This public PhD-project is financed by The Research Council of Norway. This is a collaboration between PhD candidate Lisbeth Iversen, Arendal municipal, AHO (Degree-conferring institution), and NIBR / OsloMet as assistant supervisor.

This thesis- by-compilation is addressing the combination of holistic planning, integrity and proximity in sustainable urban planning and development of places and urban areas, specifically focusing on the involvement of individuals and groups that are not easily taking part in these kind of processes, in order to develop an inclusive and attractive and sustainable municipality. The thesis will give an analysis of methods and tools for civil society mobilization and involvement of citizens and cultural resources in municipal planning processes and urban development projects. Planning is supposed to be an important framework for sustainable development. Municipalities are encouraged to involve residents through the provisions of the Planning Act. This project seeks to understand better how planning processes are designed and framed, whether there is a balance between different considerations and perspectives, and what factors must be taken into account in order to provide economic, social, environmental and democratic sustainability.

The theoretical starting point for the research project is an institutional management and leadership perspective. This will provide analytical tools to look at how the municipal planning system for Arendal is both shaped – and sets the framework for – the interaction between different actors and groups. It also provides tools for analyzing the link between research-based, professional knowledge and different types of local knowledge. Secondly, I use a resource-based analytical perspective based on inspiration from the ABCD- method, Asset-Based Community Development. This combines a traditional top-down perspective, with a bottom-up perspective, which is particularly fruitful for studying urban development. Thirdly, the project has clear elements of action research, and will be based on action research literature.

Co-creation and Placemaking are important analytical approaches. Important topics in the actions will be: how to organize (design), position (empower) and act to succeed in the processes. Major global change forces affect national, regional and local planning and development. The White Paper on Sustainable Cities and strong Districts, coordinated area and transport policy, etc., as well as living and public health policy, places new ambitious demands on municipal communities. The municipalities in Norway are in need for increased democracy and involvement in planning and development processes. This is well documented through findings from the DEMOSREG research program, and very relevant to the municipality of Arendal and other Norwegian municipalities. The aim of the project is to contribute to better practice,  increased knowledge, scientific social science and to contribute to new theories. The project will also try to identify added value from involving processes, collaboration management and local knowledge, by combining academic planning practice, sustainability and social and natural science perspectives.

For more information about this research project, please visit this website.

Institute of Urbanism and Landscape / Supervisors:

• Professor Jonny Aspen, main supervisor from 2017 - present

• Professor Peter Hemmersam, supervisor from 2017 - 2019

• Associate Professor Erling Dokk Holm, supervisor from 2020 - present

• Professor Gro Sandkjær Hanssen (OsloMet), co-supervisor from 2017 - present

PhD started in 2017