Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

This report considers how the design and planning of the city can influence and promote a sustainable
development focused on the social dimension. My prior intention was to look in to how
a landscape architect can work with social matters of sustainability such as integration, equality,
safety and so on. Which are our most successful tools and capabilities?

I started to work with the historical background in September 2008 and soon discovered the multitude
of theories and definitions of sustainable development, international, national and local. In
Sweden the local political level has been given a lot of responsibilities to achieve a more sustainable
society. Therefore the course of action and achieved results varies. At this point I started to
consider what the reasons and motivations for change were and how it deflected on the result.

The survey consists of a case study of Uppsala kommun, concentrating on the connection between
the physical planning and social matters in “Gottsundaprocessen”. Uppsala has since 1994 work
with city development in the housingarea, to achieve a more attractive physically environment
and better social circumstances for the inhabitants. I got the chance to look at the material that
has been produced during the process, interview key persons, and take part in a conference about
city development. The main impression is that it is a very complicated process with many involved
professions and people. The complexity of Gottsundaprocessen as so far made the purpose and the
organization hard to interpret and understand. But now awaits a new start for the project with,
what I hope, positive and clearer results.

My main result is being presented in the last chapter of this report. I have come to realize that
landscape architects and physical planners have the professional knowledge to achieve a social
sus-tainability, and furthermore a unique ability to see the overall picture of a public place or project.
If we only are aware of and have confidence in our own profession we can build a safer, more
equal and attractive city. This is however dependent on how the local politicians choose to include
the thoughts of sustainability in the existing political agenda. I concluded this report with a theoretical
discussion about what aff ects the feeling of wanting to act/not act. I also list some conditions
I believe to be of great importance in the process of promoting a social sustainable development.