Co-Creating Change: Seedbed Interventions as Catalysts for Equitable Urban Planning—The Case of Umeå

Urban Planning, vol. 10

Abstract

The ongoing urbanisation and densification at the intersection with increasing environmental and health crises demand a holistic, equitable, and inclusive approach to urban planning, which has also been highlighted in the EU Green Deal’s inclusive approach to sustainable urban planning aligned with the UN SDGs’ “Leave No One Behind.” This article introduces the seedbed intervention as a novel, community-driven, co-creative approach to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) that addresses gaps in equitable and inclusive urban planning frameworks. On the case of Umeå (Sweden), the article introduces the seedbed intervention approach and demonstrates how the approach facilitates the development of locally appropriate and sustainable NbS. The results show that the seedbed intervention approach improved the alignment between local needs and NbS design, connected diverse user groups, and catalysed curiosity, interest, and participation among citizens with the help of applying art-based methods. By demonstrating the practical application of a seedbed intervention, this research contributes to the development of scalable frameworks for more equitable and inclusive urban planning.

Authors 11

1. Julia Gäckle Aachen Institute of Landscape Architecture

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Landscape Architecture, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

2. Mariia Chebotareva

   Tallinn University · University of Tartu

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, Estonia / School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu, Estonia

3. Bianka Plüschke-Altof

   Tallinn University · University of Tartu

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, Estonia / School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu, Estonia / Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Estonia

4. Jannis Meul Aachen Institute of Landscape Architecture

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Landscape Architecture, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

5. Ilkka Väänänen

   LAB University of Applied Sciences

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Health Care, LAB University of Applied Sciences, Finland

6. Shreya Utkarsh

   ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability

   Affiliation as printed

   ICLEI European Secretariat, Germany

7. Axel Timpe Aachen Institute of Landscape Architecture

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Landscape Architecture, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

8. Frank Lohrberg Aachen Institute of Landscape Architecture

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Landscape Architecture, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

9. Taru Suutari
   Affiliation as printed

   Municipality of Lahti, Finland

10. Eva Maaherra Lovheim

    Umeå Municipality

    Affiliation as printed

    Municipality of Umeå, Sweden

11. Tadhg MacIntyre

    National University of Ireland, Maynooth

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Ireland