Planning for eco-friendly living in diverse societies

• Swedish cities are becoming increasingly multicultural and diverse in terms of lifestylesand socioeconomic conditions. However, cultural and social diversity is seldomconsidered when planning for sustainable urban development. This paper examinesplanning for more eco-friendly living in the increasingly diverse population of a citydistrict of Stockholm. The study reveals the prevalence of a discourse in which aSwedish identity carries environmental responsibility in the form of tidiness, recyclingand familiarity with nature. It is argued that planning for urban sustainability isunderpinned by Swedish middle-class norms, indirectly entailing processes of (self-)disciplining and transforming the other (foreign and/or troublesome dwellers) intowell-behaving Swedes. A clearer definition of the environmental improvementintended, its goals and target groups is needed. Finally, an appreciation of the multipleways we can save natural resources would make urban planning policies more attunedto social and cultural diversity as well as more environmentally progressive.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Social och ekonomisk geografi -- Kulturgeografi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Social and Economic Geography -- Human Geography (hsv//eng)

Keyword

eco-friendly living

diversity

justice

sustainable urban development

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)