Kompakt byutvikling, bomiljø og sosial bærekraft

The purpose of the project is to understand how social sustainability can be advances in compact neighborhoods. This entails exploring the connection between physical qualities, participation processes and social environment. The overall topic is social relations and residential environment in compact neighborhoods, understood as neighborhoods with relatively high density, as well as high levels of accessibility and mixed land use. The project investigates what importance proximity to neighbors, important daily functions and recreational spaces might have for different aspects of social sustainability, such as social networks, inclusion, and quality of life. Furthermore, the project looks into the processes behind the development of a residential area, both in planning and in interaction and participation in the neighborhood. In this way, the project seeks to shed light on how one can plan for good quality residential environments, a pronounced area of focus for Norwegian housing policies over the past few years. The idea of compact urban development builds on an assumption of balance between ecological, social and economic sustainability. However, research points out that the implementation of 'compact city' as a model usually entails trade-offs and negotiations between different sustainability aims, and that the development of cities and communities should pay careful attention to local context and adopt place-specific strategies. The project sheds light on different understandings and perceptions of 'Compact urban form' and 'social sustainability', the connections between the two, and how different understandings of these concepts are applied to the development or planning of a residential area. The research question is: 'How can compact neighborhoods promote social sustainability?' The analytical approach entails an understanding of the concepts as socially constructed within different discourses. Understanding what might facilitate social sustainability in compact neighborhoods requires studying how knowledge about this is perceived and produced, that is, how the social environment is understood and how that knowledge is applied to planning. Thus, the project investigates how different understandings, discourses, and perceptions are made into knowledge and used in planning. Co-production of knowledge in processes between multiple actors and stakeholders, and how this knowledge is used in the development of a residential area, makes up an area of focus for the study. The analytical framework is based on a conceptual model for socially sustainable neighborhoods, where urban form, social qualities and population profile or social mix work together, and the framework expends this conceptualization with a relational approach to space and place. Such a relational understanding entails a constructivist view of space and place, in which these are collectively produced through social practices. The study is based on an understanding of place as socio-materiality, where both the social and the material meet in our physical surroundings. The PhD is carried out as a case study with two different residential areas close to the center of two Norwegian cities, and these are selected to illustrate the topics from different angles and to point at different aspects.

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Kompakt byutvikling gir viktige miljø- og klimagevinster gjennom effektiv arealutnyttelse og redusert transportbehov. Men det finnes også gode sosiale argumenter for kompakt byutvikling: et økt nærmiljøtilbud og kortere avstand mellom boliger og daglige gjøremål bidrar til en enklere hverdag, trivsel og livskvalitet for folk. Nærhet til tjenester, arbeid og rekreasjon er positivt for folkehelsa. Imidlertid er det flere eksempler på kompakte utbyggingsprosjekter som utfordrer bomiljø og bokvalitet. Ved fortetting oppstår det ofte konflikter mellom motstridende hensyn, og sosial bærekraft står i fare for å vektlegges mindre enn den økonomiske og den miljømessige dimensjonen av bærekraft. Hvordan kan man sikre at fortetting ikke kommer i konflikt med sosiale bokvaliteter, trygghet, tilhørighet og folkehelse? Husbankens gjeldende strategi legger vekt på planlegging for gode bomiljøer og i den sammenheng behovet for nytenkning og fokus på samfunnsplanlegging som virkemiddel for å forebygge og redusere opphopning av sosial ulikhet. Hensikten med prosjektet er å identifisere gode eksempler på hvordan man kan ivareta sosial bærekraft i kompakte utbyggingsprosjekter og fortettingsprosesser. Målet er at byer og tettsteder kan utvikles i en bærekraftig retning med fortetting som strategi, samtidig som man sikrer bomiljøer som er inkluderende, mangfoldige og med gode levekår for alle. Det er et ønske at prosjektet bidrar til å belyse hvordan disse hensynene kan forenes.