The integration of people’s well-being and the access to green spaces into city planning, the support for urban settlements to be liveable, resilient, and sustainable are some key goals for city planning in the Nordics. These and many more subjects were discussed during a Nordregio webinar, organised together with NORDGREEN and SMARTer Greener Cities.
During the online event, Nordregio researchers Ryan Weber and Diana Huynh, together with participants from seven other organisations and institutions, discussed how to build on existing methods in the planning and management of urban green spaces, but also touched upon the subject of finding new ways toward sustainable and just approaches for improved futures.
“It’s about updating systems and structures of ‘getting things done’ for local communities while integrating and enhancing collaboration between researchers and practitioners with new technologies. Along the way, novel methods can support shifting the so-called silo approach that too often curtails much-needed green space development we need to see in urban areas”, says Diana Huynh, Junior Research Fellow at Nordregio.
The webinar also brought perspectives on the importance of citizen engagement and new methods for public participation. The panellists presented and commented on a knowledge database that gathers information provided by citizens. The webinar concluded with the speakers offering some ideas on how to continue sharing knowledge and experiences in these projects, both from researchers’ perspective and how this process would contribute to the development of new approaches to planning and management of greenspace in Nordic cities.
The webinar is part of the EU Green Week 2021 as a partner event. The projects discussed during the online event are funded by Nordforsk under the Sustainable Urban Development and Smart Cities programme.
Watch the recording of the webinar on our Youtube channel.
