From social engineering to neoliberal governance, and then what? Mapping a sustainability shift in urban planning in a medium-sized Swedish city
IntroductionThis paper focuses on how a (assumed) entrepreneurial shift in urban planning and development has been implemented in a medium-sized city in northern Sweden, and how sustainability-as in sustainable urban development-can be argued to be a second shift in urban planning and development or...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e0d5132736e44cf48360e19a23e8b6c6 2023-12-31T10:21:17+01:00 From social engineering to neoliberal governance, and then what? Mapping a sustainability shift in urban planning in a medium-sized Swedish city Ida Sjöberg 2023-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1273972 https://doaj.org/article/e0d5132736e44cf48360e19a23e8b6c6 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2023.1273972/full https://doaj.org/toc/2624-9634 2624-9634 doi:10.3389/frsc.2023.1273972 https://doaj.org/article/e0d5132736e44cf48360e19a23e8b6c6 Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, Vol 5 (2023) social engineering neoliberal governance sustainability sustainable urban development Sweden Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1273972 2023-12-03T01:43:08Z IntroductionThis paper focuses on how a (assumed) entrepreneurial shift in urban planning and development has been implemented in a medium-sized city in northern Sweden, and how sustainability-as in sustainable urban development-can be argued to be a second shift in urban planning and development or represents an alternative form of neoliberal governance.MethodTo explore how and when urban entrepreneurialism and sustainability are interlinked, as well as when they are not, urban policy documents from 1988, 2007 and 2016 focusing on the development of Sundsvall city center has been examined using thematic content analysis.ResultsThe result shows that the 1988 document is significantly influenced by social democratic welfare politics, with prioritizing social bonds and the Sundsvall resident being the focus, while the newer documents emphasize visitors, potential residents and architectural design to promote the flow of people, money and goods. In this sustainability is put forward as a mobilizing metaphor, and serves to conceal the potential paradoxes of the priorities of the strategy, which involve the contradictions between economic, environmental and social values.DiscussionConsequently, it is possible to claim that sustainability, as a concept, has acquired a new function: to disguise the less palatable consequences of growth by evoking sustainability as a guarantee of the strategy's quality. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Sustainable Cities 5 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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social engineering neoliberal governance sustainability sustainable urban development Sweden Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 |
spellingShingle |
social engineering neoliberal governance sustainability sustainable urban development Sweden Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 Ida Sjöberg From social engineering to neoliberal governance, and then what? Mapping a sustainability shift in urban planning in a medium-sized Swedish city |
topic_facet |
social engineering neoliberal governance sustainability sustainable urban development Sweden Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 |
description |
IntroductionThis paper focuses on how a (assumed) entrepreneurial shift in urban planning and development has been implemented in a medium-sized city in northern Sweden, and how sustainability-as in sustainable urban development-can be argued to be a second shift in urban planning and development or represents an alternative form of neoliberal governance.MethodTo explore how and when urban entrepreneurialism and sustainability are interlinked, as well as when they are not, urban policy documents from 1988, 2007 and 2016 focusing on the development of Sundsvall city center has been examined using thematic content analysis.ResultsThe result shows that the 1988 document is significantly influenced by social democratic welfare politics, with prioritizing social bonds and the Sundsvall resident being the focus, while the newer documents emphasize visitors, potential residents and architectural design to promote the flow of people, money and goods. In this sustainability is put forward as a mobilizing metaphor, and serves to conceal the potential paradoxes of the priorities of the strategy, which involve the contradictions between economic, environmental and social values.DiscussionConsequently, it is possible to claim that sustainability, as a concept, has acquired a new function: to disguise the less palatable consequences of growth by evoking sustainability as a guarantee of the strategy's quality. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ida Sjöberg |
author_facet |
Ida Sjöberg |
author_sort |
Ida Sjöberg |
title |
From social engineering to neoliberal governance, and then what? Mapping a sustainability shift in urban planning in a medium-sized Swedish city |
title_short |
From social engineering to neoliberal governance, and then what? Mapping a sustainability shift in urban planning in a medium-sized Swedish city |
title_full |
From social engineering to neoliberal governance, and then what? Mapping a sustainability shift in urban planning in a medium-sized Swedish city |
title_fullStr |
From social engineering to neoliberal governance, and then what? Mapping a sustainability shift in urban planning in a medium-sized Swedish city |
title_full_unstemmed |
From social engineering to neoliberal governance, and then what? Mapping a sustainability shift in urban planning in a medium-sized Swedish city |
title_sort |
from social engineering to neoliberal governance, and then what? mapping a sustainability shift in urban planning in a medium-sized swedish city |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1273972 https://doaj.org/article/e0d5132736e44cf48360e19a23e8b6c6 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_source |
Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, Vol 5 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2023.1273972/full https://doaj.org/toc/2624-9634 2624-9634 doi:10.3389/frsc.2023.1273972 https://doaj.org/article/e0d5132736e44cf48360e19a23e8b6c6 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1273972 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Sustainable Cities |
container_volume |
5 |
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1786832005314379776 |