A New Formula for Sustainability Planning? The Vision Programme for Norra Sorgenfri, Malmö

Abstract

Malmö, in southern Sweden, has been notable for how it has changed in recent decades and how new patterns of urban development have emerged which have been lauded as sustainable. Attention has particularly focused on the more spectacular developments such as the regeneration of the Western Harbour, and the development of Hyllie, a major transport interchange and new commercial centre alongside residential development. The focus of this paper is away from these major developments and instead looks at Norra Sorgenfri, a former industrial site, presented as a new form of sustainable urban development that moves away from the spectacular and focuses on everyday life. Here we analyse the representations of the city and urban living that are constituted by the planning vision for Norra Sorgenfri and particularly consider the role that urban forms are attributed within this vision.Our analysis highlights the ideas and representations of sustainable urban development with a focus on social sustainability and situates them within the existing literature looking at representations of urban development and urban sustainability within Malmö.