Publications (FIS)

Geodesign to advance boundary work in urban planning

A study in Stockholm focused on nature-based solutions

authored by: Blal Adem Esmail, Cyrus Carl Anderson, Sigvard Bast, Chiara Cortinovis, Lina Suleiman, Jarumi Kato-Huerta, Johan Högström, Berit Balfors, Gustavo Arciniegas, Davide Geneletti, Ulla Mörtberg, Christian Albert
Abstract: Geodesign supports collaborative urban planning by managing ‘boundaries’ between diverse knowledge holders. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence of its contribution to ‘boundary work’. This paper aims to evaluate how a geodesign process facilitates knowledge co-production through boundary work and to assess the scientific credibility, political saliency, and procedural legitimacy of its outputs in urban planning. We propose a replicable geodesign framework to assess boundary work, and test it in a case study on urban transformations with nature-based solutions in the Skarpnäck district of Stockholm, Sweden. Findings indicate that all geodesign steps facilitated communication by promoting collective reasoning. Participants acknowledged contributions to knowledge co-production and decision-making by mediating between different perspectives. However, data quality and modeling simplicity were identified as critical factors affecting the outputs’ perceived credibility. Future applications should include co-designing the geodesign process, improving capacity and skills, and facilitating more integrated planning.
Organisation(s): Institute of Environmental Planning
External Organisation(s): Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Eurac Research
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
University of Trento
Geo-Col GIS and Collaborative Planning
Type: Article
Journal: AMBIO
Volume: 54
Pages: 285-304
No. of pages: 20
ISSN: 0044-7447
Publication date: 02.2025
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Geography, Planning and Development, Environmental Chemistry, Ecology
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 15 - Life on Land
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-024-02083-8 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{1850ef239d9543b382dff1a90857831c,
title = "Geodesign to advance boundary work in urban planning: A study in Stockholm focused on nature-based solutions",
abstract = "Geodesign supports collaborative urban planning by managing {\textquoteleft}boundaries{\textquoteright} between diverse knowledge holders. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence of its contribution to {\textquoteleft}boundary work{\textquoteright}. This paper aims to evaluate how a geodesign process facilitates knowledge co-production through boundary work and to assess the scientific credibility, political saliency, and procedural legitimacy of its outputs in urban planning. We propose a replicable geodesign framework to assess boundary work, and test it in a case study on urban transformations with nature-based solutions in the Skarpn{\"a}ck district of Stockholm, Sweden. Findings indicate that all geodesign steps facilitated communication by promoting collective reasoning. Participants acknowledged contributions to knowledge co-production and decision-making by mediating between different perspectives. However, data quality and modeling simplicity were identified as critical factors affecting the outputs{\textquoteright} perceived credibility. Future applications should include co-designing the geodesign process, improving capacity and skills, and facilitating more integrated planning.",
keywords = "Boundary management, Impact assessment, Knowledge co-creation, Land use change, Scenario planning, Suitability analysis",
author = "{Adem Esmail}, Blal and Anderson, {Cyrus Carl} and Sigvard Bast and Chiara Cortinovis and Lina Suleiman and Jarumi Kato-Huerta and Johan H{\"o}gstr{\"o}m and Berit Balfors and Gustavo Arciniegas and Davide Geneletti and Ulla M{\"o}rtberg and Christian Albert",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2024.",
year = "2025",
month = feb,
doi = "10.1007/s13280-024-02083-8",
language = "English",
volume = "54",
pages = "285--304",
journal = "AMBIO",
issn = "0044-7447",
publisher = "Allen Press Inc.",
number = "2",
}