Participatory planning for nature-based solutions

Increasing urbanization put destructive pressure on the natural environment in cities and drives climate change. Simultaneously the urban context is beneficial for societal transformations and favours sustainable lifestyles. Thus, cities provide an accelerating context for promoting a sustainable society and counteracting climate change. Urban planning has an essential role in shaping cities and hence has been chosen as the field of research for this thesis. In my thesis, I examine Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) as a valuable tool to create sustainable cities by implementing infrastructure that imitates nature’s functions. In order to guarantee its functioning, a solution needs to be embedded in the local socio-ecological system. The knowledge about the local context can be captured through including the local community in the planning process. However, the concept shows a research gap in this aspect. Thus, in my thesis I investigate the research gap on how to involve stakeholders in the planning process of NBS by consulting participatory planning (PP). I examine PP as conducted in Finland, thereby assessing a well-experienced context to derive learnings from. In my research I draw on secondary and primary data in a qualitative approach. Two literature reviews have the purpose to present an overview of the research about NBS to date and discuss relevant theories and practices of PP in the Finnish planning system, respectively. Additionally, an empirical study with 10 semi-structured interviews was conducted. The insights from the Finnish urban planners were utilized to test the theoretical findings and complete them with practical suggestions. The analysis showed that PP is essential in NBS projects for many reasons. Further, these projects should be planned in an integrated manner to adhere the principle of placemaking for people and to enhance the green network in place. Concerning the practical learnings for participation, the design of the process should be emphasised to adjust methods and tools to the needs of individual projects. As a result, a meaningful involvement of citizens can be achieved leading to useful outcomes. A combination of online and offline forms of participation is suggested as these balance each other’s flaws. While online participation allows to generate a vast amount of data and reaches diverse groups of the population better, the physical interaction in offline participation is needed to enhance the understanding of local needs and the acceptance of plans by citizens. In NBS and similar projects, co-creation of knowledge seems to be well-established and beneficial. However, these workshops currently exclude citizens and only allow the exchange of expert knowledge. Thus, current practices neglect the necessity to include experiential knowledge of the local community. Lastly, it is strongly suggested to establish a continuous dialogue between planners and other actors in the process. The aim of a continuous dialogue is to build trust and a participatory atmosphere where discourse is emphasised. The discourse based on trust allows to generate learnings essential for individual implementations and to promote the concept NBS