Scrutinising the Plan-Ability of Outdoor Recreation in the Swedish Compact City: Continuing and Discontinuing Modernist Planning Legacies

Abstract

Research on compact cities repeatedly reveals inadequate amounts of land for outdoor recreational activities. However, few studies examine the practices of planning outdoor recreation in the compact city. This study explores the integration of sites for outdoor recreation into the compact city using a Swedish municipality as a case study. The paper draws on material semiotics to show the existence of several parallel planning trajectories, of which only certain adhere to the compact rationale. Results indicate a need to overcome administrative silos and suggest the potential of engaging with past planning for addressing the multifaceted topic of outdoor recreation.