Planning for green qualities in the densification of suburban Stockholm – opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Implementing urban densification projects in planning practice while simultaneously providing sufficient green spaces has proven to be challenging. Consequently, there is an increasing need for practical approaches to urban green space management in the on-going densification of cities. Therefore, this study was designed to give a better understanding of current green space management practice in two municipalities in Stockholm, Sweden, undergoing densification. The challenges identified through interviews with municipal planners were related to site-specific conditions for densification projects, conflicting interests between involved and affected actors, green quality management issues, and limited use of impact assessment tools. In the municipalities, innovative approaches were adopted in efforts to minimize the above challenges, such as collaboration between the developers and planners, or participatory workshops with the local citizens. This paper explores these challenges and approaches, and makes further recommendations for improving green space management practice.

Keywords:

• green space
• planning practice
• sustainable planning
• environmental assessment
• densification

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by FORMAS under the project “Integrating Sustainable Strategies in Urban Environments” (ISSUE) and Vinnova under the “Södertörnsmodellen” project. The authors especially thank the interviewees for their time and participation. Also, thank you to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas; VINNOVA.