Geodesign to advance boundary work in urban planning: A study in Stockholm focused on nature-based solutions

Ambio. 2025 Feb;54(2):285-304. doi: 10.1007/s13280-024-02083-8. Epub 2024 Oct 19.

Abstract

Geodesign supports collaborative urban planning by managing 'boundaries' between diverse knowledge holders. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence of its contribution to 'boundary work'. This paper aims to evaluate how a geodesign process facilitates knowledge co-production through boundary work and to assess the scientific credibility, political saliency, and procedural legitimacy of its outputs in urban planning. We propose a replicable geodesign framework to assess boundary work, and test it in a case study on urban transformations with nature-based solutions in the Skarpnäck district of Stockholm, Sweden. Findings indicate that all geodesign steps facilitated communication by promoting collective reasoning. Participants acknowledged contributions to knowledge co-production and decision-making by mediating between different perspectives. However, data quality and modeling simplicity were identified as critical factors affecting the outputs' perceived credibility. Future applications should include co-designing the geodesign process, improving capacity and skills, and facilitating more integrated planning.

Keywords: Boundary management; Impact assessment; Knowledge co-creation; Land use change; Scenario planning; Suitability analysis.

MeSH terms

  • Cities
  • City Planning* / methods
  • Conservation of Natural Resources / methods
  • Decision Making
  • Humans
  • Sweden