Towards A Social-Ecological Urbanism : Co-producing knowledge through design in the Albano Resilient Campus project in Stockholm

• If we are to promote urban sustainability and resilience, social-ecological knowledge must be better integrated in urban planning and design projects. Due to gaps in the two cultures of thinking associated with the disciplines of ecology and design, such integration has, however, proven challenging. In mainstream practice, ecologists often act as sub-consultants; they are seldom engaged in the creative and conceptual phases of the process. Conversely, research aiming to bridgethe gap between design and ecology has tended to be dominated by arelatively static and linear outlook on what the design process is, and what it could be. Further, few concrete examples of the co-production of ecological and design knowledge exist. In this paper, we give an account of a transdisciplinary design proposal for Albano Resilient Campus in Stockholm, discussing how design – seen as a process and an assemblage of artifacts – can act as a framework for co-producing knowledge and operationalizing concepts of resilience and ecosystem services. Througha design-based and action-oriented approach, we discuss how such a collaborative design process may integrate ecological knowledge into urban design through three concrete practices: a) iterative prototyping and generative matrix models; b) designerly mediators or “touchstones”; and c) legible, open-ended, comprehensive narratives. In the conclusion, we sketch the contours of a social-ecological urbanism, speculatingon possible broader and changed roles for ecologists, designers, and associated actors within this framework.

Keyword

Social-Ecological Urbanism; design theory; resilience; ecosystem services; transdisciplinary; prototyping; co-design

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

ovr (subject category)