Spatial planning for sustainable behaviour: the case of Hammarby Sjöstad

Sustainable urban development is emerging out as tool to tackle climate change with a big difference mark. With cities acting as emitters of huge chunks of GHG gases, voices from all corners are intensifying pressure to mend the current urban development model and help find a solution. Several UN conferences fuelled the debate to include local people living in cities and held them accountable for their living behaviour towards the natural environment, and help change the existing unsustainable living patterns or practices which already exist in society. Since, it is the humans for whom these technological solutions have been provided, therefore, it becomes important how the humans themselves thinks while adapting or rejecting any sustainable solutions in their daily lives. The role of spatial planning becomes important here, because it involves all round planning which influences their daily living behaviour, considering individual as the ‘bearer’ of its ‘final outcome’. This thesis will help explore human dimensions in the sustainability debate, thoroughly arguing the factors humans consider in their daily lives, while making a new choice between sustainable and unsustainable practices which is introduced by the spatial planning around them. The study also helps to understand that regardless of individual negotiations, how residents motivated to adapt sustainable measures in their lives. This is being done by undertaking two theoretical viewpoints, the social-practice theory and the structure-agency theory. Social-practice theory helped understand how daily living practices of the residents in Hammarby Sjöstad are related with spatial planning. This relationship between practices and spatial planning involves several rounds of negotiations between individuals and their existing daily routines, before a final choice is made. This second concept is understood through structure-agency theory. The case under study for this thesis is Hammarby Sjöstad, a district located in the south of Stockholm city in Sweden, which is being projected as a model for sustainable urban development. The data for the study was collected through qualitative research method, conducting interviews of the residents in Hammarby Sjöstad. The interviews conducted for the study found out that public transport, waste recycling and open spaces emerged as one of the most effective and efficient spatial planning in Hammarby Sjöstad, according to the respondents. The study also highlights individual cases where respondents have given specific reasons for making particular decisions, highlighting the individual negotiations.