“you can almost pretend you’re not in the city”. A discursive map of urban nature in Malmö.

Abstract: This paper departs from the notion that urban green and blue spaces provide health benefits by aiming to map other meanings of urban nature in Malmö. These meanings are explored from the perspectives of 1) how urban nature is defined by people in Malmö, 2) which functions urban nature is said to have, 3) what kinds of emotional connections to urban nature are presented, and 4) which kinds of values are attributed to urban nature. This is achieved through ‘semi-structured GIS’ –online participatory mapping combining geospatial data collection and open-ended survey questions – and ‘discursive mapping’ – discourse analysis applied on cultural mapping. The approach on nature is based on Noel Castree’s theories on the social nature of nature and representations of nature arguing that the concept of ‘nature’ is a socially constituted phenomenon unavoidably understood through discourses and varying between individuals. In line with previous findings in the Nordic context, urban nature in Malmö is understood as something that is central to mental restoration, part of everyday lives, between and beyond ideas of city and nature, important part of social health, an arena for activities, and both ‘green’ (vegetation) and ‘blue’ (water). It also consists of places not designed as recreation areas, such as graveyards and abandoned community gardens, which provide positive 'natural' experiences not available in the 'clean' and 'controlled' parks of the city. Urban nature in Malmö is presented as a space for reflection, a sensory experience, and valuable in its mere existence. The significance of urban nature as a ‘refuge from the city, in the city’ is emphasized. In Malmö, urban nature is near nature and dear nature but not real nature.