Researchers present ten theses on future climate-neutral urban planning in PLAN

The article presents ten theses on how urban planning must be transformed for Sweden to reach the goal of climate neutrality by 2045.

The research group, which also includes Sabrina Fredin, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Ida Grundel, Dick Magnusson, Marcus Mohall and Kristina Trygg, all at Linköping University, has through the Formas project "Planners as agents for the transition towards sustainable cities and regions" examined urban planning's role in the climate transition.

Since the late 1980s, urban planning in Sweden has been characterized by a broad and often unclear concept of sustainability, vague political guidelines and considerable room for interpretation regarding which concrete measures are required. Against the background of the national climate goals of net zero emissions by 2045, the authors highlight urban planning's central role in the transition – particularly municipalities' and regions' responsibility for shaping a more transport-efficient and climate-friendly society.

In the article, the researchers emphasize that it is not enough to change goals and policy documents, or to merely "transform society". Urban planning itself must also be renewed to function as a transformative force that connects social, organizational and technical innovations, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The ten theses point to, among other things, the need for a clearer political mandate for urban planning linked to climate neutrality, longer time horizons and more proactive governance. The authors also highlight the importance of transformative planning being anchored throughout the public organization, not carried by individual enthusiasts, and that cross-sectoral working methods and new forms of collaboration become the norm.

The competence requirements for urban planners are described as growing: they are expected to function as project and process managers, able to handle complex knowledge bases while communicating clearly with politicians, citizens and external actors. The increasing projectification, with many time-limited initiatives and experiments, risks according to the researchers hindering long-term governance, learning and scaling up of good examples.

The article also raises the risks of increased consultant dependency, where important knowledge remains with external actors instead of being built up in municipalities and regions. At the same time, the need for specialized expertise increases with more advanced investigations, climate calculations and technical tools – something that could drive development back toward more rational, technocratically governed planning at the expense of communicative processes.

Through the ten theses, the authors aim to both highlight obstacles and point out development paths for more transformative urban planning. The ambition is to contribute to a broader discussion about how future planning can strengthen society's ability to reach climate goals and transition toward a carbon-neutral Sweden.