Förtätning som strategi för hållbar stadsutveckling : En diskursanalys av förtätning i Umeå kommun

ABSTRACT The urban planning paradigm of today consists of one particularly prominent concept; Sustainable development. The concept takes a holistic approach on how we can act, build and arrange the world around us, to avoid ruin the conditions for future generations to do the same. This is a matter of long-term resource management and democracy. The question around the discourse of sustainable urban development is not if, but how. Urban densification is one approach, which has gained a strong foothold in the planning of Umeå municipality this past decade. This paper aims to explore and uncover the discourse around densification as a strategy for urban sustainable development, in Umeå. The content in and the relations of two key detailed comprehensive plans (fördjupad översiktsplan) to the consultation report (samrådsgedogörelse) and the written words in media on the subject densification, has been analyzed. The study was conducted through a critical discourse analysis of this material and linked to urban planning practices and theories. The findings in this study suggest that sustainable development in Umeå aims to enable demographic and economic growth, based on the underlying assumptions and rhetoric’s in the material. The concept of sustainable development is difficult to define, generally and in the case of Umeå. The identity and shaping of the discourse around densification is dependent on the persons and the interests involved. Keywords: Urban planning, Infill, Urban densification, Sustainable urban planning, Discourse, Ume