop” is described as an educational experience transversal to different subject areas, aimed to provide an opportunity to build this competence. With a game-based learning approach, students were challenged into a role-play, interpreting different public actors, to shape urban utopias. Participants were assigned two scenarios: one, highlighting scientific data on climate change; the other, a short research-based story on future scenarios, prefiguring dystopic urban configurations. Students were equipped with the awareness that each one of us can contribute to develop a sustainable future, keeping in mind that cooperation between different stakeholders is key to take inclusive, feasible and effective decisions.

The results of the role play provide us with 4 distinct urban utopias, based on different values and ideas of wellbeing:

a city spread out in nature where citizens live in symbiosis with nature;
a city enriched by green areas and bodies of water to enhance biodiversity and to increase people’s wellbeing;
a city grounded on a new community-shared constitution which sets circular economy and equal distribution of resources as core values;
a city built by citizens which have learned how to prevent the repetition of unsustainable actions.

The experience highlights enabling and inhibiting factors to transform mindsets and may be repeated adapting to learners’ needs and the context.

Ask the Countryside: Designing Capacity for an Alternative Narrative about Urban and Rural

2023-04-13T08:22:08+02:00

This extended abstract takes as its starting point the urban logic and norms that set the agenda for developing rural areas, which carries the risks of commercializing the countryside that overlooks the needs and conditions of the people who already live there(Nilsson,2020).

Fråga landet (Ask the Countryside) is a podcast in the making where people living in the county of Kronoberg answer and reflect on questions posed by people living in the big Swedish cities concerning their everyday life, wonders, and dilemmas. Sharing reflections about how to live and dwell as humans in these challenging times is a way to a mutual shift of perspectives.

For the SBEUT – conference, I will use Tiny House on Wheels as a meeting spot/podcast studio to let the participants reflect and add responses to the collected questions, as well as pose additional questions. The wonders and responses braid stories of life, of everyday beings and doings (Adsit-Morris & Art, 2015), inevitable for the long-term sustainable growth and development of the rural the Swedish government strives for (Prop.2017/18:179)

To pose a question is two-fold. It involves inquiring about what someone finds intriguing and simultaneously learning to engage with the transformations arising from unforeseeable responses (Haraway, 2016). It is about “cultivating the wild virtue of curiosity, to retune one’s ability to sense and respond” (ibid:127).

How can we get silence in public spaces? How can I live well with stressed people all around me? How do I live in harmony with nature while living in a big city? How do I deal with my fear of darkness even though I live in a bright city?

To sense and respond to the everyday struggles and being by posing matters of concern (Latour, 2004) to the public encourages dreams and hopes for alternative ways of living. We can’t cultivate curiosity without a relational gesture, the questions are invitations to commonly engage in making worlds, to be able to wordling as Donna Haraway (2016) puts it. In this project, worldling is to share what you care for, for others to build reflections on which could lead to an action of some sort.

I see rats in the street almost daily; how do I deal with the fact that I live with rats? How can I live and think more collectively while living in the city? How do I connect with strangers when they hardly look at me?

When the rural residents respond to the questions posed by citizens, the subject of concern transforms into a matter of care (Puig de la Bellacasa, 2017) through the involvement of giving and receiving. I see this relaying practice as becoming accountable for everyday living enactments and recognizing that small concerns are valued for changing the way we think of others. By means of a reciprocal interchange of everyday life, unforeseen aspects emerge- such as initiating contact with a stranger on a bus, or receiving a confession from a villager struggling to engage with someone he encounters daily, who consistently ignores him.

To respond involves suggesting alternative possibilities, not as rigid solutions but rather as fostering curiosity that shapes meaningful conversations and stories. As a designer, I explore Ask the Countryside as a space for the “capacity for responses” (Giaccardi & Redström, 2020:42) to create the possibility to pose questions and responses differently for new worlds to appear. Thinking with and playfully approaching the relationship between the center and the periphery the question of how do we live well together in many worlds. The podcast is about collecting and combining questions and responses from lived experiences to craft a story about contemporary urban and rural life that “emerges relationally” (Binder et al., 2015:162). Cultivating curiosity for the mundane aspects of life is a design practice that cares for complex relations among humans, more than humans and the inhabited built environment. In a society that often prioritizes acceleration and progression over the contemplation of dreams and wonders, we as humans need profound narratives capable of delving into the essence of becoming human and transcending the boundaries of urban and rural, self and others to build worlds of collective possibilities. Ask the Countryside is one design practice that explores these narratives.

Analytical Review of Methodological Approaches for Measuring Circularity in Building Renovation

2023-04-24T09:10:51+02:00

Circularity in construction industry requires understanding of the complex system dynamics, which are affected by various building layers and societal systems. While the existing building stock offers opportunities to enable re-looping of construction and demolition waste, the assessment of building circularity performance is not straightforward, due to lack of standard database, methods, and tools. This may lead to subjective interpretations by practitioners who rely on lifecycle assessment (LCA) approach complemented with circularity indicators (C-indicators) to know the level of circularity (LOC) of building materials, components, and elements. Thus, these C-indicators requires careful evaluation of the current methodological approaches. The aim of this paper is to map and evaluate the nexus between assessment methodologies highlighting their strengths, limitations, and areas of improvement. In this study, a complementary approach of systematic literature review and design research concept was used to classify seven primary aspects covering 18 key performance indicators, that impact the system thinking approach of the renovation project. The critical analysis of ten distinguished C-indicators show conditional, beneficial and trade-off relationships between various indicators. At the same time, the dynamic aspect of re-looping the resources is missing in these indicators and sustainability is accounted by complementing lifecycle impacts rather than coupling them. Results of this review highlight substantial gaps in C-indicators applicability for renovation projects with emphasis to formulate a practical guidance to assess recirculation of materials throughout the value chain.

Reference Values for Embodied Carbon of Swedish Building Construction

2023-04-17T12:56:11+02:00

For contemporary, new buildings in contexts like Sweden, life cycle assessments clearly display that embodied carbon often represent more than half of the emissions seen over the life cycle. While policies for many years have targeted operational emissions, limited focus has been on buildings´ embodied carbon. To abate sectoral greenhouse gas emissions, policies for mandatory climate declarations or even limit values for embodied carbon are being introduced. In the Swedish case, a regulation on mandatory climate declarations is in effect from 2022, and limit values are likely to be introduced in the coming years. The need for consistent knowledge on the embodied carbon of contemporary building construction as well as the potential of various mitigation strategies, is therefore critical to step up emissions reductions in the sector. This study aimed at developing robust reference values for embodied carbon, representative for the contemporary new construction in Sweden. Based on assessments of nearly 70 new Swedish building cases, reference values were developed for central building types. The results display a high variation within each building type, thus showcasing considerable emission reduction potentials with available technologies. The study embraces many analyses, among others on the potential effects of various properties of the sampled buildings, such as noise requirements, energy standards and analyses of improvement potentials through greener product supply. The study provides a profound basis for the further development of limit values in for example procurement processes and in regulation for the Swedish context. In an academic perspective the study is unique through the representative building sample, consistent assessment methodology applied for all cases as well as displaying insights into details of the variations of embodied carbon in contemporary construction.

Circular Economy in Wood Multi-storey Building Construction: a Systematic Literature Review

2023-04-25T11:35:28+02:00

There has been a growing interest in wood-based buildings in Europe in recent years. A reason for this is that sustainability issues are becoming increasingly important in the building and construction sector, which is responsible for around 40% of the total CO₂ emissions and between 25-30% of the total waste discarded in landfills, worldwide. Previous studies have shown that linear economic practices regarding used wood in construction and discarding it with minimal reuse or recycling after the demolition of the building results in significant environmental impacts. Therefore, applying circular economy concepts and criteria in wood building construction seems vital. This article provides state-of-the-art literature review of circular economy and its implementation in wood multi-storey building construction. A systematic literature review is conducted in which relevant peer reviewed articles were retrieved and explored to identify the state-of-the-art and current knowledge gaps that require further research. From an initial set of 157 scientific papers, a set of 15 highly relevant papers were selected for in-depth examination. The visualization tool VOSViewer is used to identify and gather the relevant data and information from the following academic databases: Web of science, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. This systematic review provides concepts, indicators and tools for circular economy and circular construction solutions for multi-storey wood building construction. It also highlights the key knowledge gaps that require further research. By addressing these issues, this study aims to contribute to promoting circularity in design, construction, use, and post-use phases of wood multi-storey buildings, which are urgently needed in the construction sector to mitigate climate change.

Effects of Nearly Zero Energy Building Renovation on the Thermal Comfort in a Swedish Multi-apartment Building

2023-03-24T16:35:55+01:00

A considerable share of the existing building stock in Europe is expected to last for at least the next 30 years and has low energy performance. These buildings have high space heating demand and give low thermal comfort for the occupants. This study investigates the effects of nearly zero energy building (NZEB) renovation on the thermal comfort levels in a typical Swedish multi-apartment building in Växjö, Sweden. Dynamic simulation is performed to assess the thermal comfort levels in the building before and after implementing the energy efficiency measures (EEMs). The percentage of discomfort hours for three representative apartments before and after renovation are modelled with the building’s existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, without active cooling device. The building before the notional renovation had final energy use of 133 kWh/m²year for space heating, domestic hot water (DHW) and facility electricity. The results show a significant reduction in the hours of discomfort after the NZEB renovation during winter period, demonstrating the effectiveness of the thermal envelope improvements in enhancing the building’s thermal comfort during the heating season. On the contrary, during the summer period, the situation dramatically changes after the NZEB renovation, with the operative temperatures exceeding the 26°C threshold in 60%, 97% and 99% of the occupancy hours for the months of June, July and August, respectively. Notwithstanding summer overheating, the total percentage of discomfort hours for the whole year decreased by 61% when the EEMs were modelled for the studied building. This study suggests the need to integrate thermal comfort improvement strategies such as, installation of external shading devices and cooling devices, when renovating buildings to the NZEB standard.

Co-development of a Framework for Circular Building Adaptability in Adaptive Reuse: A Participatory Study

2023-04-17T13:10:28+02:00

Population growth, market volatility, building obsolescence and property vacancy are triggers for adaptive reuse. Thus, adaptive reuse is an investable practice that needs to be facilitated by the means of adaptable design. Furthermore, adaptive reuse aligns with the principles of circular economy (CE), as it promotes the reuse of buildings and their longevity; thereby, reducing the need for new materials. In this regard, promoting the so-called circular building adaptability (CBA) in adaptive reuse could provide different benefits to the built environment, including long-lasting functionality and material reversibility. However, no guiding tool has been developed yet to practically guide practitioners on how to promote CBA in adaptive reuse. Therefore, this study aims to develop a guiding framework for CBA in adaptive reuse. First, a content-wise guiding framework was synthesized based on lessons learned from the relevant literature and case studies. The framework brings together a series of passive, active and operational strategies alongside their enabling and inhibiting factors. Second, a co-creation workshop was conducted and triangulated with three interviews to validate and expand the defined strategies. Based on the findings of this participatory approach, the developed framework encompasses 33 strategies. This framework can be seen as a legitimate and informative tool for practitioners, as it was constructed based on acquiring knowledge from theoretical research, empirical research and participatory research.

Fostering Pluvial Flood Resilience in Heritage Cities: Insights from Practice in the City of Florence

2023-04-24T08:51:29+02:00

The increase in the frequency of extreme events due to climate change, as well as the evolution of socio-economic scenarios have intensified the water-related challenges of urban socio-ecological systems. In this context, heritage cities represent a hotspot due to their exposure and vulnerability to pluvial flood events that can cause extensive damage to property and people, and loss of unique pieces of art. Indeed, the growth of impervious surfaces very often combined with outdated drainage systems, have increased the necessity to develop suitable strategies of mitigation against pluvial flood risk.

Starting from the outcomes of two research projects carried out for the city of Florence (Italy), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this work aims at summarizing the lesson learnt regarding the possibility of fostering pluvial flood resilience in heritage cities.

The proposed approaches present flexible assessment techniques that can be replicated in other heritage contexts, providing useful support for defining the most effective strategies to control and mitigate urban flood risk.

Geokalkyl – GIS-Assessment of Building Foundation Reinforcement Costs and Carbon Footprints

2023-04-24T08:50:05+02:00

Geokalkyl is a GIS-based tool used for calculating and visualizing foundation reinforcement costs in municipal development areas. It is used in early stages of planning to assess cost differences between alternative locations (or layouts within the same location). Accordingly, Geokalkyl helps to identify the most favorable terrain and geotechnical ground conditions for housing and infrastructure development. Geokalkyl features not only geotechnical cost estimates but also evaluates carbon footprint, as well as general climate adaption- and remediation costs. The tool requires national level soil- and elevation data and can be combined with additional geotechnical borehole data for better results. Results are visualized both as 2D maps and 3D scenes as well as in tabular spread sheet format. Geokalkyl is a product of SGI and is subject to constant development improving upon features and user friendliness. At present, Geokalkyl consists of a set of toolboxes for Esri’s ArcGIS Desktop 10.5, 10.7 and 10.8 and we recommend a combination of both geotechnical and GIS competence to run the toolbox.

(Trans)local Social Capital and its Role in Enhancing Adaptation to Coastal Hazards: Evidence from Urban Coastal Communities in Indonesia

2023-04-17T12:55:03+02:00

Environmental change and sea level rise pose significant challenges to urban coastal communities worldwide, particularly in the Global South. Research on household and community-level adaptation highlights the central role of social capital to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience. Although local social capital plays a crucial role in adaptation, the importance of translocal social capital, which encompasses social support and resources that extend beyond local boundaries, often remains overlooked by existing research. To broaden our understanding of how social networks and social capital can contribute to the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities, we investigate the impact of (trans)local social capital on coastal adaptation of flood-prone households in Padang and Denpasar, Indonesia. Using household survey data (N=620) including social network data on flood-related support (N=1169), we analyze the support provided by local and translocal personal contacts. Our findings reveal that local and translocal networks for flood-response support primarily consist of bonding ties. Moreover, our analysis provides empirical evidence that translocal contacts are more likely to provide emotional and moral support, as well as financial and material support, while local contacts are more likely to share flood-related knowledge, skills, advice, and practical support (e.g., physical labor or caregiving). These findings show that local and translocal social capital give access to different types of support, demonstrating their individual benefits for household and community-level adaptation. These insights emphasize the complementary nature of local and translocal bonding social capital in enhancing responses to natural hazards, illustrating how spatial distance shapes support in social networks. This suggests that understanding local adaptation requires a translocal perspective, recognizing that family, household, and community ties transcend spatial boundaries.

Understanding and Mitigating the Effects of Flooding in Kaduna Metropolis: The Interplay of Climate Change, Urban Expansion, and Effective Management Strategies

2023-07-09T01:27:40+02:00

Kaduna Metropolis continues to grapple with the impact of seasonal flooding of the Kaduna River, exacerbated by the combined effects of climate change and rapid urban expansion. However, in 2022 despite evidence of rainfall patterns and water levels higher than those resulting in the 2012 and 2015 devastating floods, there were no reported incidents of flooding. This paper explores the complex nexus of rainfall patterns, flood management techniques, the rush to inhabit flood-prone regions, and the execution of dredging as a formidable countermeasure against flood risks.

The proposed solution comprises an integrative approach, enlisting diverse stakeholders in flood control activities, with a focus on dredging - a practice of excavating sediment and detritus from water bodies. This strategy is coupled with structural measures, such as constructing culverts and storm drains, and non-structural approaches, like land-use regulation, flood detection systems, and controlled inundation.

The paper accentuates the necessity of climate-informed flood management strategies, in preparation for potential extreme weather events. Conclusively, managing Kaduna's floods necessitates a comprehensive approach, acknowledging the intricate interplay of climate, human behavior, and infrastructure. This paper lays the groundwork for bolstering flood resilience in Kaduna, offering valuable insights for other urban environments grappling with the tripartite challenges of climate change, urbanization, and flood management.

Urban Heat Island Risk Assessment and Mapping in the Swedish Residential Sector

2023-05-03T08:58:03+02:00

Although Scandinavian countries, including Sweden, are relatively less vulnerable to climate change, Swedish residential dwellings specifically those constructed before the 1975s are likely to be impacted by current extreme weather events (EWE) such as urban heat islands (UHI). This EWE can worsen air quality, increase heat-related illnesses (particularly among vulnerable populations), and raise maintenance costs and energy demand for cooling in buildings. This study aimed to map UHI risk in Sweden's residential sector using a scenario-based analysis approach. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Remote sensing (RS) imagery data (land surface temperature (LST)) and some statistical data (including the number of houses, building typologies, and characteristics) collected from the SCB (Statistics Sweden) and TABULA database are used. The overall UHI risk maps for Sweden are developed following the risk matrix approach, by weighting and aggregating the created maps for UHI hazard, building exposure, and vulnerability. Here, the geographical information system ArcGIS pro 3.1 was used to carry out the different spatial analysis tasks, including pre-processing of spatial data, developing required maps, and performing raster calculations. The outcomes reveal a range of areas posing risks, with most high-risk zones situated in the southern and southeastern regions. Moreover, there is a discernible impact of the UHI on most of the buildings across Sweden constructed prior to the 1960s. Nevertheless, for structures built between 1961 to 1975, only those in the southern regions display potential susceptibility to the UHI. Furthermore, the western areas exhibit a low UHI risk. Despite the limitation of data used, the findings of this study have practical implications, as they can help homeowners, renovation companies, and policymakers implement appropriate adaptation strategies. The approach used is comprehensive, easily applicable, scalable, and can be replicated anywhere, assisting in the development of climate-resilient buildings not only in Sweden but also in other regions.

A Quantitative Framework for Multi-risk Analysis of Wind and Rain on Trees

2023-04-18T21:51:14+02:00

Green spaces are among the most vulnerable areas in urban environments as they experience different levels of damage in extreme weather conditions. The stability of natural elements such as trees, which are valuable assets in urban areas, is threatened directly or indirectly by the occurrence of natural hazards such as wind, rainfall, and drought. This paper illustrates the conceptual foundations and the initial modeling steps of a novel approach for the conduction of multi-risk analysis for urban trees from the combined action of wind and rain. Operationally, the approach relies on the engineering modeling of the mechanical response of trees to the two risk agents and on the definition of vulnerability for relevant limit states.

Evaluation of the Change of Urban Heat Island Intensity in Climate Change Scenarios over European Cities

2023-04-28T13:27:49+02:00

Introduction

The urban heat island (UHI) is defined as the temperature difference between a city and its rural surroundings, with the urban temperature being generally higher (Oke et al., 2017). The UHI effect can have a negative impact on human health (Piracha and Chaudhary, 2022), potentially leading to respiratory or cardiovascular problems, and causes a significant increase in the overall ecological footprint of the cities (Santamouris et al., 2015). Furthermore, it could exacerbate the impacts of climate change, resulting in more frequent and severe heatwaves and increasing the likelihood of heat-related illnesses and deaths, particularly for vulnerable populations. Thus, the goal of this work is to identify and study the UHI and its evolution in regional climate change projections.

Data and methods

The employed data was extracted from the RegCM4-6 model driven by the ICHEC-EC-EARTH GCM. It was derived from the EURO-CORDEX EUR-11 project, assuring a spatial resolution of 0.11º. The near-surface temperature data was obtained with a 3-hour resolution. The urban fraction, land fraction and surface altitude model inputs were also used. The historical data covers the period 1971-2000. The future data under the climate change RCP8.5 scenario was divided into near future (2021-2050) and distant future (2071-2100) periods.

There is not a single way to perform the UHI intensity calculation. In this case, the urban temperature of each city was assigned as the temperature series of the most urbanized grid point, which was later confirmed as the hottest (or one of the hottest) urban points. The reference rural temperature was defined as the mean temperature series of all the valid rural points inside a 1º box centered in the most urbanized point. A rural point is considered to be valid if its rural fraction falls below 5%, its land fraction is greater than or equal to 50% and if its surface altitude is not more than 100 meters higher or lower than the urban point altitude. This leads to a different number of valid rural points for each city.

This research presents and compares the historical, near-future and far-future mean annual cycles and distribution functions of the UHI intensity of 12 European cities: Barcelona, Berlin, Birmingham, Brussels, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Porto, Rome and Toulouse. The potential changes in the hourly distribution of the UHI daily maximum and in the UHI mean daily cycle were also studied.

Results

The RegCM4-6 model was able to successfully identify the UHI effect and its annual and daily cycles. The differences between the historical and future mean annual cycles of the UHI daily maximum show small to no changes in most of the cities, with these small differences being generally negative. Barcelona and Lisbon present greater negative changes, with a reduction of the UHI intensity of around 0.2 ºC in the near future and a reduction of around 0.4 ºC in the distant future (Figure 1). In contrast, Porto and Toulouse present positive differences with an intensification of the UHI effect of around 0.3-0.4 ºC in the distant future. Furthermore, the greatest changes in each city occur during the summer season. No important changes in the hourly distribution of the UHI daily maximum were found. In conclusion, the UHI effect seems to generally not aggravate the rising temperatures due to climate change in urban areas.

How and why integrate health and wellbeing into urban planning projects? An ongoing research project about the dissemination of healthy urban approaches in France

2023-04-24T09:26:27+02:00

The places we live in, their features and quality impact both our health and wellbeing, and are associated with social inequalities. Healthy Urban Planning (HUP) emerged in the 1980s to address these issues, in line with the principles of sustainable development. In France, healthy urban approaches, inspired by HUP, started to develop in the 2010s. Nowadays, their increased development, implementation, diffusion and sustainability encounter certain impediments, such as mediation with political, economic and technical concerns and, also, with other stakes such as the ecological and social impacts of urban planning projects. Studying the terms and conditions of the emergence, implementation and dissemination of these approaches and the arbitrations that take place at the local level is thus of interest for both stakeholders and researchers, and raise important questions related to the definition of “healthy urban approaches”. This questioning has resulted in the start of a three-year action research project currently implemented through my PhD thesis in Urban Planning, undertaken at Nantes Université, Paris Est Université (France) and at an urban consultancy firm (Paris, France).

Planning and Managing Future Green Cities for Human Health and Well-being

2023-04-25T13:53:52+02:00

As urban environments continue to expand at an unprecedented pace, the world faces a new set of challenges. Rapid urbanization, while fostering economic growth and social progress, also brings a range of complex health issues driven by environmental changes. From the increase in pollution to the expansion of urban heat islands and the pervasiveness of noise pollution, these multifaceted issues are intricately intertwined, creating a nexus of health concerns that are far-reaching in their impact.

In this paper, we explore these challenges and delve into potential solutions, focusing on the role of green spaces in mitigating the health risks associated with urbanization. Additionally, the importance of strategic planning in promoting urban green infrastructure is discussed. To make the vision of 'green cities' a reality, an evidence-based approach is needed, one that calls for multi-disciplinary collaboration and active community participation. Beyond the planning stage, there is also a need to address the ongoing management of these green spaces utilizing smart technologies and digital tools, coupled with strong community engagement.

In conclusion, while the rapid pace of urbanization presents significant challenges, it also opens opportunities for innovative, health-centered urban planning. By embracing green cities, we can find a balance between urban growth and environmental sustainability, creating urban habitats that foster human health and well-being.

Socio-spatial Attributes of Age-friendliness in Swedish Municipalities’ Comprehensive Plans: a Content Analysis

2023-04-28T13:42:14+02:00

Critical voices call for socio-spatial policy interventions to ensure health and well-being of increased proportion of older people. The municipalities in Sweden can decide and influence the socio-spatial environments through comprehensive plans to attain quality of life for older people. Qualitative content analysis of comprehensive plans of three Swedish municipalities – Sotenäs, Älvkarleby and Sundbyberg – was done using spatial justice theory and age-friendliness concept to understand how the socio-spatial justice for older people are portrayed in these comprehensive plans. The findings revealed that ageing population is viewed as welfare challenge and barrier to economic growth. Furthermore, abundance of physical services in promoting ageing-in-place, active and healthy ageing in the accessible private and public spaces and nature partly characterize spatial justice for older people. But there is a tendency of undervaluing the agency of older people by treating them as homogeneously vulnerable group in comprehensive plans which delimit the holistic spatial justice for older people.

QUARTIERI SANI HUB: Healthy and Inclusive Neighborhoods for the Communities of the Metropolitan City of Florence

2023-04-24T09:23:32+02:00

As recognised in the scientific literature, the topic of healthy cities needs to be addressed at the neighbourhood scale, as health has a place-based dimension. The contribution is based on the Quartieri Sani Hub (Healthy Neighbourhoods Hub) ongoing research, aiming to investigate the issue of health and wellbeing through an integrated approach based on spatial and social knowledge, in order to define strategies and design scenarios for an inclusive and healthy neighborhood.

The paper presents the methodological approach defined within this research project for merging different aspects of the healthy city, leading to the definition of a transdisciplinary and multi-scalar conceptual framework in which the characteristics of the built environment that promote healthy lifestyles are systemised.