The Conundrum of Planning the Sustainable City

Abstract: According to the 11th sustainable development goal, cities should be developed in a democratic, sustainable, and inclusive way. A common planning strategy is the use of densification, which on one hand can lead to the lowering of a city’s emissions, however on the other hand put pressure on dealing with social issues. From the perspective of the planner’s triangle and based on a qualitative content analysis of comprehensive municipal plans in three major cities in Sweden, this thesis explores how the creation of an environmentally friendly city can be designed considering social issues as well as inclusive and democratic planning. The findings show that all the three cities’ comprehensives plans are set to develop an attractive and dense city, which in turn will increase the cities’ economic growth. This will be done with the development of high-quality green areas, city districts with environmental profiles, energy efficient housing, and housing for everyone. The following conclusions have been made; green areas are used to create a more social and spatial just city as a planning strategy in the studied cities comprehensive plans. Although when it comes to the development of environmentally friendly city districts and energy efficient housing, there is a lack of inclusivity and democratic perspective, which highlights the fact of the importance of including the aspect of social issues in environmental planning.