The Welfare Landscape and Densification—Residents’ Relations to Local Outdoor Environments Affected by Infill Development

Abstract

Densification through infill developments is a common planning strategy where both advantages and problems have been brought forward. However, the knowledge on how such developments affect residents and their relations to local outdoor environments is limited. Also, modernist areas have been highlighted as planning heritage with specific values. We studied the case of a multi-family housing area in Uppsala, Sweden, originally planned in the 1960s as part of the Swedish modernist welfare era and later affected by densification through infill development. The mixed-methods approach included document analysis and observations followed by an online survey focused on the use of, perceived qualities of and satisfaction with outdoor environments among residents. The results revealed the heritage of careful planning during the 1960s concerning green space availability and solutions limiting car traffic, with recent densification affecting different sub-areas to various degrees. Respondents living in non-densified sub-areas reported higher levels of satisfaction, more qualities and a more varied use of the outdoor environment compared to in densified sub-areas. However, the management level was considered too low in mainly one of the non-densified sub-areas. Many respondents brought up the loss of qualities in their local outdoor environment through the infill development, both during the construction work and in the result, with less green spaces and increased car traffic. This study revealed large negative effects for residents of densification that focuses on density without securing sufficient qualities in the outdoor environment but also of neglected open space management.

Urban densification considering sense of place and environmental justice – or not

“…Furthermore, densification stimulates other desirable direct and indirect socio-economic effects, such as the creation of affordable housing (Phillips 2020;Wicki & Kaufmann 2022). However, densification has not been free from criticism in urban planning discourse (Hautamäki 2019;Cavicchia 2021Cavicchia , 2022Jansson & Schneider 2023). As part of the critical discourse of densification with an urban sustainability aim, this thesis critically examines a densification project in Bellevuegården, a stigmatised neighbourhood in Malmö, Sweden, in order to study the implementation process in depth, but even more importantly, to understand the perspectives of urban residents and their experiences of such a densification project in their neighbourhood.…”

“…Furthermore, research on residents' perception of densification shows that densification and its consequences are complex and context-dependent (Schmidt-Thomé et al 2013). Still, we know little about how denser areas affect the lives of urban inhabitants (Teller 2021;Jansson & Schneider 2023), and in particular how densification impacts stigmatised neighbourhoods. To fill this knowledge gap, this thesis attempts to shed light on densification from the urban residents' point of view and to understand how the processes and changes are implemented and experienced by residents.…”

“…This happens despite the fact that the green structures are being increasingly conceptualised and modified to fit in the policies of the compact and dense city and fulfil the priority of densification. Densification has thus become a threat to the coherence of green space (Hautamäki 2019;Jansson & Schneider 2023). This issue is shown by Bibri et al (2020), who investigate the compact city model that is practiced and justified in urban planning and development in the two Swedish cities of Gothenburg and Helsingborg.…”

“…While the goal of protecting open green space outside development areas or strategic nodes finds support in the two cities as manifested in densification and expansion projects, it is not certain when it comes to green areas located in or close to the urban fabric given the potential enticing opportunities offered by new urban development projects to further strengthen the economic goals of sustainability, which indeed is the dominant aspect of the compact city initiatives (Bibri et al 2020: p 15). This means that such densification development may be putting urban green space and its functions at risk (Jansson & Schneider 2023).…”

“…There are calls for more context-based planning approaches to integrate the current discourse of densification as a solution and to address how they are perceived by different user groups (Jansson & Schneider 2023;Jansson & Sunding 2024).…”