A voice of water : An exploration of storytelling and co-created speculative design to approach a representation of water in the urban development of Slussen, Stockholm

Abstract: The current communicative planning paradigm appears to lack the ability to include the voices of the voiceless and is stuck in practices that continue to confirm the status-quo through technocratic quick fixes, which do not solve underlying problems causing climate change. This thesis is an exploration of how two unconventional methods, storytelling and co-created speculative design, can contribute to a change in paradigm, specifically improve the inclusiveness of coproduction, where nonhumans are involved in the decision-making processes. This thesis takes the reader on a journey through the embodiment of water in Slussen, by an analysis of semi-structured interviews and a critical discourse, a story from the perspective of water with the title Suorssá, and two alternative designs of Slussen if water were in charge. The applied lense in this thesis is a combination of Latour’s perspective on actants, Bell’s studies of the future, storytelling, critical utopianism, and ecocentrism. The methods and lense are embedded in a case study of water in Slussen, which is a major urban development in Sweden where water plays a considerable role. Through this journey an alternative perspective is attempted to be shared with the participants and an increasing openness towards ecocentrism, where all organisms on the planet have an intrinsic value irrespective of humans, is created. The results suggest that a truly inclusive planning paradigm, especially for megaprojects like Slussen, seems to be a utopian thought. Nonetheless, storytelling and co-created speculative designs turn out to be an effective step towards realizing this vision.