Collaborative decision-making in green and blue infrastructure projects : The case of Copenhagen’s Hans Tavsens Park and Korsgade

Abstract: Worsening climate change impacts, particularly in coastal areas, are forcing urban planners and designers to find new approaches to govern cities. Traditional government approaches are failing to equip cities with effective strategies on how to implement sustainable interventions such as green and blue infrastructure. Adaptive governance has emerged as a way of dealing with the inherent uncertainty and unpredictability of complex social-ecological systems. It is neither top-down nor bottom-up but involves innovative ways of solving problems with emphasis on collaborative decision-making. This research focuses specifically on how collaboration is undertaken in adaptive governance processes by examining The Soul of Nørrebro case study—an integrated urban design and climate adaptation project for Hans Tavsens Park and Korsgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. Through desk study and interviews, the study identifies which stakeholders are involved in collaborative decision-making processes and how stakeholders envision, implement, and contest collaborative decision-making in The Soul of Nørrebro green and blue infrastructure project. This research found that participation from a wide range of local stakeholders and citizens is an integral part of redesigning public space, as it helps create cohesive, just, and ecologically productive environments. However, trade-offs that result in political decisions that are desirable to some and not to others cannot be avoided in the end. While certain setbacks were unavoidable, others that were encountered could have perhaps been prevented through increased transdisciplinary and representative collaboration.