Sustainable local development

A central theme in many of our projects is how to facilitate sustainable placemaking and development at a local and regional level. A broad range of topics we work on encompasses this theme, such as regional analyses, community planning, innovation, and co-creation. The concept of broad value creation has also been central in several projects, highlighting the interaction between different forms of value creation in the context of sustainable development in places.

Both urban and rural municipalities are working to develop sustainable solutions. Facing different challenges requiring different approaches, municipalities strive towards finding good and sustainable solutions. Many rural municipalities experience significant challenges with weak demographic development, along with limited resources and expertise for development work. At the same time, there is an increasing demand and expectation that development should occur in a sustainable manner. But what does sustainable development entail for rural municipalities? Land use and mobility are central challenges in rural areas, but the issues are fundamentally different from more urban areas. Landscape, nature, and cultural heritage often play a crucial role in shaping local identity. In rural municipalities, topics such as aquaculture, wind power, and cabin construction can be perceived as particularly prone to conflict. Through an internal initiative, we aim to develop a framework to help rural municipalities’ work with sustainable development. The framework will be based on the municipalities’ defined needs and challenges, serving as practical support to choices made are as sustainable as possible. Additionally, it will serve as an analytical framework to understand and analyze development.

One way to work with sustainable placemaking and development is to identify and test solutions through the concept of "smart cities." In both urban and rural contexts, we work with this concept from a user and citizen perspective. Smart cities involve using digitalization and technology to catalyze green transitions. By implementing and evaluating solutions for placemaking and local development, the goal is to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption through technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), thereby improving the quality of life for citizens. This theme focuses on social and technological challenges for implementing smart solutions, with particular attention paid to involving citizens in the development of solutions.

Co-creation is also central to this work, with a focus on defining problems in collaboration with citizens. This approach facilitates addressing local challenges with locally tailored solutions, leading to sustainable placemaking considering grassroots interests. Living Labs methodology is also prevalent in research on smart cities and districts, as it provides space for testing co-created technological solutions with specific groups of residents, often in defined settings such as universities, schools, nursing homes, and workplaces.